Managing Conflict in Teams
In 9 out of 10 cases where there is tension in teams, it typically involves disagreements about a process, a procedure or a decision. Rather than turning attention toward resolving the issue, team members decide to fight each other. Unfortunately, this type of approach does little for the teams' overall productivity and problem resolution. The following are some key things to think about if you are trying to role model behavior for conflict resolution or you are asked to mediate differences between team members. These guidelines are not unique to business situations and should be considered keys to help resolve and manage any type of team conflict.
Tip One: Setting Guidelines or Ground Rules.
Many of us have been socialized to believe that openly displaying conflict is not a good thing, but with appropriate ground rules, displaying disagreement can be a productive way to get to resolution quickly. A good rule of thumb for your companies is to ensure that conflict involves candor and openness. If you can't discuss something openly, then is it really worth wasting time and energy on the topic at all? Oftentimes, employees resort to the gossip chain or e-mail rants rather than simply facing the issue head on. Great companies have what Morris Shechtman, former chairman of the Shechtman Group, calls a "feedback-rich" environment where it is each team member's responsibility to bring up what bother them. Most importantly, we can't give up if coming to resolution is difficult. Just like anything else we do in our business worlds or our private worlds, conflict resolution takes time.
Your job as the leader is to ensure that conflict does not become personal. One suggestion from Sever Robbins, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based executive coach, is to "put the items on a whiteboard and place team members in a semicircle around it so that they are allied against the conflict rather than each other."
Teams have their own personalities. Some teams work best when they are able to define the conflict and then put an action plan together outlining the "worse possible scenarios" and strategies to resolve them. For example, what happens when a conflict arises and there is no time for the team to meet to decide the outcome? Who makes the call? What if a critical team member is missing, but a decision has to be made? What are the operating principles that the team needs to establish in order to move forward? Has the team agreed to the ground rules so that there are no ill-feelings?
Tip Two: Trust.
Team members must trust that the guidelines or ground rules set the stage for decision-making. People feel less left out when they know that the operating agreement or team values dictate how situations are going to be handled. What you want to avoid as a leader is having members of the team feel ignored or left out of decisions. It is also important for you to ensure that the members of the team really know each other and respect each other's values. You want to make sure that relationships between team members are strong so that they don't take conflict resolution as something personal. Attack the problem, not the person. This type of team dynamic typically leads to better communication.
Tip Three: Just the Facts.
Everyone on the team MUST understand what the circumstances are around the conflict, what caused the disagreement and have a common definition of the situation before you can expect them to resolve the issues. Most often, teams flounder because they are fighting an enemy they don't understand or have misconstrued. It is imperative as a leader that you help frame the conflict in such a way that everyone has the same playbook. Too often, people make assumptions about what the other person actually said. Don't go on assumptions; paraphrase to ensure accuracy of information.
As a leader, if you follow these tips you will go a long way in role-modeling the behavior you want to see demonstrated from the members of your team during conflict. In these difficult economic times it is more critical than ever before to ensure that your WHOLE team is operating with impact. Don't let conflict in teams drive down your overall productivity.
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