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“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict” – Dorothy Thompson A workplace without conflicts would be a utopian world. Differences in opinion are a reality in any organization. If people exist, conflicts do too. In fact it would also not be so desirable to have an environment where opinions go uncontested. It wouldn't altogether be healthy as well if there were no one to challenge someone's views. It would only mean a duller workplace with people accepting the status quo without any zeal to improve. Conflicts are good Conflicts mean people are questioning. They are questioning propositions, existing beliefs and assumptions; they are contesting one idea against the other and beating them out to get the best idea implemented; they are exploring different new ways of doing things and are fighting to churn out the best. Conflicts mean people are thinking individually by their own right and have faith in their own ideas. Conflicts when healthy are the source of creativity and innovation. It is about managing them properly. If you as a manager can give a direction to conflicts, you are paving a way for better teamwork and a healthier and more challenging atmosphere. What if conflicts are not managed – the ugly conflict ‘Conflict' – the word does carry a negative feel around itself. Conflicts can be costly to both individuals and the organization if not managed right. If you let conflicts go unresolved you may soon see the workplace full of tension and reduced productivity, with people more interested in running behind each other's mistakes rather than going that extra mile to reduce cost or serve the customer better. Some of the consequences of not managing conflicts are: - Lack of self esteem and increased frustration
- Reduced cohesiveness and cooperation
- Increased politics and formation of factions
- Unhealthy competition between colleagues and departments
- Reduced collaboration, communication and information flow
- Teamwork suffers
- Absenteeism
- Reduced efficiency and productivity
- Customers suffer
- Increased turnover
Where do conflicts arise? Clashes between people may arise due to many reasons. Some of the common sources of conflicts are: - Ambiguous role boundaries: Conflicts may arise when roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined and more often in case of overlapping responsibilities.
- Differences in opinion on professional grounds: People with similar expertise and knowledge may have different opinions about their work and how things should be done and such differences in opinion may result into conflicts
- Personality differences: People with different personality types may end up having clashes and negative opinions about each other. Clashes may ensue between creative people and more procedural people, between introverts and extroverts, between people who rely on instincts and those who rely more on instructions.
- Problem with policy: People may have problem with company policies that may have differential impacts. Such differences about company policies may also result in conflicts
- Irrational reasons: Sometimes people can have absolutely unreasonable and skewed opinions and views. Biases on gender, community and sometimes, even generation gaps may often lead to conflicts.
What can you do about it? Now, conflicts are always there and you can see how it damagingly affects your company and employee moral. So what should you be doing about it? - “Forget it…”: Do you avoid conflicts? Shy away from them and change topics? It is perhaps not the best way to go about managing conflicts. You are not resolving them. If you wait for the dust to settle, you are not being patient. You are avoiding responsibility. As an employer you cannot just ignore conflicts. You need to do something about it.
- “Let us talk…”: The best way to deal with conflicts is to talk about it. Take the bull by the horns. Call a meeting with the concerned people and put all the facts together – objectively. Be careful not to be judgmental.
- “So what is exactly the issue?”: Dig into the real problems. Let the concerned people come out with their true feelings, issues and constraints. Let each person tell his side of the story. Explore the issues.
Help them to identify the real issues from the perceived issues. It is quite possible that much of the conflicts are caused due nothing more than a lack of communication; and once people are clear about how each one perceives a situation, conflicts may get resolved automatically. - “So suggest what can be done…”: Make the employees look at the positive aspects about their work and daily life that may concern both the people in conflict with each other. Then let them come out with alternatives that each feels would help reduce the barriers. See if either party is comfortable with each other's suggestions. Try and arrive at a consensus about what may work and what may not.
- Listening is important: It is quite possible that you yourself are one with whom your employee may have a conflict. Listen to what he has to say and understand his perspective.
- Establish a feedback system: It is important that people are aware of how good or bad their behavior has been and how they can improve on it. A 360° feedback setup may work best where everyone gets an opportunity to voice his feedback and suggestions to a person. A holistic feedback makes a person aware about how his actions are being perceived by others.
- Communication: Conflicts can be proactively managed by proper communication. Clarity in goals, tasks and responsibilities expressed proactively may avoid conflicts in the first place. The need to ‘resolve' them may not even arise. Similarly, if people talk to each other and share each others' views, conflicts due to misunderstandings may also be avoided.
- Address the real issues: Work on removing the real causes that lead to problems. If they are structural or cultural issue, it is in the hands of the employer to deal with it and set things right. For example, the manager or employer can clearly define roles and expectations that may reduce the conflicts arising from them. If demographic factors – like gender or age issues – are causing conflicts, management must get the HR department to set things right. In case of individual personality based conflicts, mentoring and counseling may help.
Work on conflicts sooner rather than later, before they snowball into unmanageable proportions. If managed well, conflicts can be a valuable source for creativity and ideas and the workplace could become a healthier place to be in.
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