How Managers Can Resolve Disagreement and Conflict in the Workplace

Take a moment to think about the tasks that you complete in a typical business day. How many of them involve making financial decisions? Personnel decisions? Policy decisions? Accountability? Salary? While the list goes on, there is one thing that every task of your day has in common: the possibility of disagreement, which is better known as conflict.

As the push for individual and departmental accountability increases, the willingness for employers and employees to merely follow the dictates of others decreases and the possibility for conflict increases. When you add customers to that equation, the possibilities get even more interesting.

In their book, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Roger Fisher and William Ury call conflict a “growth industry.” They suggest that rather than take a hard stance (my way is the right way) or a soft stance (make concessions to avoid conflict), we would be wise to adopt what they call principled negotiation. That is, decide issues based on merit rather than through haggling to support the “best” position. They go on to suggest that wise and fair solutions are efficient, maintain or improve the relationship of those involved, and take community interests into account. How do we put those recommendations into action and how does understanding personality style fit into the process of conflict resolution.

Understanding Personality Styles to Resolve Conflicts

Perception is Truth

Understanding the perceptions of the people involved is key to reaching a fair solution. The depth of the conflict and many of the issues surrounding the actual problem are typically compounded by the differing perceptions of those involved. For most, perception is truth. Listening to and demonstrating a true understanding of the problem from the other perspective will go a long way in moving toward solution.

Finding that true understanding involves becoming adept at discerning the perceptions of the people involved in the negotiation process. Take a look at the issue from the point-of-view of those involved. What values does each member bring to the table? What tools will help you best understand the situation: reason/logic, policy, action/risk, or examining relationships?

Keep Your Options Open

One of the pitfalls in solving any problem is an inability to identify a variety of different options. Problem solving inherently involves the creation of a variety of different possibilities and then choosing the one that best meets the needs of the problem at hand. You start by looking for all possible answers rather than the one right answer. In negotiating conflict, it is no different.

When working to find creative solutions to a problem, Fisher and Ury suggest setting up a designated time period for all involved to develop a wide range of possible solutions. This reduces the stress of trying to come up with creative solutions under pressure. This helps level the playing field for those temperaments needing time to develop a plan and for those who work best in a cooperative environment rather then in an adversarial environment. The playing field becomes more even and the chance for a fair solution for all parties increases.

The Bottom Line

When it comes right down to it, making a decision or finding the wisest solution to a problem involves balancing the interests of all parties (and the community) as objectively as possible. If we take steps to understand both the people involved in the process and their interests, strive to develop a clear understanding of the issues from the opposite point-of-view, and if we realize that there are multiple solutions to any give problem, we can begin to creatively and effectively manage conflicts.

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