Effective conflict management is conducive to a healthy, well-functioning, prosperous work environment. After all, no business can thrive if its people are going at each other’s throats. When it comes to employee development, it’s always a good idea to include conflict management in your list of prioritized skills.

What Is Conflict Management in the Workplace?

When a problem arises between employees that can’t be resolved in a way that is satisfactory to both sides, then someone in a leadership position must step in as a mediator. The goal of workplace conflict management is not necessarily to end the issue (see below), but rather to keep employees cooperating effectively even when they have differences. 

Why Are Conflict Management Strategies Important?

It is basically impossible to avoid workplace conflict; what is more essential is how conflicts are handled. According to relationship experts Julie and John Gottman, the most important thing in a conflict is not winning the fight, but how you fight in the first place. Many arguments follow a pattern that results in emotional, instead of constructive, responses. But with the right skills, leaders can learn to identify these patterns and deal with them. 

Unfortunately, according to DDI, about 50% of managers lack effective conflict management skills. They have difficulty understanding arguments, minimizing conflict, and advising employees on how to resolve issues amongst themselves. 

The result of this weakness is a conflict crisis. This study reports that the vast majority of employees have witnessed damaged morale in the workplace due to arguments, with about half of all workers directly experiencing attacks and bullying. This kind of workplace environment results in negative repercussions, including stress, employee absence, and poor engagement. 

Conflict Resolution vs. Conflict Management

Conflict resolution is defined as “an intervention between two opposing groups that causes each side to suspend or conclude their argument.” The key word is, of course, “resolve” – so that the issue goes away. Conflict resolution strategies are often long-term processes where each side is given the opportunity to explain their version of the story, with a leadership figure passing judgment. 

In comparison, conflict management seeks to make the best of a (sometimes) bad situation.  

Conflict Management Examples

There are many types of situations where managing conflict in the workplace is necessary; for example:

• Arguments based on personality and values
• Disagreements where an external party, such as customers or suppliers, has a lot of influence 
• Differences of opinion regarding future strategies and related ideas 

What makes this complex is that there is no way to determine who is “right”. For instance, two people with different personalities can naturally come into conflict. Even when each side behaves in a way that is productive and respectful, it is still tricky to choose one over the other. 

Conflict Management Styles

Leaders who must deal with conflict resolution use five different approaches: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. But these aren’t completely relevant for conflict management, because some of them, such as avoidance, don’t involve any type of “management.”

Instead, there are four styles when it comes to conflict management, in terms of what the leader can do to ensure continued productivity:

Separation

The different sides don’t work together, but instead try to focus on their responsibilities with minimum contact. This is a sort of “last resort” solution, as it essentially puts a temporary end to the conflict. But workplace problems don’t just solve themselves, and it is almost certain that, eventually, the manager will need to find a real solution. The separation style should be used for teams that are: 

• Highly uncooperative
• Facing a tight deadline
• Involved in a complex issue that will require a long time, and perhaps intervention from other levels of the hierarchy, to address 

In terms of managerial involvement, the separation style is the least complex, as the manager simply tells the sides to keep apart and tries to ensure that productivity is not disrupted.

Cooperation

Cooperation is what it sounds like: when opposing sides meet in the middle to combine their different ideas and styles. As the opposite of separation, the cooperation style is the best a manager can hope for. Essentially, the manager merely needs to check in periodically to ensure progress. Much of the time, a cooperative style is the result of clever maneuvering by a leader who convinces both sides to negotiate (otherwise, they would make this move on their own).  

Closely

And then there’s the spectrum between the two extremes of separation and cooperation; and the reality is that most workplace conflicts fall somewhere in between. In other words, the two sides can work out their differences, but need guidance. The “close” conflict management style applies to teams where there is a higher level of complexity and tension around an issue. For this style, the manager works directly and frequently with both sides to promote success. The good news is that close management will lead to the issue eventually getting resolved. It also comes with a (hopefully) bonus benefit that any bad feelings between the groups will disappear as they work together and gain a greater understanding of each other’s professional needs. 

Distant

In this style, the manager is only involved periodically. This is a preferred choice when the manager’s plate is full and antagonism between groups is minimal. But, in light of the chance of conflict coming back due to disagreements, managers should consider assigning someone with leadership qualities to monitor progress, handle minor impasses, and immediately notify the manager if the negotiations are not progressing. 

With all of this in mind, it’s good to remember that conflict management style is also a matter of personal preference and situation. There are also many different leadership styles. Often, a manager will gravitate towards one of them due to their personality (while a truly skilled leader will be able to move among styles depending on the circumstances). Plus, some managers simply don’t have the time to expend on making sure that everyone behaves. In these cases, the best move is often to delegate implementation and supervision of the manager’s solution to a trusted employee. Of course, that employee must also possess the right skills. 

Conflict Management Skills

As in the case of conflict resolution, a good manager will have at least some level of the following key skills:

Leadership. Even without serving in an official capacity as a manager for a group that is in conflict, an effective leader takes the initiative to help others. In the case of conflict management, this means finding a solution that, at a minimum, gets people back to work. 

Problem-solving. A great tool for managing workplace conflicts, and professional challenges in general, is to use the IDEAL framework: identify the problem; describe the outcome; explore possible strategies; anticipate outcomes and then act; look and learn.

Adaption. If the conflicting sides have applied problem-solving skills to come up with potential solutions, but can’t take that final step, managers need to use adaptive skills like decision-making to choose between them. 

Teamwork. Certain conflict management styles put the leader in the backseat as they coach the opposing teams to reach a solution. It could be a lack of team cohesion that has created the problem in the first place. In either case, understanding team dynamics is vital and can come only from expertise in teamwork skills.  

