Conflict in teams can come from many different sources – communication breakdowns, personality clashes or even cultural differences.
But regardless of the root cause, conflict should never be ignored.
Every workplace is filled with various people with different personalities, backgrounds, work habits, cultures, values, and ideas. While these differences can bring unique and diverse perspectives and other advantages to an individual, they may also result in the occasional conflict in the workplace.
Whether it's a disagreement about how to proceed on a project, position race with a colleague, any other topic related to work, or who's responsible for certain tasks, if left ignored, disputes can have a negative impact on employees, within a team and the business.
It's important to make sure everyone is heard and is treated with respect during any discussion relating to team conflict.
Conflicts are inevitable in a person’s life. And when they happen in your workspace, the idea is not to try to stop them but rather to resolve and handle them in an effective manner.
When communicating, always focus on a solution-oriented approach that allows everyone to express their opinion without offending others.
Respectfully challenging ideas and having tough conversations without damaging trust takes skill and practice.
Ensure you develop effective strategies for diffusing disagreements quickly, such as using positive language and body language, active listening techniques or compromise when necessary.
Furthermore, it pays for both leaders and team members to have self-awareness so they understand how their own biases can influence decisions within the team.
Working through different scenarios together is an effective way of preparing your team to handle difficulties when they arise in future.
Ultimately dealing with conflicts takes time and patience from all parties involved – remembering that collaboration leads to better problem-solving outcomes than competition will save you plenty of headache down the track.
Check out these 12 ways for dealing with conflict in a team.
1) Communicate
Communication is an easy way to handle conflict. Each person should actively listen and acknowledge the point of view of other people in a respectful manner, then work together to find a solution that works for the team. Sometimes, communication with a person can be useful to resolve the conflict by being willing to compromise.
2) Have patience
If you’re looking to resolve a conflict with a person on your team, you’ll need patience.
It’s important to remember that the problem may not be solved immediately, even if you have a solution. but, you’ll want to take the time to listen to other perspectives and value them evenly.
Even if there’s a clear point, rushing to a resolution can make the other person feel like they’re left out in the decision-making process. Taking the time to consider all options you have can help create a long-term solution that can make the work environment comfortable.
3) Focus on the issue and not on the person involved
Focus on the issue as a specific matter or behaviour instead of blaming the other person's character. This makes the conflict feel less personal for both people and thus makes it easier to solve.
It can also save your relationship with the other person, where otherwise you might decide not to work with them anymore which can affect both the person's career and organisation.
4) Neutral language
Keep the neutral language and keep the discussion simple and non-judgmental. Don’t use slang, or inflammatory language (like profanity, taunting, name-calling, and put-downs) only escalates the conflict.
Instead, keep the discussion less emotional by using simple and normal language. Rephrase negative statements into neutral comments and ask sincere questions to get your other person your side of the story and use a calm, even tone of voice.
5) Try to find a solution
Whenever you have a chance to discuss the situation in your hand, you can try to find a solution and how to get there. Try to have an open dialogue conversation. However, if the situation requires further resolution, you will need to step in and get things in a negotiating process.
This phase can require some time and effort, as it requires setting aside their differences and preferences and finding some common solution to work towards then, you have to work with the solution being achieved.
6) Emotional Intelligence
Sometimes you have kept the other person's emotional state as well. Try to describe the ability to perceive and understand other peoples’ emotions as well as your own.
Emotional Intelligence is important when managing conflict because it prevents the situation from getting worse. If you can effectively interpret your opposition’s emotions, it’ll be easier to communicate with them without provoking them and making a situation more difficult. Keeping the anger, and frustration away from the conflict leaves space for everyone involved to think creatively and logically about a solution.
7) Positivity
It’s very difficult to come to agree on a solution even if you do agree, a half-hearted compromise doesn’t motivate you to actually follow through on your end of the solution. This can even provide another person with an excuse to avoid dealing with the conflict altogether.
Being positive about your conflict actions is a great way to keep the conversation moving forward with your work life.
8) Don't take it on a personal level
A conflict with a team member is typically not a conflict with you on a personal level. It usually involves different policies that you as a team member must adhere to or even unvoiced expectations that other people have for your role or professional level. Thus, a conflict that emerges is rarely ever an attack on you on a mental level.
9) Have a discussion
To manage conflict, you must be willing to discuss the circumstances and situation. Discussion is the most important part of managing a conflict so the workplace doesn't absorb the negative effects of the conflict. It also helps everyone understand other perspectives and feel comfortable sharing their own opinions.
10) Involve leadership or HR
In some cases, you may need to involve your HR department or a boss if a conflict can’t be resolved, whether it’s because someone is failing to cooperate or something much more serious, such as harassment or discrimination can happen. Resolving workplace conflicts requires teamwork and an understanding of each other’s differing opinions.
11) Figure out the main issue
In many cases, what people think that workplace conflicts are about is quite different from the real issue. Maybe you notice that your team member is consistently not agreeing with you in the common areas. So, when you discuss the issue, make sure to focus on asking questions and pin down your needs to be met on all sides involved in the conflict.
12) Establish common goals
Once you’ve gotten down to the core of the conflict that you are facing, you’ll need to collaborate to establish common goals in order to move ahead in future. In this stage, you come to know all sides about how the conflict should be resolved.
This step is critical because when people know they are working towards a mutual goal, they’re more likely to be committed to taking the necessary actions to reach those goals. Find things in common that both sides would like to see happen, and develop a simple action plan to make those things work.
Summary
When people work together, it’s only natural that they have a conflict on how to approach a task or project or any other matter.
Conflict in teams is inevitable, but it is possible to manage disputes in a positive way. First and foremost, communicating openly and clearly will help you settle an issue before it spirals out of control.
Furthermore, be sure to listen actively, rather than defending or attacking. Listening will make the other person feel heard and respected. Additionally, do not forget to stay positive during the conflict, even if it seems difficult at times.
And while different team members may have varying opinions and perspectives on the dispute matter, finding common ground through constructive discussions can lead to improved creativity and collaboration.
In this article, we have brought up 12 ways to handle conflict in a team and adapt these ways to avoid conflict.
FAQ's:
The opposing force created, the conflict within the story normally comes in four basic types which are Conflict with the self, Conflict with others, Conflict with the environment and Conflict with the supernatural.
Conflict of laws principles is a set of rules for determining which law to apply in a case over which two or more contradictory laws seem to have jurisdiction.
Karl Marx is regarded as the father of social conflict theory, which is a component of the four major paradigms of sociology.
