#84 Leadership - dealing with conflict posted by Justin Barry, Group AdministratorMonday, October 4th 2010 @ 1:35 PM

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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.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Another way of looking at conflict: “A good manager doesn't try to eliminate conflict; he tries to keep it from wasting the energies of his people. If you're the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong - that's healthy.”

Why is this happening?

So lets get back to basics.  Conflict occurs because people are not getting what they need or who are seeking their own self-interests.  You may say that conflict is inevitable because we are dealing with people's jobs, pride, ego etc. 

It could be that conflict arises because of :

• Weak leadership
• Poor communication
• Dissatisfaction with management style (e.g lack of openness)

Does this matter, well it SURE does if

• Affects team/organization performance
• Affects staff morale
• Polarizes people
• Impacts people or team cooperation
• In extreme cases, eads to irresponsible and harmful behavior, such as fighting, name-calling

BUT remember that conflict can also be positive if

• Resolves and provides solutions to business problem
• Provides open communication channels
• releases positive emotion and deals with staff's anxiety and stress   
• Helps build trust
• People improve their understanding and skills of the people and the organization they work for.

 

The Risk of Conflict can be REDUCED

There is action you can take to reduce these incidents from happening.  Here are some suggestions:

• Set expectations around goals and staff performances
• Communicate frequently and honestly
• Be open about your concerns so everyone knows where you stand.
• Agree that it is good to disagree so people understand that healthy disagreement would build better decisions
• Let your teams grow and learn from their mistakes

 

Conflict is never easy, what have been your experiences?

 

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