Where there are people, there is conflict. We each have our values, needs and habits, so it’s easy to misunderstand or irritate one another – or worse, to fall into conflict.

Left unchecked, conflict can lead to bad decisions and outright disputes, bullying or harassment. Teamwork breaks down, morale drops, and projects grind to a halt. Organizations feel the hit with wasted talent, high absenteeism, and increased staff turnover.

Workplace conflict can occur in a variety of ways: between two employees, among entire teams or between supervisors and the team members they manage. But conflict can be resolved. What’s more, it can bring issues to light, strengthen relationships, and spark innovation – so long as you don’t try to ignore it!

Learning how to handle disputes efficiently is a necessary skill for anyone in management – especially those who have recently become new managers – and the key to preventing it from hindering employees’ professional growth. Here is the six-step process to manage conflict among your employees.

  1. Define the source of conflict. The more information you have about the cause of the problem, the more easily you can help to resolve it. As a manager or supervisor, you need to give both parties the chance to share their side of the story. It will give you a better understanding of the situation, as well as demonstrate your impartiality.
  2. Look beyond the incident. The source of the workplace conflict might be a minor issue that occurred months before, but the level of stress has grown to the point where the two parties have begun attacking each other personally instead of addressing the real problem. In the calm of your office, you can get them to look beyond the triggering incident to see the real cause.
  3. Request solutions. After getting each party’s viewpoint, the next step is to get them to identify how the situation could be changed. When managing conflict as a mediator, you have to be an active listener, aware of every verbal nuance, as well as a good reader of body language.
  4. Identify solutions both disputants can support. You are listening for the most acceptable course of action. Point out the merits of various ideas, not only from each other’s perspective, but in terms of the benefits to the organization.
  5. Agreement. The goal is to reach a negotiated agreement. Consider asking the individuals involved these questions:
    • What action plans will you both put in place to prevent conflicts from arising in the future?
    • What will you do if problems arise in the future?
  6. Evaluate how things are going and decide preventative strategies for the future. Look for lessons learned from the conflict and how it was handled. This will help you know what you can do if/when the issue resurfaces, as well as enable you to develop and nurture your conflict management skills. As well, identify preventative strategies for the future to safeguard against this issue going forward.

For additional resources, Duke Learning & Organization Development is offering a “Conflict Resolution” course on August 15 (you can register for the course HERE). In this course, participants will learn more about the Thomas Kilmann model of conflict management.

 

References:

HR Cloud (2021, April 27) Staff Writers: 7 Tips on How to Manage and Resolve Conflict in the Workplace

MindTools (2022) MindTools Content Team: Conflict Resolution – 8 Ways to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace

American Management Association (2023, January 25) AMA Staff: The Five Steps to Conflict Resolution