Have you ever worked in an office where some employees visibly don’t get along? Most people tend to shy away from conflict as disagreements can be uncomfortable, and they might ignore each other. For those in leadership roles, walking away from a conflict is not an option, and neither is getting into a full-scale argument. Your team needs to meet goals and collaborate, and conflicts can hinder productivity. They also allow negativity to fester, creating a negative workspace.
Even worse, they can escalate into scary scenarios. Proper conflict resolution in the workplace is in everyone’s best interest.
What Causes Workplace Conflicts?
Several factors can cause conflict to arise that are all equally detrimental to a company. Poor communication tends to leave employees frustrated, as does unclear expectations for performance. Issues with time management and murky definitions of roles also allow for conflict to fester, creating resentment when employees feel things are unfair.
One common issue experienced in many organizations is when there are no clearly defined roles in a project. Without this definition, employees may overlap when taking care of these tasks and feel like they’re stepping on each other’s toes. Other times, it may let an important piece slip through the cracks, and then the blame begins. Either of these instances can result in missing a deadline, which can negatively impact a client as well.
Conflicts may also arise simply by differing personalities, though regardless of what leads to conflicts, scheduling conflict resolution training can help turn things around.
What Conflict Resolution Skills Do Managers and Team Leads Need?
If you’re in charge of a department and managing employees, you may not be aware of the best way to resolve conflicts. Strong leadership paired with proper conflict resolution strategies is essential to get your team on the right track. Some of the essential skills you need are:
Effective Communication
Communication isn’t just about speaking your mind. It’s about being an effective listener too. Maintaining eye contact when speaking and actively listening while they talk is imperative for effective communication.
You need to listen to fully understand the issue at hand while also being respectful of your employees’ feelings. Body language plays a role too, as a confrontational stance will make them feel like they haven’t been heard.
Emotional Intelligence
When you’re having a difficult conversation with an employee on your team, do you put yourself in their shoes, or do you make snap judgments and react to gossip? Leaders must hold themselves to higher standards, and no matter what is going on, empathy and self-awareness are key in treating all employees fairly. Your emotional intelligence skills must be strong to create a positive work environment and happy employees on your team.
Problem-Solving and Decision-Making
When there’s a problem, how do you go about solving it? It takes tracing the problem to its roots, which can be a challenge sometimes as not every issue has an obvious starting point. You’ll need to ask the right questions and work together with your employees and team to create a proper solution together. When you include everyone in this process, they feel heard, the problem disappears, and employee morale soars.
How You Can Effectively Resolve Conflicts in the Workplace
Effective conflict resolution at work requires understanding that there are different strategies that can be used, depending on the situation at hand. These 5 conflict resolution strategies can help you get your team on the same page, meet goals, improve productivity, and boost the spirit of every employee.
1. Avoiding
Avoiding a conflict warrants withdrawing from it, which is a useful strategy when there is only a minor issue, when the conflict is tied to high emotion, or when there simply isn’t enough information yet to dive in. Avoidance is not something you should rely on heavily as it can create added misunderstandings, but it may be necessary at the start of an issue until you’ve delved deeper into the root cause.
2. Accommodating
In order to maintain harmony, you may try accommodating as your strategy. When strong emotions are boiling over, accommodating allows you to de-escalate the problem in the short term. Sometimes, maintaining the goodwill of the team is better than being right about your point. However, don’t make the mistake of overaccommodating, especially with one specific member of your team. It could backfire and cause added tension or an imbalance in the dynamic of the team.
3. Competing
When quick and decisive actions are needed, competing is a much more assertive approach. There may be a safety-related issue or the need to enforce the organization’s policies. Competing can sour relationships when it is used too often, and it must be used with appropriate caution.
4. Compromising
Compromising allows each party to come to a mutually acceptable resolution by each giving something up. This is a practical way to resolve conflict that generally works very quickly. It’s ideal when you are short on time or when all involved parties have the same goals, and while it may not make everyone happy, it is a way forward that makes everyone feel heard.
5. Collaboration
Finally, collaboration elicits a win-win for everyone through open communication, active listening, and everyone’s willingness to dive deeper into concerns. Collaboration takes longer, but it promotes greater long-term relationship strength that can put teams on the right path together.
How to Resolve Conflict in Your Workplace
When resolving conflicts at work, taking the right steps is paramount to your success. Doing so allows you to be a more effective leader who helps the company grow in the right direction.
Address the Conflict
You might have a lot on your plate already when you learn of a conflict on your team. Ignoring it may seem tempting, but it may also allow bad behavior, such as bullying, to continue that makes an employee feel unimportant or afraid. Being proactive is always the right starting point, and as soon as you are aware, aim to get to the bottom of whatever type of conflict is present.
Clarify the Underlying Issues of Conflict
Once you have been made aware of a conflict or actively observed one in your presence, take the time to investigate. Think of yourself as a neutral third party and look into the source rather the gossip. You’ll want to gain a wider perspective rather than take sides.
Talk to All Involved Parties Together
Every problem has a root, and you’ll need to dig a little to find out where it started. You can talk to each person separately, but there must come a time when you all sit down together and you mediate the conflict. Let them each talk through the issue and help them find a healthy solution. The key is to be positive and open as you communicate and influence them to discuss in the same way.
Find the Solution
The ideal solution creates a win-win for everyone involved while reducing the tension among the team. Compromises by each party can help make everyone happy and encourage a sense of peace. When everyone comes to a workable solution, you can consider it a successful outcome.
Continue Monitoring and Follow Up
Even when it seems like everything has been settled, you should always keep an eye on things. Following up is important for effective conflict resolution to see the results of the negotiations. You’ll want to check and see if all parties are abiding by the terms they agreed to and if they are satisfied. Make sure that boundaries are being respected, and if not, you can set up another meeting for an additional conversation to de-escalate further.
Ignoring this step may mean that history repeats itself, and it’s far better to be ahead of it than wind up having an old conflict resurface to upend the team. If things are going smoothly and the team seems happier, don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security. Check in with all team members regularly and ensure their needs are being met.
What Is the Best Way to Start Conflict Resolution at Work?
Most managers have never received conflict resolution training. They may have only received training relevant to their job duties. This is evident when you look at different types of team leaders, as some may be naturally empathetic and supportive to their employees, while others ignore or avoid the issues.
It is in everyone’s best interest in the organization to learn how to properly manage conflicts. It promotes teamwork, camaraderie, and instills a greater sense of pride for every team. Choosing a company that provides conflict resolution services is ideal, as you’ll have a neutral third party teaching these core skills.
Activities will be created that not only bring each team closer together but also make the learning process for conflict resolution more fun and memorable. In the end, you will all have better skills and be more equipped for productivity and efficiency while enjoying where you work.