Workplaces are full of people with different perspectives and personalities, and differences can sometimes lead to conflict. If you can quickly identify and resolve conflict within your team, you can keep working relationships productive and healthy. Once you’ve learned how you can manage conflict in the workplace, you’ll be able to appropriately respond to disagreements before they escalate.
Take a Proactive Approach
Conflict often starts with small disagreements that occur over time. Making a snide remark to a coworker, speaking over someone in a meeting, and leaving someone out of an important email chain are just a few small actions that can cause resentment and eventually lead to conflict.
If you spot conflict, there’s no reason to ignore it and hope other team members or the HR department will resolve the issue. Instead, act immediately! A proactive approach demonstrates you treat conflict seriously and won’t stand for inappropriate behavior in the workplace.
Find a Safe Discussion Space
Once you’ve clarified the source of the conflict, it’s vital to have a constructive conversation in a safe and comfortable environment for all parties involved. An appropriate environment also allows individuals to communicate as openly and honestly as possible.
Find a neutral, private place to talk away from the office space of either party or a location near them. Once you’ve chosen the ideal area, ensure everyone gets enough time to discuss their thoughts and feelings regarding the matter.
Investigate Ways To Meet the Common Goal
When managing conflict in the workplace, the common goal is resolving the issue and ensuring it doesn’t happen again. To solve any problem, you need to be aware of the different stages of conflict. Individuals who favor conflict-avoidant leadership and choose the path of least resistance will never preserve professional rapport.
Instead, you must thoroughly investigate the situation and discuss ways you can meet the common goal. Take the time to listen, communicate, and brainstorm together until you exhaust all options. Finding the source of conflict is the main step to solving any problem that arises in or out of the workplace.
Devise a Solution
Once you’ve investigated the situation and identified the source of conflict, it’s time to devise a solution. The involved parties should discuss and agree upon an action plan for reconciliation. After everyone has committed to the strategy, you can devise a timetable of action items and tick them off once you achieve them. Be sure to hold everyone accountable as you work toward a peaceful solution.
Before acting, always make sure you speak with HR. The HR department is full of individuals and resources that can help during challenging times.
Conflict is part of our day-to-day lives. However, there are various conflict resolution steps you can take to ensure disagreements remain manageable. Identifying and resolving conflict in the workplace is integral to creating a welcoming, productive environment for everyone.