Conflict
Employee Alignment and Education (Communicating with Internal Stakeholders)
We said that in each human relationship we can find elements of solidarity and elements of competition. In fact each indivisual is at the same time in a communion of interests with the other in the organization of the economical and cultural structure of the social system where s/he lives and work; and in competition with the others in the effort of getting for herself as many good things produced by this system. Along this dynamics various smaller social units are generated, that are also at the same time in solidarity and in competition amongst themsellves, and produce various forms of unions and alliances. Along this dynamic of simultaneus solidarity and competition are formed varius levels of social aggregation.
However at times the healthy competition breacks down into unhealty conflict. This happens when there is perceived Incompatibility.
Credibility and
power, perception plays a primary role in conflict situations. If a team members perceives incompatibility, s/he
will act on that, even when the rest of the team may not understand from where the
perception (anxiety, fear) comes.
Guidlines for prevention and management of conflict
Anticipate
Conflict
Seek Win-Win
Solutions
Demonstrate
Empathy
A cardinal rule
of dealing with people is to anticipate that conflicts will arise because conflict is a
natural part of interaction. That does not
mean that a leader-manager (or anyone else) should deliberately incite conflict. Rather, if you consider that conflict is a possible
outcome of working together—particularly when emotions and energy are running
high—you will be in a better position to work through conflict when it does arise.
When you are in a
conflict situation, there are two important principles to follow:
Seek Win-Win
Solutions: In project/programme purpose, there is always a
bottom line and as a leader-manager, it is your job to make those bottom line decisions. To the extent possible, it is always better to err
on the side of trying to generate solutions that benefit everyone, rather than following
an authoritarian model that necessarily rewards one person over everyone else. Seeking win-win solutions means that a team works
to generate a compromise that meets the bottom line but also considers the needs of
everyone involved.
Demonstrate
Empathy: When people are angry or
upset, they often want to be understood and feel that their concerns have been heard. By demonstrating that you understand a
person’s concerns and needs—even when you do not agree with their position or
identify with their experience—it is more likely that you will be perceived as
respectful and the conflict resolved more quickly.
Communication and Conflict Whenever
people communicate and share information, there is the possibility of conflict between
them. Conflict occurs when two or more parties believe that what each wants is
incompatible with what the other wants. Conflict can have negative or positive
results.
Substantive conflicts are disagreement over issues. Personal antagonism conflicts
include the personal and emotional differences that can arise when people work together
and interact with one another. They are often called personality clashes
This module will examine a number of steps you can follow when you are in a conflict
situation or helping other manage conflict so that you more easily manage the process and
find a solution for the issues involved.
Active listening is one of the best ways to manage conflict productively and
effectively. A number of tips on how to actively listen during conflict are offered.