Differing perspectives and opinions are vital attributes of a successful, high-functioning team. Divergence of thought is significant for creativity and innovation. It helps for better brainstorming and problem-solving. Likewise, differences can help build high performing organizational cultures that attract and retain talent, boost productivity, and deliver better results. Diversity also creates friction. Frankly, disagreements can be healthy, but if not managed effectively, they can grow and become counter-productive to all the benefits previously mentioned. Conflict management helps leaders create an environment where conflict is healthy and beneficial to the team. 

What is Conflict?

Building practical conflict management abilities starts with understanding the meaning of conflict and the types of conflicts you may encounter as a new leader.

Conflict is a difference in ideas or opinions. We encounter conflict in different degrees everyday. Conflict in itself is neither good or bad but rather the process and steps taken after conflict originates is what makes it one or the other. 

Conflict can take the form of cognitive or affective conflict.

Cognitive Conflict

Cognitive conflict involves differences about concrete or substantive issues and are often addressed more intellectually. An example of cognitive conflict is disagreement about agenda topics for an upcoming team meeting or the differences about which applicant is better suited for a job. 

Affective conflict

Affective conflict is more biased. According to DuBrin (2003), “affective conflict focuses more on personal or subjective issues and is dealt with more emotionally than intellectually.” This type of conflict is more dangerous to the well-being of the team. Emotions and feelings can negate rationale as well as breed bitterness and pessimism. One employee telling a peer they take too many restroom breaks and it’s unfair is a form of affective conflict. 

“Conflict management doesn’t resolve conflicts, terminate, or reduce them – at least it isn’t directly meant to. Conflict management is about the designing of strategies that aim to minimize dysfunctional conflict and maximize functional or constructive conflict.” Austin Denison, LinkedIn

Conflict management is the work to keep disagreements healthy and productive rather than destructive and detrimental. It is the process of making conflict good conflict. Conflict management is not conflict resolution even though management of conflict can lead to its resolution.

Good leaders know how to navigate the tensions that come from arguments and turn the outcome into a productive compromise. Successful conflict management is the result of a culmination of leadership skills such as communication, influence, negotiation, and emotional intelligence- just to name a few. 

Advice for New Leaders

There are numerous strategies a leader can use to manage conflict. Some are more beneficial to one involved party over the other as should not be the go to approach such as accommodating. Accommodating is when one party gives in to the desires of the other without regard to their own. Collaboration and mediation are the two techniques that are more favorable to all involved and the ones I recommend learning for new leaders. 

Conflict Management Strategies

Collaboration

The collaborative strategy for conflict management involves all parties working together to gain an understanding of all perspectives and agreeing on a resolution. Collaboration works best when each person can be open to listening to the other’s arguments and reason without just emotion and self-interest. Part of the process involves asking open-ended questions to get a grasp of the other party’s perspective. It is also good practice to check for understanding by repeating back what was interrupted and getting validation. Once all perspectives are understood, they would work together to find an agreeable solution. 

Mediation

Mediation is similar to collaboration. It involves a person or entity not part of the conflict who is given the authority to oversee the disagreement to reach a solution. The mediator should be someone that has no impact in the outcome of the conflict and must be able to stay impartial and unbiased. Likewise, the conflicting persons must be open to the mediator’s questioning, direction, and proposal for resolution. 

Skills for Effective Conflict Management

The skills leaders develop help them in most areas of the role. Conflict management is no different. There are many skills used to effectively manage conflict and ensure the conflict is good. Here are some of the most prevalent and  beneficial skills you want to develop for conflict management as a new leader:

Listening

This is very important in conflict management. Without effectively listening, it’s nearly impossible to come to a solution that all involved are willing to accept. The issue is most people are thinking about how they want to respond rather than focusing completely on what is being said. 

Work on being an active listener. That means staying focused on what is being said, not cutting off or talking over the person speaking, and restating what you heard to validate your understanding.

 Emotional Intelligence

Emotions can run high when conflict appears. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify one’s own emotional states and the states of others as well as how to properly interact and respond based on those states of being. Getting past emotions and feeling in conflict leads to more rational and balanced solutions. 

Check out our post “Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important in Leadership“ for more information on emotional intelligence. 

Communication

The ability to get your message interrupted and understood is equally as important as listening in conflict management. Effective communication includes actively listening. Likewise, knowing your audience and understanding how to relate and empathize are important in communication well.  

Want more information about communication? Check out this article on Novice Leader “How Great Leaders Communicate Effectively.” 

Problem-Solving 

Problem-solving is more of a process than a skill. The process involves leveraging skills, such as listening, communicating, and emotional intelligence, in the effort to get a solution. The problem-solving process can vary depending on the problem being addressed but for conflict management (and conflict resolution) the steps are normally 

  • state and clarify the issue in disagreement 
  • Identify the differing perspectives or root causes of the conflict 
  • agree upon a consensus
  • evaluate the resolution 

Take Action

As a new leader, it may take time to get a grasp of conflict management techniques, especially in the middle of a conflict. You will get it over time if you are mindful of the skills needed, thoughtfully practice those skills, do regular self-evaluation as well as seek feedback, and course correct as needed. 

Hope this post was beneficial to you. Please share with any leaders who you think would benefit from it as well and be sure to check out our other posts on Novice Leader…

And Don’t Forget – You ARE the Leader you Choose to Be!

References

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