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Resolving Conflict: 10 Steps for Turning Negatives to Positives
Scharlatt
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eBook - ePub
Resolving Conflict: 10 Steps for Turning Negatives to Positives
Scharlatt
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About This Book
Conflict is inevitable, in everyday life and especially in today's increasingly nonhierarchical organizations-in the workplace. So what has always been a key leadership skill, conflict resolution, has become even more critical. But too often, leaders receive little formal training in conflict resolution, and they struggle just to manage the simplest interpersonal conflicts. By using the lessons of this book, readers will be able to apply a thorough, proven method-summarized in ten steps-for resolving conflicts. Following these steps, leaders can analyze a conflict and move toward its resolution with more assurance of a positive outcome for everyone involved.
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THREE
APPROACHES TO CONFLICT
ONE EFFECTIVE WAY TO THINK about approaches to managing conflict is to define them by the degree of assertiveness and cooperativeness in a personās behavior. All of the five approaches discussed in this chapter are viable, depending on the situational variables present in the conflict. Choosing which approach to take requires you to analyze the situation and match it with what you believe is the best approach.
ASSERTIVENESS AND COOPERATIVENESS
Assertiveness in the context of a conflict is the degree to which you try to meet your needs. Cooperativeness is the degree to which you try to help the other person meet his or her needs or group to meet its needs. The combination of assertiveness and cooperativeness suggests five interaction approaches (sometimes referred to as conflict-management styles). These approaches are:
ā¦ Collaborative
ā¦ Competitive
ā¦ Accommodating
ā¦ Avoiding
ā¦ Compromising
Assertive or Aggressive?
Assertiveness is not the same thing as aggressiveness. Assertiveness refers to how hard you will try to meet your own needs in a conflict. Aggressiveness is assertiveness pushed too far: behaving offensively or insultingly to the other party or pushing the other party too far in an attempt to meet your needs. Because aggressiveness is dysfunctional assertiveness, it will hurt your chances of managing or resolving a conflict. No doubt you have seen others misspeak and create a difficult situation. You may have made the same error yourself. Knowing the distinction between assertiveness and aggressiveness, and acting accordingly, is especially important because itās the other party that determines whether you have crossed that line.
To increase the likelihood of successful conflict resolutions, itās best if you have all five interaction approaches. Most people, however, have learned to rely on one or two of them and miss the opportunity to react more situationally to conflict. Assessing the specific set of circumstances you are facing in a conflict, choosing the optimal approach, and then skillfully acting on that approach is a great advantage in resolving it.
SELECTING THE BEST INTERACTION APPROACH
When, or in what kinds of situations, should you use any of the five interaction approaches? Following are some broad guidelines that you can fit to your circumstances.
Choose a collaborative interaction approach:
ā¦ When implementation requires the otherās assistance
ā¦ To create a common power base to deal with a common foe
ā¦ When skills, interests, etc. are complementary
ā¦ When there is enough time for creative problem solving
ā¦ When the outcome will be worth the effort
ā¦ When trust exists between the parties
ā¦ To maintain future relationships
Some possible outcomes of using the collaborative approach are described in the following table:
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OUTCOMES FROM USING A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
Win-win result | Time and energy consuming |
Shared input | Sharing information |
Ownership of outcome | Over-engineered outcome |
Creative ideas | Establishing a precedent for using bilateral approaches when a unilateral approach might be more appropriate |
Choose a competitive approach:
ā¦ When you are sure youāre right
ā¦ When the stakes are high
ā¦ In short term, āone-shotā situations
ā¦ When the relationship is unimportant
ā¦ When you are more powerful (never compete in a battle you canāt win)
Some possible outcomes of using a competitive approach are described in the following table:
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OUTCOMES FROM USING A COMPETITIVE APPROACH
POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
Ideas are openly tested | Resistance to future collaborations |
Boosts confidence, image | People might feel defeated |
Clarifies views from both sides | Win-lose stance that might not have been necessary |
Quick resolution | Nonoptimal solution, implementation |
Use an accommodating approach:
ā¦ To reach a higher, overarching goal
ā¦ To create an obligation for a trade-off at a later date
ā¦ When the stakes are low
ā¦ To maintain harmony
ā¦ When many solutions are adequate
ā¦ To create goodwill
ā¦ When youāll lose anyway, eventually
Some possible outcomes of using an accommodating approach are described in the following table:
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OUTCOMES FROM USING AN ACCOMMODATING APPROACH
POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
Maintain a harmonious relationship | Loss of confidence, image |
Establish trust | Seeking the simple solution |
Reduce tension | One-sided input |
Build credit for future | Builds resentment |
Use an avoiding approach:
ā¦ When you canāt win
ā¦ When the stakes are low
ā¦ To gain time to better prepare
ā¦ To preserve neutrality
ā¦ When you think the conflict will just go away
ā¦ When you win by delaying resolution
ā¦ When youāre emotional
Some possible outcomes of using an avoiding approach are described in the following table:
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OUTCOMES FROM USING AN AVOIDING APPROACH
POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
Reduces tension | Increases tension |
Frees you up to focus elsewhere | No communication |
You become better prepared to re-engage | No resolution |
Conflict lessens or dissipates | Conflict worsens |
Use a compromising approach:
ā¦ When both parties need to be seen as winners
ā¦ When you canāt compete successfully
ā¦ When others are as powerful as you are (or more powerful)
ā¦ When you have little time
ā¦ To maintain a relationship
ā¦ When youāre not sure youāre right
ā¦ When the stakes are moderate
ā¦ To avoid giving the impression of being unwilling to address the issue
Some possible outcomes of using a compromising approach are described in the following table:
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OUTCOMES FROM USING A COMPROMISING APPROACH
POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
Some success | Unsatisfying result |
Cooperative atmosphere established | No creative solutions |
Quick resolution | Half-hearted commitment to implementation |
An outcome you can live with allows you to move on to other things | Might establish a pattern of trading |
ADDRESSING CONTEXT
The first step...