Every manager is bound to face conflict on their team at some point–which is why managers benefit enormously from training in conflict resolution skills. Whether it’s to resolve an argument between coworkers or serve as the CEO of a divided company, the conflict resolution process must be part of any manager’s skills inventory. The hope, of course, is that you won’t need to call on these tools often–but when the situation demands it, it’s simply vital to have this know-how.
What Is Conflict Resolution?
Conflict resolution is the intervention between two opposing groups that causes each side to suspend or end their argument. This intervention can be immediate or take place over time. Conflict resolution at work usually involves many people, including managers, HR, and professional mediators.
Ideally, the resolution will be permanent and satisfactory to both sides. But a more common reality is a lengthy process where each side presents their case and an authority acts as a judge, who then decides how each party needs to act going forward.
Why isn’t a resolution always permanent? At times, complex situations that disrupt business need to be dealt with on the spot; one form of conflict resolution is as basic as “shut up and get back to work”. An autocratic manager might leave it there (see below), but the problem is almost certain to rear its ugly head once again. In the workplace, this approach is also unprofessional. Simmering resentment is bound to cause problems that affect productivity.
What Leads to Workplace Conflict?
Arguments between teams or individuals are sometimes unavoidable. According to the Workplace Peace Institute, the third most common cause of workplace conflict is a lack of role clarity. In this case, a manager can step in and make sure that everybody involved knows what they are supposed to do.
However, most conflicts are not so straightforward. According to the same study, the top two causes of workplace conflict are lack of trust and personality clashes. Once trust is broken, it can take a long time (if ever) to re-establish it. But getting your workers to change their personalities can be an impossible mission.
The Challenge of Workplace Conflict Resolution
Workplace conflict resolution needs to take a long-term and balanced approach. A conflict that is handled in a way that feels unfair to one (or both) sides can lead to turnover, with 25% of employees explaining that office politics have been a factor in quitting. Plus, a poor conflict resolution process contributes to employee dissatisfaction with leaders – workers who have a negative perception of management account for 56% of those who quit.
But not every organization has the time or resources for lengthy mediation. That’s why it’s often up to managers to be judge, jury, and enforcer. To make sure that everyone is as content as possible, managers need to apply their conflict resolution skills.
Examples of Conflict Resolution Skills in the Workplace
Conflict resolution encompasses many skill elements. For example, being persuasive, even if that means acting aggressively, can work in many conflicts – but not always. To a large extent, the kind of skills that you will apply to workplace conflicts depend on your strategy. Soft skills training is the most beneficial type of conflict resolution training for employees, with an emphasis on the following areas:
Leadership
A huge part of successful leadership skills is the ability to mediate, which comes as no surprise. Managers are constantly dealing with disagreements and clashing interests, often directed towards them. There is a reason why there are so many professional mediation firms hired as third parties for conflict resolution, in a market that’s worth USD 567 million. Many of these companies also provide training for managers to develop their abilities to a professional level.
Adaptation
Adaptive skills are great for adjusting to sudden developments and for getting used to new situations. Both apply in the case of conflict resolution. Many arguments reach a breaking point that threatens to disrupt business, and a good manager will be able to quickly adapt to any changes. Similarly, dealing with strife often requires a manager to create new ways of cooperation. Specific adaptive skill elements that are highly relevant to conflict resolution include stress management and taking the initiative.
Problem Solving
“Conflict” and “problem” are essentially synonyms, so developing problem-solving skills to solve internal battles is crucial. Within this family of skills, there are specific elements that L&D should focus on:
Teamwork
Part of the conflict resolution process (see below) is to come up with a few potential answers to the issues behind the argument. For a lone manager, this can be tough, as we are all limited in our thinking to some extent. By leveraging the teamwork skills of other managers, HR people, or even a coach, you can help the process leader generate ideas that attack the problem from various angles.
Critical Thinking
It’s rare that one side of an argument is totally wrong, or right for that matter. Part of conflict resolution is to understand any faults, and to give credit where it’s due. Critical thinking allows the manager to take apart the claims from each side and examine their validity. Plus, when it comes to narrowing down a solution, critical thinking is essential to recognize the best concept.
Emotional Intelligence
Even the most cut-and-dried workplace issues can turn into highly emotional situations. Pressure, long-standing arguments, perceived insults, and strong personalities can all cause blowups. But it’s the job of a leader to filter out the noise of a conflict to understand what is really going on. Emotional intelligence enables you to see when somebody has a good point, even if they are temperamental. Similarly, it’s important for employees to believe that their feelings have been validated, even if they are representing the weaker side of the story.
Active Listening
We are all likely to lose focus during a conversation. But, when dealing with workplace conflict, a lack of attention might cause you to miss a critical point and prevent you from thinking of a simple solution. In addition, if the conflicting sides notice that you are drifting off, you’ll lose authority and trust.
Active listening helps you to stay in the conversation because it makes you part of it. A person who is a good listener is not passive. Instead, they force both sides to stick to relevant points and ask questions when things are not clear. They also withhold judgement until there is time to review the conversation calmly. Finally, an active listener makes regular summaries in the form of “so what you’re saying is…” as a way to remember what was discussed and to make sure that they’ve got the facts straight.
Communication Skills
Throughout any conflict resolution process, you’re going to be frequently discussing, explaining, advising, and directing. Your ability to perform these functions clearly and easily is vital for establishing the trust and respect of stakeholders in your role as a mediator. In addition, when it comes to serious workplace disagreements, there’s a good chance that you will also need to deal with upper management, including the presentation of your ideas for conflict resolution. Verbal, written, and presentational communication skills are all basic tools for getting this job done.
