How do you use team members' strengths to solve conflicts?

Conflict is an inherent part of growth, and how it's handled often falls on the shoulders of team leads. Drawing from my own career experiences, I've identified three strategies for averting and resolving conflicts: 1. Understand individual skills: Focus beyond the outcome. Delve into how tasks are accomplished. Remember, people are our greatest asset. 2. Harness the skills: Teams are a treasure trove of diverse qualities - patience, effective communication, active listening, etc. A manager's strength lies in effectively utilizing these skills. 3. Define roles: When someone is working outside their strong points, it may lead to conflicts. Clear distribution of roles and working as a team helps avert the crisis.

As a global manager of individuals in multiple regions, it is imperative to understand the values, beliefs and passions of each individual and I get a better understanding of those by getting on the dancefloor with them and 'dance' with them. That approach leads me to build trust, and to know more about each other, and use that knowledge and experience to manage the team, drive performance and solve conflicts when they arise.

Best and most effective way to solve conflicts is to listen. If every individual gets to feel they are an important part of the team and their opinion is being valued, in return they will also contribute to the solution…

In fact conflict leads to innovation and discovery. Curbing conflict is like curbing innovation. Yes conflict necessarily is not amongst two or more persons but can be in the mind of an individual. A solution oriented mind only finds a way and come out with a unique proposition. The key therefore for a conflict to result in a good solution is the positive and solution oriented mind of the facilitator.

Before directly jumping to identify the strength, the most important part to understand is what makes them motivated to show the power of feeling empowered and then demonstrate their key strengths. I have worked with so many teams, that on numbers are very skilful but its next to impossible to identify their proper strengths just for the cause they are not self empowered to do the things. On the other side their are teams which are less in experience but have been guided through proper path and knowledge, to grow and learn and they have shown a great level of strength not in the work but also under the umbrella of cross functionality.

The problem which may arise when as a Manager you start assigning them the roles, tasks and responsibilities is CONFLICT and COMMAND and CONTROL. Ideally once the key strengths has been identified, as a manager my main focus is on making the team to understand the concept of T-shape where one's keys strength should not get limited to that one only, in-fact it should pass on to other

A collaborative team is a strength of any organisation. A slight conflict brings healthy competition but it cannot be something which effects organisation growth. Thus it's task of manager to assign responsibilities in a way that conflicts don't arise and collaboration exists.

In my points view we need to recognise conflict and identify the strengths after that we have to match and compare the strengths to conflicts After that assigning the business role snd specify the duties set the strategies and goals and targets Start the work and monitor the progress and feedback Then we have to evaluate the situation BR

A cohesive team is a vital asset for any organization. While a certain degree of conflict can foster healthy competition, it should never hinder the organization's growth. Therefore, it is the responsibility of a manager to allocate tasks and responsibilities in a manner that minimizes conflicts and fosters a spirit of collaboration.

This is where we earn our money as managers. Conflict isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it is inevitable, but a good leader is able to guide that conflict so that the focus stays on the problem at hand and a solution is reached. If the conflict is not managed and becomes a team mate vs. team mate issue then no matter who wins, everybody loses. Conflict can actually make the team better, as successfully navigating conflicts can often lead to increased mutual respect, but it must be managed correctly.

Situational leadership - where the person with the best skill match takes the lead or a mentor role - fosters bonding, learning and accountability. Use it to enable collaboration and reduce monotony by elevating the task to a group task.

Always we need balance team strengths as not every one good at everything. Identify each individual strength and also nurture their strengths with providing path forward to build new strengths.

Strength-Based Approach: When conflicts arise, focus on utilizing the strengths of team members to find solutions. For example, if someone is known for their empathy and listening skills, involve them in mediating disputes.

Conflict Resolution Skills: Effective conflict resolution is a fundamental skill for any manager. When conflicts arise within a team, a skilled leader can facilitate productive discussions and guide the team towards finding mutually beneficial solutions. Improved Problem-Solving: Conflict often arises from differences in opinions, perspectives, and approaches to solving problems. When managed correctly, conflict can serve as a catalyst for better problem-solving. Enhanced Team Dynamics: Managed conflicts can strengthen team dynamics by promoting transparency and trust among team members. \ Preventing Escalation: Long-Term Growth:

From my experience in this subject; recognizing and leveraging each individual's unique abilities, teams can navigate through challenges and reach optimal solutions. Communication plays a vital role in this process, as open and honest dialogue allows team members to express their perspectives and concerns. Moreover, actively listening to one another promotes understanding and empathy, which are essential for finding common ground.

