By Indeed Editorial Team Show Updated July 26, 2021 | Published December 12, 2019 Updated July 26, 2021 Published December 12, 2019 Conflict management is a critical skill for anyone who interacts with other people regularly. Every workplace is several personalities, backgrounds and work styles. When two or more people in the office disagree over personal or professional matters, it creates workplace conflict. In this article, we examine different conflict management styles and the skills you can develop to successfully address conflict in your workplace. Read more: Conflict Resolutions Skills What are conflict management styles?Conflict management styles are the different ways that individuals address, engage in and resolve conflict. Everyone handles conflict in their own way. Some unique characteristics of the different conflict management styles involve avoidance, assertiveness, negotiation and more. How you handle conflict is an important and influential aspect of your personality. Depending on their management style, some people have differing degrees of success when addressing conflict in their individual workplace. The conflict management tactics you might use as a professional football coach may not be suitable for someone working as a pediatric nurse. Understanding your natural conflict management style and how you can adapt it to fit your workplace can have an important impact on your workplace interactions and the productivity of your team. Related: 4 Types of Conflict and Tips for Managing Them Five major conflict management stylesAccording to communication experts, there are five distinct conflict management styles. Everyone usually naturally prefers one or two of the styles over the others, but there are certain benefits to using each of them. Here is a brief overview of the five styles, when they might be most appropriate and examples of each:
1. Avoiding styleTo avoid confrontation and conflict, some managers will delay making a deadline or avoid making a decision. They might physically separate the opposing parties or remove themselves from the situation altogether. However, often, the deliberate delay will cause the unresolved conflict to cause resentment and frustration from employees. Conversely, in other situations, it can give both parties time to potentially readjust their attitudes and perspectives and the conflict could resolve on its own. When to consider using the avoiding style:
Example: Josh and Allison disagree on the best plan for implementing a new advertising campaign. They have tried to find a compromise, but their disagreement is becoming angrier and more distracting each minute. Their supervisor tells them to set the campaign aside and work on other projects for the rest of the day. Taking a break from the project gives both Josh and Allison time to work through the conflict on their own. They continued working on the campaign the next morning with more positive and collaborative attitudes. 2. Competing styleThe competing style of conflict management addresses conflict directly as the goal of the competing style is to end the conflict as quickly as possible. While the competing style may get fast results, it can also be detrimental to the morale and productivity of a team. If you always compete with others rather than compromise, you may stifle helpful input from your coworkers and damage your workplace relationships. When to consider using the competing style:
Example: Cody has worked at the Edgefield Electric company for sixteen years. He’s good at his job and rarely needs input from his supervisors. Casey is a recent hire and has needed extensive training. While Cody is showing a process to Casey, Casey suggests an alternate method. Instead of considering Casey’s idea or taking the time to explain the logic behind the current method, Cody ends the conversation abruptly and tells Casey to just follow his instructions. Cody has done nothing technically wrong, but Casey now feels belittled and ignored. 3. Accommodating styleThe accommodating style is the opposite of the competing style and it resolves the conflict by giving in to the opposing party. You might need to use an accommodating conflict style or attitude when interacting with someone with a strong or abrasive personality. Acknowledging and accepting someone else’s views or perspectives is an important part of teamwork, especially when the other party is an expert or more experienced than you. However, it is also crucial for you to know when accommodating someone else might be detrimental to you or your team’s best interest. When to consider using the accomodating style:
Example: Jill loves working at her local fitness center. She enjoys her job and gets along with all her coworkers except for one. Maddie has a strong personality and does not like to be told “no.” Maddie tries to take advantage of Jill’s accommodating personality by pressuring her into trading shifts. Jill does not appreciate Maddie’s actions, but she also does not want to introduce additional tension into her workplace. She agrees to trade with Maddie to keep the peace. 4. Compromising styleThe compromising conflict style is often referred to as the “lose-lose” method. When you address conflict with this style, you encourage each side to make some significant sacrifices. By definition, this means that neither side gets exactly what they want. Ideally, after compromising on one or more minimal issues, both of the conflicting parties could then agree on the larger issue. This can foster short-term productivity, but it rarely completely solves the underlying problems. When to consider using the compromising style:
Example: The profits from Everett and Brian’s pet shop business have grown significantly in the last six months. They disagree on how to make the best use of their newly increased savings. Everett wants to expand the pet shop’s inventory by 20 percent, while Brian wants to increase the budget for local advertising by 15 percent. After arguing for several days, Brian suggests that they increase both budgets by just 10 percent. Neither party is particularly satisfied with this option, but they compromise to quickly move past the conflict. 5. Collaborating styleAs opposed to the compromising style’s “lose-lose” solutions, the collaborating style seeks to produce “win-win” results. The collaborating style tries to find a solution that truly satisfies everyone involved. If you want to use collaborating style, you will need to listen and communicate with both parties involved in the conflict. After taking the time to understand both sides of the issue, you will need to facilitate both parties negotiating a solution together. Implementing this style can often be time- and labor-intensive, but it frequently produces the most satisfying long-term results. The collaborating style is an important asset if you are seeking to create and maintain successful professional relationships. When to consider using the collaborating style:
Example: Maggie owns a ballet studio that is managed by her best friend Pat. Maggie and Pat usually agree on almost all business-related decisions. However, Pat disagrees with Maggie regarding which job applicant they should hire as the new dance teacher. As the owner, Maggie has the authority to overrule Pat’s opinion. However, she chooses to sit down with Pat and discuss a solution that will please them both. After several weeks of negotiation and open communication, they hire two of the applicants for a trial period. Conflict management skillsIt is not enough to choose one of the five main conflict management styles. You should also be able to do so with strong conflict management skills. Here are some skills that can help you become better at managing conflict in the workplace: Communication skillsCommunication skills involve understanding and regulating the messages you send to others and how you send them. You have the power to use your communication skills to defuse situations rather than escalate them. Your word choice, your tone of voice and how attentive you are as a listener will impact how effective you are at managing conflict. Communication skills also involve non-verbal communication. The way you stand, the gestures you use and your facial expressions also affect how others perceive you. If you show yourself to be genuine, considerate and competent through your body language, others will be more likely to work with you toward resolving conflict. Read more: 21 Ways To Improve Your Communication Skills Negotiating skillsOne of the most critical parts of conflict management is knowing how to negotiate. Negotiating involves talking, listening and finally, finding the middle ground between opposing parties. To negotiate a solution that each side finds acceptable, the parties must be willing to consider all perspectives. You may need to encourage communication, research additional information or call in an objective observer to foster productive negotiations. Related: 11 Skills for Negotiation Training |
When both parties sacrifice part of what they want while getting something else they want, they are:
Related Posts
Copyright © 2024 SignalDuo Inc.
