Executive Tools
- Executive Summary
- Self Assessment Checklist
Expert Practices Articles
- Conflict Management: An Overview
- The CEO and Executive Teamwork
- Organizational Conflict
- Conflict Resolution Strategies
- Employees and Conflict
- Mediation of Conflicts
Case Histories
- Go to the Source of the Problem
- Take a Step Back to Examine Your Point of View
- Move Toward the Tension
- Offer Conflict Resolution Training
- Reflect on Your Personal Approach to Conflict
- Use the "POPS" Process to Resolve Intense Conflicts
Tools & Analysis
- Training Tool: How Conflict Competent is Your Organization?
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Conflict Management: An Overview
"Conflict should occur in organizations," Harvey says.
"The presence of conflict is actually a sign of an effective
business. Whenever there's a free flow of ideas, creativity and
activity, people are going to butt heads. If no conflict exists,
something is wrong."
Some common myths about conflict:
- Just ignore it, and it will go away. Not so, according to the
TEC experts. Says Jellison: "Occasionally, minor issues dissipate
of their own accord. But larger tensions demand attention and
constructive action."
- Winners and losers. Too often, people involved in conflict regard
them as "battles" in which one side must win and one
side must lose. Workplace conflict doesn't follow this axiom,
Harvey says. "In most cases, organizational conflict can
lead to a variety of outcomes, where each side takes something
away. Compromise is essential. But it's only possible with a solid
foundation of good will and mutual respect."
- Every conflict is resolvable. Maybe in an ideal universe, people
can find a happy solution to every problem. The hard truth is,
there are times when individuals (or factions or departments)
are simply unable to arrive at an agreement. The next step is
determining a way to live with disagreement.
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The CEO and Executive Teamwork
"The CEO's role is to acknowledge that he or she is the one
who sets the tone for cooperation, rather than conflict," Jellison
says. "When the CEO sees conflict coming, especially at the
executive level, it's time to clearly state that hostility and other
negative manifestations of conflict aren't acceptable."
Tell stories of positive teamwork, he advises business leaders.
Describe situations where conflict has been addressed and neutralized
or, better yet, where team members working together generated creative
and cost-efficient solutions to company issues.
What are your company's most pressing issues? Says Harvey: "That's
where you want your executive team focused and working in a collaborative
way. Make sure that team members genuinely understand and respond
to your strategic vision -- positively or negatively, as long as
they're focused where you want them to be."
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Organizational Conflict
Left unchecked, interpersonal and/or interdepartmental disputes
can last for months or years. Dispirited employees abandon ship.
Those who stay concentrate on protecting themselves from the fallout
of conflict; little time or energy is devoted to the company's mission
or goals.
Healthy organizations, on the other hand, pay attention to these
factors and correct them as soon as possible, Jellison says. "The
best strategy is to address conflict as soon as it appears,"
he says. "Pretending it will go away is not a viable solution."
Other helpful conflict management tips:
- Keep it in the open. Don't resort to secrecy; it only breeds
further discontent and alienation.
- Be flexible. "All organizations have rules and policies
in place to govern employee behavior," Harvey says. "But
don't expect these rules to influence every situation that comes
up. In a culture of cooperation and compromise, solutions will
more likely present themselves."
- Encourage responsibility. At every level of the organization,
promote the importance of raising concerns and addressing them
as early as possible. Otherwise, employees fearing corporate retaliation
will only "go underground" with their issues, where
they fester and grow out of all proportion.
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Conflict Resolution Strategies
Aside from avoidance (the most common approach to dealing with
conflict), more effective resolution strategies include:
- Accommodation. This approach values giving in as a way of preserving
office harmony. For minor issues or conflicts where one of the
people involved knows they are clearly in the wrong, this might
work. In general, however, accommodation equals appeasement -
surrendering values and principles for the dubious goal of temporary
harmony.
- Compromise. For this strategy to work, disputing parties must
be willing to cooperate and trade concessions. The use of mediation
often complements this approach.
- Competition. With this strategy, one side must win and the other
side must lose. For obvious reasons, it has limited effectiveness,
since it always leaves one person (the "loser") with
pent-up anger that will likely lead to further conflict.
- Collaboration. Each side makes a commitment to finding a mutually
acceptable resolution. Understanding that conflict is a natural
part of life, this approach recognizes that new opportunities
arise when disputing parties work together towards a common goal.
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Employees and Conflict
Unfortunately, some organizations approach disagreements among
staff by discouraging open expression of differences. Both TEC experts
say this tactic rarely works in the short-run, and never as a long-term
strategy.
Some tips toward converting negative conflict to positive outcomes:
- Guide the discussion. Sometimes it's a matter of "spin."
The manager can bring conflicting parties together in an atmosphere
that focuses on possible solutions to the existing problem (rather
than the negative conditions leading to the dispute) and ideas
about how to put these solutions to work.
- Don't take sides. When entering the arena of conflict, the manager
must be seen to trying to understand both positions. "Listen
to each side and respect the validity of the opinions stated,"
Jellison says. "Withhold judgement until all the available
information has been given."
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Mediation of Conflicts
Of course, success in mediation depends on each party's willingness
to deal directly with each other. Among the circumstances where
it may prove most helpful are:
- Employee disputes. Mediation provides a controlled setting where
quarreling employees can air their differences and, with the mediator's
help, communicate more effectively with each other.
- Declining performance. If a problem arises between a manager
and an employee, mediation offers a "safe space" where
the employee feels comfortable expressing his or her concerns,
as well as what's needed to improve the situation from their perspective.
The same goes for the manager who can use the setting to clarify
circumstances the individual may be unaware of. Whatever the situation,
when manager and employee craft a solution together, they're more
likely to adhere to it in the future.
- Sexual harassment complaints. This is an area where mediation
can offset costly and unpleasant litigation. Sometimes sexual
harassment occurs as a result of differing perceptions about humorous
anecdotes and/or one person's inability to respect another. If
the people involved are willing to talk things over, the complaint
can be mediated in a way that ends the problem and leaves everyone
satisfied.
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