As a leader, its good to have both perspectives in your team and nurture ideas of both personality types, ie. someone who is high on empathy and someone who is good at logic. This drives meaningful discussion on the conflict by bringing in diverse points of view. As a leader, we need to have a balanced EQ by taking into account both points of view and arrive at a decision. Its important to provide psychological safety to both type of individuals to be vocal about their opinion. Additionally, a leader should also coach the team members to respect each others views. Eventually, a leader must create more leaders. Hence, grooming your team to gracefully resolve conflicts among themselves also determines your success as a leader.

A lot of times conflict has a negative perception. Mostly because the person tasked with the solution is often trying to "look good" rather than evaluating the variables that could actually have a very positive outcome for the firm as well as the individuals. What is undeniable is that people are different and there will be differing thoughts/emotions/logic patterns. A good leader always uses this diversity to the advantage rather than trying to sweep under a rug to appear nice. I would always encourage conversation and dialougue to find the best outcomes.

As a leader, it is beneficial to have team members with diverse perspectives and to cultivate ideas from individuals with varying personality traits. This entails welcoming both empathetic individuals and those who excel in logical reasoning. This diversity fosters valuable discussions when conflicts arise, as it introduces a wide range of viewpoints and encourages meaningful dialogue.

There is saying that every decision is an emotional decision. No matter how rational a person claims to be or his decision is based on, there is always an inherent emotion involved. Thus, it is always prudent to understand the emotions behind the behavior and decisions in the team. Once that is determined, it is simpler to ascertain how we can mold a team through every conflict. We need to address the emotion, validate it and only post that will anyone be in a position to understand other points of view and even introspect own views. An effective team needs to have open discussions and debates. That will not be possible until everyone feels validated emotionally. If not, there will only exist arguments and unresolved confilcts.

Team managers can play a key role in building trust among team members by modeling trustworthy behavior, such as being transparent, honest, and respectful. Team managers can also create opportunities for team members to learn about each other's strengths and to build rapport. By fostering a culture of trust and respect, team managers can empower team members to use their strengths to resolve conflicts in a positive and productive way.

While leading a team, a leader can build trust by setting positive examples. People care more about what we do than what we say. Therefore, positive examples are key to building better trust within the teams, and this will ultimately enhance overall productivity.

Trust serves as the bedrock for a thriving team and its strength or fragility can be directly influenced by the manner in which conflicts are addressed. Cultivating robust relationships and trust among team members enhances overall efficiency. In your role as a team leader, you can actively bolster trust by advocating for interdependence among team members.

Trust always key contributor for world class team. Always be transparent and also encourage teams to be honest with their feedback.

Clear #Goals and #Roles are key for success of any team. Roles can be assigned basis the strength of each team members. Its important to develop mutual #admiration and #compatibility between #highPotential members of team. Team leaders should proactively identify the potential conflicting personalities and engage them to build mutual #trust and compatibility. Team leader has to maintain #fairness in his handling of team affairs. In case of conflicts it's important to understand the root cause and resolve it at earliest. Avoidance & Ignorance of team conflicts can be detrimental in longer run and may cause substantial damage #CSLearnings

When facilitating leadership programs, I give an example: After a bad day, stuck in a typical bad traffic snarl (Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai types), you get aggressively cut off by a motorist and end up in a small fender-bender. Most of us have been in this situation where you lower the window to argue/vent/abuse/talk about family members. The question is whether you still do it if you recognise the other motorist to be a friend/neighbour? Why not? The situation hasn't changed. The only change is that the person is no longer a stranger. Conflict rarely arises when you know each other well enough. 85% of the time, you're willing to overlook small mistakes - automatically reducing conflict. Take the time to know your team mates better.

In my experience the teams in good spirit can handle problems extremely well. It is a Team Manager's job to look after the team spirit. A motivated team is evidently confident to tackle crucial circumstances effectively .An efficient manager always aims at keeping positive employee relationship which in itself helps to create good team spirit and builds morale.

Conflict Prevention: Use the team’s strengths to proactively address potential sources of conflict. For example, if someone is skilled at recognizing early warning signs, involve them in preventive measures. Training and Development: Invest in training and development programs that enhance team members’ conflict resolution skills. Strengthening these skills can improve their ability to utilize their strengths effectively. Leadership Support: Ensure that team leaders and managers actively support and promote the use of team strengths in conflict resolution. Lead by example in using strengths to address conflicts.

Conflict is not always a bad thing. Even though we are not funs of conflict we can learn a lot from conflict situations if we listen to our team members, if we try to understand what the real problem is, maybe we will find also suggestion of what can be improved by us and organization.