Workplace Bickering: 5 Steps To Resolving Conflict In Teams

Published: 2021-06-07
Views: 502
Author: Contributor
Published in: Management

Team conflict is unavoidable, but that doesn't mean it should be ignored. 

Even if you run the most efficient, well-run company in the world, with eager team members dressed in your branded hoodies, conflict will inevitably arise. The need to resolve conflicts in teams is important.

Resolving Conflict In Teams

Disagreement comes In different ways from team members disagreeing about their contributions to a shared project, to team leads who fought with the leadership team over their position, managers who disagree with their direct reports, and issues between customers, partners, and communities.

While there are many reasons for conflict, it usually boils down to a breakdown in one of three areas: 

• Expectations
• Communication, or 
• Perception

If left unattended, these breakdowns can erupt in an outburst that you must try to calm down. So, how do you handle and ultimately resolve these conflicts? 

Follow these five steps to resolve team conflict. They are effective in resolving conflict situations 

Step #1: Find a facilitator

The people in the conflict are too close to be objective, so you need a facilitator to help unwind the situation and evaluate how to resolve it. 

This person needs to be a trusted third party that both sides of the conflict can have faith in. 

They should ideally be a well-known entity to both parties, with no perceived bias toward one side or the other.

Great facilitators can form objective, pragmatic viewpoints and are good active listeners. They can also manage a meeting without being domineering.

Step #2: Determine the source of the problem

As the facilitator, coordinate calls with each party in the conflict individually.  This could be a phone or video calls, or in-person meetings. 

Caution: Don’t use text messaging, email, forum, Slack, or other textual channels. 

You need to reintroduce humanity back into the equation, so both parties can hear your tone and you can understand theirs.

Expect a whole raft of venting, packed with emotion and exaggeration in these calls. Let them get it off their chest, and don’t pass judgment. 

As you listen, try to pick apart the key themes that are forming. This could be one of the following:
•    Is it misaligned expectations? 
•    Has there been poor communication? 
•    Is there an inaccurate perception between the different sides? 
•    Are there cultural elements at play such as a language barrier, different levels of experience, or something else? 

Note down these observations privately.

Step #3: Design pragmatic solutions

When you have completed these calls and summarized these root causes, brainstorm a set of pragmatic, doable solutions that you suspect both parties will be open to.

If a root cause is different expectations of project participation, could you put together a shared project plan both sides can feed into? 

Maybe you can roll in some additional lightweight reporting to ensure everyone is on the same page?

If a root cause is communication issues, could a set of regular calls with a clear agenda be a solution? 

Maybe you can agree to a weekly roll-up of work to review completed work and plan the next set of tasks?

The key point here is a set of simple, manageable, and objective solutions designed to mitigate the root cause issues you identified.

Now, write these solutions down into a crisp, single-page summary. These solutions should be direct, measurable, and focused. 

The focus should be clear and something that both sides of the conflict can clearly understand.

Step #4: Present and get agreement on solutions

Now schedule a meeting with both parties and thank both for their feedback and input. 

Build their confidence that we can rectify these issues with simple and pragmatic solutions.

Walk them through your proposed solutions. Ask for questions and solicit feedback, and ensure they feel comfortable with the next steps. 

If you get some pushback, be responsive, but you may also need to emphasize the importance of compromise in the interests of the broader goals of the company or organization they are part of.

As you facilitate this discussion, be overt in requesting feedback. Ask them directly, and make it clear that any and all constructive feedback is welcome. 

If they try to bring the discussion back to the conflict and pointing fingers, redirect them back to the solutions.

When this is completed, make any requested adjustments, and then email the document to both parties.

Step 5: Check-in

Schedule a regular set of calls to check in on their progress. The cadence of these will depend largely on the specific case, but this could be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

These calls are critical: by putting together and getting an agreement on these solutions, both parties are agreeing to be accountable for the next steps. 

These calls are a way for you to check-in, and where progress is not being made, help them to course-correct.

Practice Makes Perfect

Part of the reason why this overall method works well is that it focused on extracting practical root causes out of an emotional situation and focuses on pragmatic solutions. 

This requires some careful facilitation, and don’t expect to get it perfect when you start doing this.

At the end of a conflict scenario, perform a quick assessment of how it went. 

Identify what went well, what didn’t, and share these findings with other members of your team who might want to also be facilitators.

References:

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