8 Must Do's when there is conflict bubbling in your team.

Conflict is a part of everyday life.  We are all individuals, and thus so, are bound to face differences of opinion or preference with those around us.  When conflict becomes bigger than difference of opinion in your team, it has the potential to be a serious distraction and disrupt your team’s productivity.  Here are some straightforward ways you can get your team back on track. 

1.  Don’t ignore conflict and hope it will go away – it won’t go away without intervention.  As a leader be proactive in taking control and enlisting the type of intervention YOU decide will be the most effective and beneficial.  Leave it too long and intervention might come in other forms eg. A valued and productive team member resigning. 

2.  Deal with it before it spreads – It’s human nature that individuals experiencing conflict or frustration enlist “supporters” in their perspective.  This behaviour can transpire to an “us and them” culture beginning to form in your team. 

3.  Speak face to face to the people involved to get their individual perspectives – You can’t properly assess a situation if you don’t know the detail involved.  Go into these conversations with an open mind wanting to learn – about this person’s experience and perspective.  If you go in having already made a judgement, not only is your leadership lacking authenticity, you might miss the important details that will help you determine the depth and impact of the conflict, and the type of intervention required to resolve it.  (note:  These meetings should be face to face as a means of you demonstrating your genuine interest in the importance of this issue; you demonstrating the value of each of your team members, and; your demonstration of the seriousness, and urgency required to resolve this issue – you do not tolerate ongoing conflict in your team.)

4.  Acknowledge – what needs to be acknowledged for each individual.  As a leader it is your responsibility to discern what is “reasonable” or not, according to your knowledge of your team, their roles and your organisation’s requirements for behaviour.  For low level conflict, your acknowledgement may be the only intervention required. 

5.  Challenge – the individual’s involved to broaden their perspectives.  Encourage them to see the perspective of the other.  Things are generally more complicated than one person being “right” and the other “wrong”.  Consider the possibility of personality differences and personal preferences playing a role in this conflict.

6.  Choose an appropriate intervention – based on the information you have gained from your conversations with your team, you are equipped to make a plan to knock this conflict on the head!  The intervention of acknowledging and challenging may have been enough – your team can get back to work in the understanding that their preferences and personalities are always going to be different, and that’s ok.  OR, is the acknowledging and challenging you’ve done not sufficient to resolve this, and you need to take action?  In consultation with those involved, taking action could mean:

• getting those involved together, for a conversation in the same room. This is a means of talking about the “elephant in the room”, dispelling any myths, dissolving misunderstandings and increasing understanding of the other.  All these things take power away from the entity that is “the conflict” and give it back to you and the team members involved. 
  
• doing some logistical work – consider the possibility of movement within the team.  If there are personality differences, there is no harm in considering whether changing the team “set up” will result in less opportunity for clashes and increased productivity.  Again, this isn’t about assigning increased value to one or another, rather thinking about who’s strengths and capabilities will compliment which task/role/seating arrangement etc. 
  
• performance management.  Not much to say on this one, except that if you have a team member who is clearly out of line with organisational requirements it is your responsibility to address this. 
  

7.  Communicate consistently with your team – Communicate with those directly involved in the conflict by summarising your understanding thus far, and the strategies toward resolution.  If the strategy takes some time, continue the communication with these team members at each step.  They will feel acknowledged, respected and valued.  Consider whether there needs to be a generalised communication to the entire team?  If there has been collateral damage, no point sticking your head in the sand.  The quickest way of minimising it is sending out an email to the entire team advising of your awareness of the situation, that you are addressing it, and inviting the team to come to you directly if they have any concerns. 

8.  Enlist an expert if required – Clearly I have a conflict of interest in saying this!  But conflict can be complex, and as a leader you have a broad range of responsibilities, you can’t be an expert in everything!  If you need space to talk things over I am available for a free case consultation on the phone. 0417 399 512.