Ineffective conflict management costs companies money, inhibits action and hampers innovation.
Studies have shown that managers spend 20% to 40% of their time dealing with conflict in the workplace and that unresolved conflict can sap an organization’s energy and diminish profits.
Whether you are a team leader, a manager or a member of your organization’s leadership team, the ability to handle difficult situations constructively is critical to business success. Reducing conflict in the workplace can improve employee productivity, increase employee motivation and loyalty, and reduce stress and absenteeism.
Experts in this field say there are several excellent conflict management strategies. Perhaps at the top of the list is the collaborating style. This conflict management style is a combination of being assertive and cooperative.
Those who collaborate attempt to work with others to identify a solution that fully satisfies everyone’s concerns. In this style both sides can get what they want and negative feelings are minimized.
In general, collaborating works best when the long-term relationship and outcome are important—for example, planning for integrating two departments into one, where you want the best of both in the newly formed department.
Another similar but different commonly used conflict management style is called the compromising strategy. This style aims to find an expedient, mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies both parties in the conflict while maintaining some assertiveness and cooperativeness.
This style is best to use when the outcome is not crucial and you are losing time. For instance, when you want to just make a decision and move on to more important things and are willing to give a little to get the decision made
The downside of this strategy is that in reality no one is totally satisfied.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Conflict Management Training, a 2-day workshop style course where participants learn the causes of conflict and how to prevent issues before they escalate. You will also learn stress management techniques, and how to become more self-aware of conflict and its effect on the workplace.
Additionally, Tonex offers over five dozen other courses in Business Skills. Training covers everything from business writing and briefing skills to SOW Writing and Risk Management. Here are just a few of our courses in Business Skills:
Strategic Planning and Management Training (3 days)
Time Management and Organizational Skills (2 days)
Writing for Engineers, Scientists and Technical Managers (2 days)
Scope Management and Baseline Development (2 days)
Conflict Management Training (1 day)
Corporate Social Responsibility Training (2 days)
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.