Managing Conflict

Course details

A key question that every leader needs to answer is this: Is conflict good or bad for the organization? The answer is "It depends." When asked: "Is conflict good?" the most likely response would be "no" for a variety of reasons. Conflict impedes progress while it consumes resources, takes time, has the potential of damaging relationships and future outcomes, and so grows the list. In reality conflict is a necessary prerequisite for excellence. Interestingly, managing conflict is a daily event for everyone and often conducted without formal knowledge, which suggests that everyone learns by doing to some extent. This informal, experience- based knowledge must be recognized and built upon using formal methods.

Effectively managing conflict involves two general themes: Knowing what skills are required and what behaviors must be avoided, combined with firsthand experience. These skills can be described, and even taught, but experience must be obtained.

This course has 6 parts describing what the student should understand and be able to accomplish upon completion of the course. The "Learning Objectives" are supported by describing the critical elements of managing conflict, followed by a treatment of classical approaches and finishing with "nuanced methods" and "Tricks of the Trade." The Classical Methods differ from the "Tricks of the Trade" in that they're more aligned with what's been described in the literature as effective. The "Tricks of the Trade" are those skills that have been proven effective by experience but are not often described anywhere. Finally, the course will be summarized with key take away items that each student should focus on using in managing conflict.

Much has been written in the literature about successfully managing conflict, often addressing concepts such as creating a cooperative environment, avoiding unnecessary conflict, selecting communication techniques, dealing with an angry employee, reducing the scale of the conflict, managing emotions and situations, recognizing the role of arbitration, and so on. Generally, these are the required starting points before attempting a professional resolution. What are the critical elements for effectively managing conflict?

• Understand how to use the 6 desired skill levels for managing conflict effectively.
• Skillfully avoiding overusing these desired levels.
• Recognize the consequences of being unskilled in managing conflict.
• Learn several "Tricks of the Trade" such as, knowing yourself, your state of mind, the situation. Understanding the reason or source of the conflict. Giving each party the benefit of the doubt and creating options for progress to a resolution.

Generating respect requires both parties to avoid creating additional conflict through the poor selection of words, body language, tones of voice, and so on where one or both parties feel demeaned or disrespected. Often, "conflict creating" behavior is unrecognized by those displaying it and as such, a careful self-analysis is required to avoid it from happening. Key to any analysis is an introspective look at our inner feelings and how these are projected. A successful conflict resolution begins with leaders knowing themselves well and how they will respond (not react) to emotional situations.