A Guide to Conflict Resolution in a Team

When you manage a team of people, you can’t always ensure that they’ll get along. Given competing interests, needs, and agendas, you might even have two people who vehemently disagree.

Whenever a disagreement erupts in your team, it is tempting to jump in and impose a decision on them. While this may certainly be the fastest way to a resolution, it won’t help the team members figure out how to resolve conflicts on their own. Therefore, it’s better as a manager to rely on your mediation skills, not your authority.

If you are a manager too, who wishes for a better way to resolve conflicts the below given is a must-read. So dive right in!

#1 Be Proactive:

Disagreements, 9/10 times occur with small subtle incidences that keep adding on till the final showdown. The likes of such incidences include- an inappropriate personal remark, leaving someone out of the email chain, someone being hesitant in team discussions, disparaging tone of voice, dismissive attitude, etc. If you spot such tensions lurking under the surface, don’t wait for the issue to exacerbate or HR to resolve. Take swift action. Lend your ears to all sides and try peaceful mediation.

#2 Avoid Assumptions

When facilitating a conflict resolution, do not come in with your own drawn-up possibilities. Avoid stating as facts things that you think you know or may have heard.

Use phrases like, “As I understand the situation” or “As far as I’m aware”, etc.

This opens a window for the conflicting parties to restate their cases and clarify misunderstandings.

#3 Be Patient

It takes time to come to a permanent and effective solution to a conflict. It is often to just give out a judgment and move on to other things. Bear in mind to not fall prey to this temptation. The damaging effects of this approach on the overall collaborative index of the team are immense. It takes time for volatile personalities to vent it out and introverted personalities to be communicative.

Steps to Conflict Management

When a situation goes haywire, the below given is the most effective framework to follow.

#1 Speak to People Individually

Do not go in with the intention of playing the Bossman or the manager but instead try having an informal one-on-one with each team member involved in the argument. Ask the exact questions to know all the perspectives on the same topic.

Tip: Reassuring employees of the talk staying confidential will put them at ease and allow for a free-flowing conversation.

#2 Sit People Face-to-Face

Now that you have a fair understanding of the conflict and everyone’s perspectives, it is time to bring the relevant parties face-to-face and act as a moderator.

Set some basic rules before starting the conversation -

• To keep the tone respectful and non-threatening.
• No interruptions or making personal comments
• Encourage arriving at a middle path and build upon their previous positive experiences.

#3 Ask for Wider Opinions

If a conflict is not sensitive or confidential, you should involve other people’s opinions too. Talking about varied perspectives can help your team to consider different assumptions, beliefs, decision-making frameworks. This can also lay the foundation of creating an environment that is safe for people to voice their thoughts and feel a sense of being heard, thus preventing future conflicts.

#4 Draw up an Action Plan

Ask the parties to detail agreed-on actions for reconciliation. And get each side to commit to the strategy. You can draw a roadmap or deadline-based schedule. Hold every side accountable to work towards it.

#5 Follow up

Ensure that issues have been resolved properly by following up on the situation. For example, people may still feel aggrieved but not want to drag things out. You can use one-on-ones to prevent old disagreements from resurfacing. And try an anonymous team survey to get feedback and reveal any lingering frustrations.

Hope this helps give you the inspiration to take up the challenge of spotting and resolving conflicts early on in your MSME. In times like these. When external factors are already too much to deal with your internal matters shouldn’t complicate the matters further.

Feel free to reach out to my team at +91–8882132258 or drop a mail at connect@dranshuldhingra.com for professional guidance on effective conflict resolution frameworks that best suit your unique circumstances.

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