How do you use conflict management at work?

1 Why conflict management matters

Conflict is an unavoidable part of any workplace, as people have different opinions, values, goals, and needs. If not managed properly, it can lead to stress, anger, resentment, low morale, poor performance, and even violence. However, if handled well, conflict can be a source of creativity, innovation, learning, and collaboration. Conflict management can help you to communicate effectively and assertively with others; understand and respect diverse perspectives; identify and address the root causes of conflict; generate and evaluate possible solutions; negotiate and compromise to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement; and maintain and enhance trust and cooperation among team members and stakeholders.

2 How to assess your conflict management style

Before utilizing conflict management at work, it is important to understand your own conflict management style and how it impacts your interactions with others. There are five common styles of conflict management: avoiding, accommodating, competing, compromising, and collaborating. Each style has its benefits and drawbacks depending on the situation and the desired outcome. To assess your conflict management style, you can use online tools such as the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), or consider how you typically respond to conflict situations at work. Avoiding a conflict may be a result of not caring, not wanting to deal with it, or feeling powerless or threatened. Accommodating involves giving in to the other party because of valuing the relationship more than the issue, wanting to maintain harmony, or feeling guilty or obligated. Competing involves asserting your position and trying to win the conflict due to believing you are right, protecting your interests, or enjoying the challenge. Compromising involves seeking a middle ground and trading concessions with the other party because of wanting to reach a quick resolution, having equal power and interest, or seeing some benefits in both sides. Collaborating involves working with the other party to find a win-win solution that satisfies both parties' needs and goals due to valuing the relationship and issue, wanting to create synergy, or seeing an opportunity for learning and growth.

3 How to choose the appropriate conflict management style

Once you know your conflict management style, you can choose the most appropriate one for each conflict situation at work. This decision should be based on two factors: the importance of the issue and the importance of the relationship. If the issue is low in importance but the relationship is high, you should use an accommodating style. On the other hand, if the issue is high in importance but the relationship is low, a competing style may be more appropriate. For moderate issues and relationships, compromising is recommended. And if both are high in importance, you should collaborate to find a mutually beneficial solution. Of course, these are not hard and fast rules; it's important to be flexible and aware of your options and goals when dealing with conflicts.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?