While conflicts in your business may be infrequent, they can still cause challenges for managers and employees. Therefore, company leaders need to understand how to manage conflicts, so they do not interfere with production, sales, or customer relations.
Knowing the relationship between conflict management and leadership can help identify potential conflicts. In addition, this can also be beneficial in resolving or preventing them. Doing so can allow your business to run more smoothly.
Conflict Management and Leadership
One of the primary jobs that managers and company leaders must take on is conflict management. Depending on your company’s size, you may have employees with different backgrounds, beliefs, and work ethics. This, in turn, can often lead to conflicts.
There are generally two conflict types that could occur when leading a team. These are:
- Conflicts between team members or employees
- Conflicts that team members have regarding established goals or the strategies for meeting them
Because achieving goals requires your employees to work hard, you may have an established agreement between these team members and the goals you assign to them. Therefore, managers should assist employees with understanding and achieving these objectives. In doing so, team members must agree on the method(s) they will use for completing projects.
Teamwork and clear communication are essential in attaining goals. With that in mind, managers should ensure that individuals work well together by understanding their differing personalities and resolving issues before they arise. In addition, understanding conflict management can help managers and company leaders allow a team to work together as a cohesive unit.
Why Conflict Management is an Essential Skill for Managers
Conflict management can help you create successful teams composed of different types of people who work to:
- Achieve goals
- Streamline processes
- Develop strategies
If you have a mastery of managing conflict, you can avoid issues or quickly resolve them if they occur. For instance, if an employee has a problem with a goal or the strategy for achieving it, you could use positive conflict management that allows them to speak freely about what is bothering them.
Your employees should feel comfortable stating their opinions, knowing they won’t face backlash. Allowing feedback from workers can also allow you to determine whether or not current processes are working and, if not, improve them.
If conflicts exist between team members, you could work on solutions that result in all parties finding a favorable compromise or solution. For instance, you might help them find ways to collaborate and, in turn, improve morale. Happier employees are usually more productive. Therefore, this could be a win-win situation for you, your employees, customers, and the company.
Steps for Practicing Conflict Management as a Manager
Typically, there are several steps involved when company leaders practice conflict management. These include the following:
- Assessing the situation
- Intervening only when necessary
- Creating guidelines
- Recognizing the causes of conflict
- Working together with conflicting employees
- Remaining neutral
Assessing the Situation
Leaders have the responsibility to resolve workplace conflicts as quickly as possible. This can often involve noticing a potential issue before it arises. For instance, you could help an employee understand a difficult process or talk to team members who seem to clash and help them work more harmoniously.
Intervening Only When Necessary
Managers may not need to intervene in all workplace conflicts. In some cases, employees can resolve issues themselves. The conflict may also be small enough that work may continue uninterrupted. Therefore, leaders should only get involved when solutions are not readily apparent or if they go on for an extended time.
Creating Guidelines
If managers notice employee behavior that could lead to a conflict, they should establish guidelines to encourage a friendlier work environment. For instance, you could establish an accountability system for errors. When you define the behavior that you expect from employees and hold them accountable, this can reduce or eliminate conflict.
Recognizing the Causes of Conflict
In some cases, outside forces could be a catalyst for workplace conflicts. So, managers should try to understand various causes and then work to prevent these issues from arising. For example, employees may need time to adjust to new company processes. Therefore, managers should guide the change.
Working Together with Conflicting Employees
Leaders should also collaborate with employees to find solutions. One way to do this is by taking on the role of a mediator and assisting team members with understanding each other’s issues, bringing everyone closer to a solution.
Remaining Neutral
Managers should never take sides in a conflict between two or more employees. Otherwise, some team members may think you are working against them. Therefore, you should let all parties know that you are neutral and working towards a solution that works for everyone involved.
If you let workers know you want a solution agreeable to everyone, you can build trust with the employees while also moving towards a viable compromise. The sooner you can resolve conflicts, the faster your workplace can get back to normal and continue producing.
Additional Tips for Resolving Conflicts in the Workplace
In addition to the above steps, there are additional tips managers could use when resolving workplace conflicts, such as:
- Staying calm.
- Focusing only on the facts.
- Maintaining boundaries.
- Establishing goals.
Managers’ jobs entail staying calm and keeping conflicts from igniting more significant issues. However, focusing only on the facts is also necessary, so don’t allow emotions to get in the way. In addition, company leaders should ensure that the discussion of conflicts remains only with the involved parties. Otherwise, it could get out of hand.
Could Your Company Improve Its Conflict Resolution Process?
Conflict is an inevitable part of the workplace. But if managers can reduce, eliminate, or avoid such issues, they may not impact employees, leaders, and customers. If you would like to improve your company’s conflict resolution process, it can help to discuss your objectives with a specialist in this area.
