Conflict is inevitable because it is extremely unlikely that two or more people working closely together day after day would not disagree on something!
What do you think of when you hear the word conflict? Negative experiences or positive? Conflict can be positive because it reveals problems and encourages those problems to be dealt with. Healthy conflict can lead to growth, innovation and new ways of thinking. Each of us has influence and power over whether or not conflict becomes constructive or destructive.
| “Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.” ~ Max Lucade, Author, Minister |
Here are a few practical tips to improve conflict management in your organization:
- Listen First, and then Respond: Acknowledge that everyone has a right to their opinion but first you have to hear the other person’s opinion to understand their point of view.
- Identify the Objective Reason for the Conflict: Conflicts are usually related to the work environment such as Responsibility Overlaps or Gaps, Conflicting Goals and Objectives, Competition Over Scarce Resources, etc.
- Recognize Your Natural Response to Conflict: Negative responses include both overpowering others and being overly accommodating to avoid conflict. Positive responses include working toward the “win-win” solution that accomplishes everyone’s ultimate goal.
- Adapt to Other’s Style Differences: Learn the interaction preferences of your coworkers and adapt to meet their needs such as how they like to be approached, amount of detail required, method of communication preferred, pace of the discussion etc.
| “Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” ~ William James |