Conflict Resolution vs. Conflict Management
Not every conflict has a practical solution. In certain cases, there is no way to create a proposal that the sides will accept. There may be an issue based on personal values or communication styles, or some kind of problem that involves third parties such as customers and suppliers. Plus, clashing personalities is a major factor in workplace issues, and very difficult to resolve.
However, if the relationship is seen as crucial, then an organization might decide to forge ahead. In the case of a situation that is unacceptable for both sides, this requires coming up with an agreement that allows everyone to cooperate despite their differences. Similarly, for personality differences, it can be possible to coach an employee who acts in an extreme manner to change their ways, or find another role for them.
Also: Not every conflict is a bad thing. When the argument is based on building the future of the company, or around issues and not personalities, then it can be turned into something constructive.
In both of these situations, conflict management serves to mediate between the two sides and generate an agreement that both sides can live with. The conflict does not go away; instead, it is set aside because both parties have an arrangement that benefits them.
But it’s interesting to note that many conflict management skills overlap with conflict resolution skills. As far as L&D programs go, this means that a well-designed upskilling initiative will prepare leaders for both situations.
Conflict Resolution Strategies
For many managers, resolving a conflict is a challenge. It takes a certain type of person to get in the middle of an argument and have the presence of mind to handle things calmly and effectively.
There are a variety of conflict resolution strategies to reflect this fact. They range from minimal involvement to being overly committed. Many conflicts simply must be dealt with, so managers adjust their approach according to their personal leadership style. The five “classic” conflict resolution strategies are:
Accommodation
This is a short-term approach in which a manager tries to please both sides, but in a superficial way. No ideas for a settlement are discussed. Instead, the manager says that the problem will be looked into at some point.
This is a reasonable strategy when the manager has no defined opinion and/or needs a stopgap measure so that both sides can return to work. However, employees are certain to remember that the manager promised action. Accommodation is more of a method for buying time and using a different, more concrete strategy later on.
Avoidance
Another short-term strategy is ignoring the conflict altogether. This is not necessarily the decision of a manager who hates confrontation. At times, a manager is simply too busy, and needs to let employees know that it is up to them to put their issues on the back burner for now. There are also situations when workers must calm down in order for a proper discussion to take place. In both cases, employees have to act as professionals and put their differences away for the time being.
Compromise
In this strategy, managers take the time to listen to both sides. Then they pass judgment and explain what they want to happen. Later on, they follow up to make sure that their instructions are being followed.
This strategy is used by managers who feel a need to step in, but not commit too much time to the issues. Of course, they might miss some important details that leave in place the original reasons for the conflict. Additionally, participants are sure to notice that the manager is simply mollifying them so that everyone gets back to work, meaning that the disagreement will certainly resume. But at least both sides have been heard.
Collaboration
Managers with lots of empathy and time often use the collaboration strategy. Both sides can make their case extensively, and the manager might even coach a discussion between them. The manager then creates some proposals, personally ensures that they are implemented, and follows up on a frequent basis.
This strategy is useful when both sides have considerable importance within the organization and valid points to make. Although it takes a lot of time away from the manager, it stands the best chance of satisfying the different sides.
Competition
The competitive strategy is often used by forceful managers who see a conflict as an opportunity to assert themselves and show how competitive they are in an argument. This strategy involves listening to both sides and then dominating the situation. When the manager declares what the solution will be, they also follow up extensively to guarantee that the parties are following orders.
A competitive approach makes sense when there are larger issues at stake, such as surviving an emergency or when a manager’s authority is challenged. However, this method often refocuses the feeling of resentment between the parties onto the manager instead.
Conflict Resolution Processes
Each of the strategies listed above has a certain process associated with it, but there are major differences between them. For instance, “avoidance” simply requires ignoring the problem for the moment. But more effective approaches generally adhere to the following steps:
- Recognition that a problem exists, with somebody in a leadership position taking the initiative to resolve it
- Meetings with both sides to determine the cause of the issue and what they want to change
- Formulation of possible solutions and selecting the best as a first attempt at clearing up the problem
- Ensuring that the solution is properly implemented, then assessing results; if both sides are satisfied, making the solution into a standard practice
The Secret to Successful Conflict Resolution
Leaders cannot “choose” the kind of conflict that erupts in a workplace. Certainly, mismanagement often leads to predictable results. It might even be true that some managers act in ways that are sure to cause disputes and so they are ready to handle the waves that they themselves cause.
But a more conventional situation is when an argument flares up due to the unforeseen consequences of new strategies, employees, deals, or procedures. We’ve also looked at trust, personality, and responsibility playing a role. Even simple mistakes and incompetence are guaranteed to inspire a blame-game.
For this reason, a truly effective leader will adjust their conflict resolution strategy to the situation at hand. This is easier said than done; an agreeable person is more prone to accommodation and avoidance than they are to competition.
The answer, ultimately, is for managers to focus on developing their leadership style. This is a transformative effort that requires extensive time and resources, but it also pays significant dividends. Leaders who can adapt to various professional situations are better at addressing conflict, dealing with different types of employees, and making the most out of a variety of challenging business environments.
Conflict Resolution Skills Training and Growthspace
A “one size fits all” L&D program is never a great idea, and particularly when it comes to conflict resolution.
Every manager is different, and so is every organization, with each requiring a customized approach to building this essential ability. Discovering that you don’t have the skills that it takes to deal with disagreements, especially when you are in the middle of one, can lead to disaster.That’s why Growthspace provides a personalized L&D experience for every employee. Through advanced technology, Growthspace’s precision skill development platform matches employees to experts and gets managers up to speed with the latest conflict resolution techniques. Don’t wait until a conflict becomes a crisis – upskill with Growthspace and manage the next clash with professional savvy.
