Conflict Management Strategies

Avoiding a conflict is among the greatest mistakes you can make since the problem never goes away on its own. One of the conflict management strategies is to simply attend to the conflict rather than ignoring it. Even when the conflicts appear superficially at rest or calmed, they always rear their ugly heads any time the stress is amplified or when a new row and disagreement ensues. Unresolved conflicts, disagreements between parties and rivalries only fester under the visible surface in the workplace. They never go away. They only wait until a catalyst is activated and then blow up to a phenomenal scale. Saying that a problem will pass with time is rarely true and shows a lack of conflict management strategies.
Meeting separately with individuals embroiled in conflict is one of the more effective conflict management strategies. If what you want is that every individual express themselves to you, it is better they express themselves individually in the presence of all the other parties. Talking to one person alone improves the risk of polarizing them in their positions even further. Each of the persons involved in a conflict usually carries a vested interest and will always try to put himself or herself across as the "right" party. Avoid placing yourself in the position of the judge and the jury. As an employee, each one of them will try to convince you that only their case has merit. By listening to them together, you eliminate bias and you give one of them a chance to listen to the other without interrupting. Having the ability and creating the opportunity to listen during conflicts is among the best conflict management strategies, which will help to resolve the conflict.

Do not believe that the employees involved in a conflict are the only ones affected. At the workplace, almost everyone is affected by an incidence of conflict, and soon the office becomes polarized, when the conflict only started with two individuals. The conflicting employees will interact in the office with their co-worker friends. That means that they are also affected and stressed by the conflict. If you have an unresolved conflict involving some employees, the others are also affected. Remember that conflicts create antagonists and protagonists, and you do not want your workplace to be polarized. Such divisions can wreck even the most established organizations. As such, one of the conflict management strategies is to attend to other employees' needs to ensure that morale does not waiver as a result of the initial conflict. Employing effective conflict management strategies can make the difference between a failing business with poor morale, and a thriving business with happy employees.


Reference: John_Halasz