Week 6

Conflict Management :

One method of dealing with conflict in teams is to train team members and leaders about how to deal with conflict before the teams starts to work together. Team members need to learn how to listen to each other effectively without getting emotionally involved and deal with opposing viewpoints. Good listening skills are critical to a well-functioning team and listening goes beyond just hearing the words other team members are speaking. Good team members also pay attention to the speaker's tone of voice and are aware of his or her body language, both of indicate the speaker's level of commitment to the team and any concerns they may have.

When it comes to conflict, good listening skills are only effective if team members truly understand the issue on the table. Some conflicts are nothing more than simple misunderstandings or the result of poor communication. Training team members to express their understanding of what the conflict is helps them evaluate their own position on the matter as well the positions of other team members. Acknowledging another team member's viewpoint is another method by telling them what you heard them say using statements like, "So, you are saying that…" can help clear up misunderstandings before they turn into conflict.

If the situation at hand proves to be a conflict and not a simple case of misunderstanding, team members should be encouraged to go beyond expressing disagreement. Responding to any conflict effectively involved offering alternatives and compromises in a positive way. The shortest path to conflict resolution is focusing on generating additional ideas and solutions, not defending individual positions.


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