The Rational Leader is a Peacemaker

A "state of conflict" is a situation that can't be summarised as a clash between opposing parties. Conflict involves emotional elements beyond opposing reasons, leading to personal competition. Conflict comes from the Latin word "conflictus-us", which means "clash", and "conflig?re" which means "to collide". It implies an emotional clash that is no longer rational and can be more or less violent. Conflict management is an important competency for a leader. I will provide a behavioural solution to facilitate this role in this article. Let's start with an exercise. If you have time, grab a pen and paper or open a Word document and answer the questions without overthinking.

1. Define the word 'conflict'. Precisely what does it mean to you?

2. If you were to imagine yourself involved in a conflict, what situation would you imagine yourself in? What emotions would run through you? What would you think of your opponent? What would you think of yourself?

3. What kind of reaction do you have when you see two or more people arguing or fighting? Do you intervene? Do you run away? Are you amused? Do you feel bad? Do you feel, for some reason, involved?

Review and evaluate your answers after reading this short article. Generally speaking, a conflict arises from a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals or ideas. If not adequately controlled, our emotional component tends to stimulate a sense of rejection towards everything different and contrary to our patterns of thought and behaviour. Conflict is a stable component of social relations. Whenever two or more people interact, a confrontation of needs and desires arises spontaneously, which can result in a clash of personalities. The issue is that in organised contexts, a conflict does not just involve the parties at play but inevitably involves all those who witness it, resulting in the bystander parties taking sides, amplifying the scope and consequences of the conflict. The corporate environment, or the workplace in general, is no exception, and the lighter consequences are:

• Misunderstandings
• Incomprehension
• Misinterpretations
• Misinformation

But this would be the minimum; escalation can lead to quarrels and conflicts that can seriously damage the work environment and company performance. For a leader, the real risk is that an isolated case turns into a relational mode, turning the whole context into a conflictual environment. It sounds unbelievable, but some of us indulge and feed the desire for conflict, even when we are not directly affected. Somehow, we like to live in conflictual tension; it motivates and energises us. Confrontation allows us to assert our personality and values better and more effectively. It is no longer the confrontation free of prejudice that guides our thoughts and actions; it is the desire for self-assertion and overpowering. The theme is that to mitigate and resolve a conflict; it is necessary to circumvent emotional obstacles, to bring them under the complete control of rationality and logic, which is not easy but possible. Roy J. Lewicki, in his book Negotiation, identified the five strategic ways to deal with a conflict situation:

1. Accommodation
2. Avoidance
3. Competition
4. Collaboration
5. Compromise.

Five rational behaviours that aim to replace emotional pressures. If you are involved in a conflict context, the emotional pressures have already set in and overwhelmed you. The causes can be various, anger, anxiety, depression, sadness, general tension, stress and so on. By the way, conflicts feed on these factors and return them to the subject amplified and magnified. So, what to do? Let us start by establishing that any form of conflict is a defeat for the parties, regardless of the outcome of the confrontation. Especially in the corporate environment, both the 'loser' and the 'winner' always come out strongly diminished in the eyes of coworkers, colleagues and their bosses. But what can a leader do to manage conflict situations winningly? Indeed, how can he prevent them? By becoming a peacemaker leader. It may sound like a generic rhetorical statement, but it works. A rational leader prioritises preventing conflicts that affect both themselves and others. They take the time to study their own reactions as well as the reactions of others and strive to implement compromising and mediating behaviour. Rational leaders will ask themselves questions such as, "What is it about a certain statement or behaviour that irritates me?" and "Why do I feel so strongly that I want to engage in a fight?" Additionally, they may question why someone else is displaying prejudice or bias.