The Art of Conflict Management

Imagine you wake up on a Monday morning after a nice weekend, all prepped and geared for an awesome week at work and as soon as you enter the office you have a fight about a petty issue with a co-worker. An hour later, another tussle and by the end of the day, you have been involved in almost half-a-dozen arguments. Can we say it was all a result of a personal strife or that it was all negative? Not sure? Let’s try to understand.

The environment we work in today, is very competitive, demanding, and fast-paced. Thus, conflicts are bound to happen. With different personalities, working styles, cultures, and goals, workplace disagreements are inevitable. With these differences, an absence of conflict would only suggest an absence of meaningful conversations.?

As a matter of fact, whenever a group or two members interact to complete a task, there will always be a potential for conflict. But does it always mean that conflicts are bad or that they should be avoided? NO!

Conflict by itself is neither good nor bad. It is the way we manage a conflict that produces constructive or destructive results. Conflicts, while often associated with fights and disagreements, do not mean just negative quarrels or war. It could also mean a difference of opinion. In fact, it is useful to have different point of views for innovative tasks and goals.?

Disagreements and conflicts in the workplace allow people to:

1. Have a feeling of freedom. A workplace culture that embraces disagreements and conflict creates a safe space for people to share their ideas without any hesitation.
2. Gain a new perspective. Conflict can spur better ideas, creativity, and greater innovation. It can open new possibilities and help generate fresh ideas that might otherwise not be considered.
3. Strengthen bonds. Conflict can also strengthen bonds between coworkers if handled the right way. A successfully navigated conflict can deepen the closeness between two people and lead to increased loyalty and productivity.

Sources of Conflict

Why do conflicts occur in an Organisation? Conflicts do not always occur because of personal egos or vengeance. Most of the time the source of a conflict is something else. The first step in uncovering a workplace conflict is to understand its source.?

Conflicts can arise from a variety of sources including interpersonal, organizational, change-related, or other external factors.

• Interpersonal Conflict: Interpersonal conflict is the most apparent form of conflict in any workplace. A workforce in an organization is comprised of people with different skills, different priorities, personalities, languages, values, and ethics. These differences can often act as a major cause of conflict. Additionally, office politics, gossips, or rumors can also cause conflict within a workplace.
• Organizational Conflict: The source of conflict in an organization can be anything from unclear expectations and lack of communication to the division of tasks, roles, or bad organizational direction. However, the most common organizational sources of conflict are conflicts relating to hierarchy and power. These conflicts are likely to arise from the mere fact that hierarchy and power consists of the ability of one person or group to get others to do what they would not otherwise wish to do. Thus, such conflicts occur when both conflicting parties try to maximize the amount of influence and attempts to control each other.?
• Trends/Change: New Trends and changes such as technological change or a change in methodologies can also be the source of conflict. Most people prefer a predictable and stable work environment, and new trends or changes can disrupt that. Thus, more frequent and more recent the change, more likely there will be a significant conflict.
• External Factors: Certain external factors such as public ideologies, changing markets, or domestic and foreign competitions can fuel conflicts in the workplace. Changes in the government or political pressures especially on the public and nonprofit organizations can also act as a major source of conflict.?

How to resolve a conflict?

Regardless of the intensity of conflict, there are different approaches to deal with the disagreements or incompatibilities that exist. Conflicts can either result in something destructive or creative depending on the approach we take to resolve it.

According to Robinson (2010), an effective leader can resolve a conflict by practicing the following eight steps:

Step 1: Develop ground rules for constructive commitment

The first critical step to dealing with a conflict is to develop a set of ground rules for people to follow. To work effectively, the team should be able to understand, agree upon and follow the ground rules. Both parties should be informed of what constitutes unacceptable behavior and the consequences that might follow from exhibiting those behaviors.?

Step 2: Select a facilitator

The next step is to appoint a facilitator whose goal is to guide and manage the group. He/She should be a trained conflict management professional with a goal to drive collaboration and find solutions. Research has suggested that when managers adopt a conflict management style that focuses on satisfying the needs of the parties involved in a conflicting situation, supervisors and subordinates tend to build a relationship of trust and respect. (Fisher and Ury, 1981; Pruitt and Rubin, 1986).

Step 3: Uncover the details and history related to the issue

The third step is to explore, acknowledge and diagnose the situation. According to Robinson (2010), the parties involved must offer every related detail including any information about earlier challenges that might assist in solving the problem. To uncover these details, the facilitator should ask questions to better understand the conflict and gather as much information as possible. It is also important that every participant’s position is taken into notice and that every opinion is heard.?

Step 4: Check for facts and clarify perceptions

Rather than simply trying to prove the other party’s arguments wrong, try to verify the reality of the issue. The facilitator plays a key role in this step as he or she must help the participants to separate the “evidence” from perceptions and maintain a calm attitude toward probing the evidence and resolving the conflict. (O’ Driscoll and Beehr, 2000; Robinson, 2010). Additionally, he should also ensure that the discussions are carried out in a professional and respectful manner.

Step 5: Importance of individual and shared needs

The next step is to focus on the real needs of both parties. Remember that there is a big difference between needs and wants.?Want is more of a wish, whereas needs are essential to resolving a conflict. To understand these needs, it is important to have an open discussion and reach a mutually acceptable decision that maintains the needs of both the parties.

Step 6: Develop various options for solving the issue

While finding solutions to a problem, think about three to five options so that if one option goes wrong, you would still have other backup options. This can be done by brainstorming to create a list of possible solutions. Collectively exploring all the possible ideas will also give both parties ample opportunities to analyze and rethink and their grounds and come to a mutually favorable outcome.

Step 7: Develop achievable steps

?The next phase is to develop a list of achievable steps. Think of these achievable steps as stepping-stones along the pathway of resolving a conflict. These small achievable steps will help make the final decision become more reachable and the people involved will get to see a hopeful vision of the future.?

?Step 8: Make mutually beneficial agreements

After visiting each possible option and before taking any achievable steps, both the parties must plan and come to an agreement. They must recognize a common goal and come to decisions favorable for everyone. This ability to arrive at a mutual decision will also increase the level of confidence among the team members to handle such difficulties in the future.?

However, it is important to note that not every wish or need would be satisfied during this phase.?

A few differences might have to be just compromised.

Conflict Management is an essential topic for study for Project Managers and Leaders. Edzest Education Services provides trainings to individual and corporates. Do reach out to us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.edzest.org?