Critical thinking. No matter what route you take to manage conflict, your critical thinking skills will come into play. This might be when deciding between possible solutions that are generated by the groups that are involved. One thing is certain: you will need to evaluate the logic and value of the arguments on both sides. 

In view of the techniques listed below, which require acting as a “peacekeeper” and go-between to some extent, additional conflict resolution skills are needed. For example:

Mediation. In contrast to conflict resolution, where a manager might force teams to put their differences to the side, conflict management always requires some sort of compromise. Using strong mediation skills increases the chance that both sides will accept your direction.

Empathy. Many workplace conflicts are emotional. Those involved are truly invested in defending their position and greatly affected by how it is managed. An empathic manager will not dismiss such arguments as a nuisance, and instead, will try to understand the deep value of what employees are supporting. 

Change management. Whenever a far-reaching conflict occurs in the workplace, you will need to manage it with a solution that demands considerable change. But don’t forget that one side might be against what you are proposing. Change management skills will help you to smooth over these differences. 

Communication. Listening, discussing, explaining, and assigning are all essential communication skills for conflict management (not to mention for general life skills as well). Your ability to calm the situation and convince the opposing sides to accept your solution might boil down to your ability to explain and appease.

Many of these skills will enhance productivity even in workplaces where conflict is not an issue, so L&D in these areas is always worth it. 

How to Manage Conflict in the Workplace 

A manager’s basic goal is to reduce the damage that in-fighting is causing and to maintain operations. But don’t forget that feelings are involved. So it’s equally important to listen, agree on a plan, and hopefully get back to work. Here are a few of the techniques that are commonly employed:

Active listening. Research from Forbes shows that poor listeners are perceived as untrustworthy, while good listeners are in the 85th percentile for trust. While discussing the details in a calm physical and behavioral atmosphere, managers should decide if this is a situation that can be resolved. If not, it’s time to make a deal. 

Forming agreements. Depending on the manager’s style, a solution needs to be found that allows both sides to return to some type of normal. It’s important to record the details and make sure that everyone commits to the arrangement. Part of the agreement will probably include delegating certain tasks to chosen members of each party. 

Feedback and monitoring. The manager should determine a time to meet with each side regularly. In addition, the success level of the agreement should be discussed in one-on-one meetings. It’s also a good idea to periodically check the workplace atmosphere in case employees aren’t giving you the full picture. 

Conflict Management Tools

We’ve examined the skills and strategies that can help to resolve workplace conflicts. But sometimes, your leadership skills won’t even have a chance to come into play. 

If you’ve ever been in an argument, then you know that some people are verbally strong and that others are not. It can be hard to keep track of who is saying what; think of how you, as the moderator, should intervene; and then clearly state your ideas for handling the situation. More likely, you’ll just be able to watch as things escalate, particularly between two evenly matched opponents.   

But there’s more to being dominant, or even holding your own, than being a loud talker and fast thinker. When a discussion gets heated, Gottman’s research indicates that people tend to use one of three different argumentation styles. They might not even be aware that they are doing so. But somebody with good conflict management skills will recognize which of the following argumentation methods are being applied, and know how to cool things down. 

Swamping

Some conflicts start when a polite conversation is escalated by one side, who begins to swamp the other person with a bunch of fast and furious criticisms. Once the argument is underway, the “weaker” side gets quiet. But what’s really going on is that their “fight or flight” mechanism has started, and they have chosen to flee by not responding. 

Has this happened to you? Then you’ll know that, once the argument has finished, you can come up with all kinds of witty responses. But your biology has interfered.

Within this tendency lies the solution. The best way to deal with this situation is to take a break. As a manager, your move should be to put a temporary stop to the argument for perhaps a day. This allows both sides to cool down and to review their behavior. Those with empathy skills might realize that they have been too harsh, while the “losing side” can think about what arguments they want to set out during a more reasonable discussion.

Wrestling

This situation occurs when there are two sides that have similar argumentative abilities and perhaps equally valid reasons for believing that they should win. But neither side will back down.

In this case, a manager can apply a version of teamwork skills to support the views of both parties. They should make a list of the areas on which they can agree or compromise. Then the respective groups should set down the points that are critical for them. At this point, the question is, can both things be accomplished? Creative thinking might allow you to come up with some mutually satisfactory solutions, such as:

• Trying out both solutions for a limited time and reviewing the results, perhaps through employee feedback
• Letting neutral third parties decide on the best way forward
• Having both parties switch sides, i.e., putting forth arguments as if they were on the other team

Ambushing

Instead of a swamping method, where the conflict builds gradually, some people go for an ambush. This involves pouncing on your opponent with a long list of emotionally charged messages. Ambushing can happen when the target of the ambush says or does something that triggers an outburst.  

It’s tough for a manager to stop this type of conflict before it starts, but if it does, then emotional intelligence plays an important role. The moderator should ask the ambusher to revise their statements by removing their focus on emotions. Instead, they should explain how the behavior of the other person affects their work, and what should change. It’s important to emphasize professionalism by concentrating on what’s best for everyone’s productivity. 

Use Growthspace to Develop Conflict Management Skills

Conflict management is needed to bring out the best in teams, and it’s up to HR to build the necessary skills. In all likelihood, every employee probably has strengths in some of the talents needed. But to reinforce all-around abilities, you’ll need a way to get every employee up to speed in exactly their areas of weakness.

Growthspace enables HR to define skill-related goals, source experts in conflict management, and deliver just the right employee learning experience. With the Growthspace precision skill development program, organizations of any size can ensure that every employee is equipped with the tools they need to manage challenges of any sort in the workplace.