Introduction
Yes, Conflict management has become a vital skill that is being re-looked while managing the current mass of remote workers.
The unacceptable and undeniable load of restrictions during this pandemic has brought in vivid types of challenges in managing self and people around. Be it your own employees, your remote working teams or even your family members; the unwanted responsibility of balancing oneself during such a prolonged crisis has left leaders no choice but to re-train their employees on how to tactfully and constructively manage conflicts.
Categorically hinting towards lower emotional resilience, we often respond in an inappropriate way. Our stimulus-response mechanism may sometime become too stretched and end up creating unwanted unpleasantness. Moreover, the blurring line between personal and professional space is inadvertently affecting human behavior and their response mannerism. We have been experiencing how this virtual working model is demonstrating spikes in cases of conflicts. Newer conflicts are seen emerging and existing conflicts are felt exacerbated.
So, it has become a dire need to work on your conflict management style. If required, unlearn or relearn your earlier ways of resolving conflicts to adapt to the changing world.
Unfortunately, the basic principle of managing such issues are still not known to many of us and we often tend to believe that conflict management is all about eliminating disputes and disagreements completely. However, one of the basic foundations that everyone must know is that a minimum level of disagreement is healthy and helps in bringing diversity of opinion and thoughts. The most critical aspect of conflict management is to respectfully resolve, negotiate and address these differences proactively before it hints at a newer destructive tale that can ruin relations and situations. The negative connotation of destructive conflict is evident only when arguments remain unresolved and starts hurting people. It is when conflicts begin to escalate beyond the work context and discussions become too personal.
Preventing such escalations of conflict is one of the vital parts of conflict management technique.
Conflict Management Strategies
Historically, managers and leaders are seen demonstrating the rhetorical practices through the given five tactics.
1. Avoidance
- For issues of low importance
- For temporary cooling down
- For regaining perspective
- For preventing extreme action
2. Accommodation
- For consent as a good will gesture
- For building credits for future use
- For situations that are less important to you and more important to others
3. Compromise
- For making concessions to avoid damage
- For arriving at a temporary settlement of complex issue
- For quick resolution when time is limited
4. Authoritative command
- For unpopular actions that are must to be taken
- For quick and decisive action
5. Collaboration and problem solving
- For working towards creating a long-lasting solution
- For gaining true resolution and may tend to involve more time and cost
However, with the changing ecosystem; one must try out new age strategies to manage conflict effectively in such a volatile age.
To know more on new age efficient ways of resolving conflicts, you can connect with our advisors who can help train, create and implement programs for your managers and leaders. Remember, we often see that organizations get into trouble when personalities get in the way of business interests. So, help your people put business interests above all other issues and let Knowledgetics support you in doing that!
