When people work together, conflict is often inevitable because of variances in work goals and personal styles. Developing effective conflict resolution skill sets are an essential component of a building a viable business model. Unsolved conflict often results in loss of productivity, loss of creativity and the creation of barriers to cooperation and collaboration. Perhaps most prominently for leaders, good conflict resolution ability equals good employee retention. Leaders who don’t deal with conflict will eventually watch their good talent walk out of the door in search of a healthier and safer work environment.
Handle conflict sooner rather than later:
If you do not resolve conflict at first place, believe me, it gets worst with time. You start connecting each and everything to that incident and leave no chance for you to resolve that in future. So it’s better to handle it now!
Listen Carefully:
Most of the times, we just hear the other person to make ourselves ready for arguments. We just start judging the person the moment he starts speaking. Instead if this, listen to what the other person is saying instead of getting ready to react. Do not interrupt the speaker, let him finish and make sure you understand his viewpoint. If required, ask questions and get clarity.
Be positive:
Don’t take assumptions about your co-workers that they will be not be receptive to your concerns. Find some commonalities, or create this common ground between you and the person on other hand. Assure that person that he is not the only person who is going through this and his reaction is normal. Remain calm and treat the person with respect.
Look beyond yourself:
Identify what the conflict has led to for you and for the company. Why is it a problem? Outlining the consequences of the conflict shows why it’s necessary to resolve it. It also helps you to look beyond yourself and see the conflict “from the outside.” It’s about trying to understand view point of others.
Use Business-like Language:
It’s very easy to slip up and use attacking words that make the other person feel threatened. For example, a frantic co-worker might say something like, “looks like this time also you will lose your deadline”. Obviously, such statements are unlikely to nurture a helpful conversational space. Instead, stick with objective, professional language. If you feel more frantic during the conversation and feel emotion-laden words brimming up, you may need to leave the meeting and return to the topic later.
After all, conflict resolution is first mindset and then skill set. It cannot survive without your participation!
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