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Whenever you have groups or teams that are comprised of individuals
with differences in beliefs about how to behave, work, and express
oneself appropriately in various situations, you will face conflict.
Individual behavioral differences in the workplace and work
relationships will ultimately generate scores of opportunities for
conflict. Each person brings unique needs, fears and desires
that shape very different goals, even under very similar situations.
Shifting between focus on the team's goals and one's own goals
is normal. But, these differences can appear shocking and
feel threatening, as if we are risking contamination or as if we
are under attack.
Managers, take heed! Do not fear conflict. It
can be understood and managed. Managing conflict doesnąt mean ignoring,
avoiding, or denying its existence. It doesn’t mean neutralizing
or exterminating. Managing conflict means limiting
potential damage to the team while harnessing and directing potential
benefit.
Is
It Me or Did I Miss Something?
The art of managing conflict is based in the manager's understanding
of its roots. The first place to look to find the root cause
of conflict is within. Are conflicts growing out of misunderstanding
derived from difficulties in communication? Do these communication
problems originate with the manager? These questions must
be asked and answered candidly before taking another step. The
message you intend to send may not be the one getting through. Get
feedback, and review your own communication. If the root of
the conflict is not found in misunderstanding derived from communication,
you need to examine other possible roots of conflict.
The foundation of conflict resolution requires that the manager
not panic. There are steps that can be taken to move the organization
from hostility to neutrality to 'win-win' optimism. This comes
from being able to harness the diversity of the team towards a new
sense of cooperation. The manager never settles for being
a referee, sending combatants to neutral corners until the next
bell sounds. Remember that communication and relationships
are your primary tools in conflict management.
Step
One: Initial Assessment
Overt conflict can seem frightening, since it is in your
face. Keep cool and count to eleven if you need to. Fortunately,
the benefit of overt conflict is that you do not have to guess about
the actual circumstances. Much trickier for the manager is
hidden conflict.
Our desire not to see conflict may frequently cause us to
overlook issues that people are unwilling to show. Still,
it is better to recognize the signs of hidden conflict than to pretend
it doesn't exist at all.
Once we recognize the conflict, we need to try to identify
the root. To some the conflict appears minor, yet covers deep
clashes of values and behaviors. Do not try to decide on strategies.
Instead, think about possible root causes.
Once you have identified the root of the conflict, try to
identify the issues involved in the conflict, and all the people
affected by the issues. The issues will be related to one
or more of the following: your role, communication problems, or
differences in values, behaviors, or goals. Try to be specific
as you can in identifying issues. This will help you to accurately
identify all people affected by these issues.
At this point you will be able to decide whether or not to
proceed with the conflict resolution process. You will have
determined whether or not there is a conflict, whether it is overt
or hidden, what issues are involved in the conflict, and which people
are affected. Given all this initial assessment information,
should you proceed with managerial conflict resolution? The
answer isn't always yes. For example, when people are resisting
change in relatively minor procedures, it may be a better strategic
move to provide open and enthusiastic support for those who favor
change, which is a sign for others to get on board. On the
other hand, major changes in product or service offerings, or radical
shifts in philosophy of the organization may need to be addressed
more directly. A general rule of thumb, though, is that conflict
managed earlier is conflict resolved more easily.
Step
Two: Initiate the Conflict Resolution Process
To initiate the process, schedule a meeting involving everyone
affected by the issues. Introduce your initial assessment of the
roots of the conflict and the issues you have identified. Ask
for input from those in attendance to clarify or expand your view
of the conflict. Your focus is not on personality or people,
but on the issues. Try to identify, list, and prioritize the
issues.
Step
Three: Stop Solution-Oriented Arguing
Instead of focusing on possible solutions, your goal here
is to understand the needs, fears, and problems to which people
are responding. This discussion requires facilitation.
Facilitation is focused on the process, rather than the content,
of the conflict. That means you want to look at how the issues
are affecting people involved. Here you run the risk of appearing
to play favorites. Many times managers choose to bring in
an outside consultant to provide facilitation. All participants
should listen to the points of view of others, as well as list their
own concerns.
Step
Four: Create a Force Field Diagram
We can think of the issues involved in any conflict as being
forces of different strength, all impacting on the problem. List
forces that are extremely important to some person or group in red.
Issues of moderate importance are listed in orange. Issues
of minor concern with relatively little emotional investment are
listed in blue.
Step
Five: Identify the “Best Fit” Solution
This begins by using your force field diagram to plot various
solutions suggested by the participants in conflict. Use brainstorming
approaches and plot different solutions in relation to the concerns
and issues. Work towards a 'best fit' solution. This
is a compromise solution that does the least harm and the most good
for the most people. This solution becomes a target that represents
a 'win-win' outcome for most participants in the process. It
is unlikely that any solution will take care of all concerns for
everyone. But most people should have some wins in the 'best
fit' solution. Residual questions and concerns of people that
remain unresolved by the ‘best fit’ solution, need to be addressed
with plans to answer the question 'how to...'
Conclusion
Conflict can be positive or negative. It can be used
to harness diversity the natural differences among people with
different points of view. You, as manager, can mediate the
conflicts which arise naturally in the course of people working
together. The use of your communication skills, your knowledge
of human behavior, and the conflict resolution process can combine
to facilitate 'win-win' solutions.
Article
submitted by Dan Rodgers, Sandler Sales Institute, (302) 652-3230.
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