How to deal with conflict in a team?

In the middle of difficulty, lies an opportunity

Albert Einstein

The inspiration for today’s topic is about utilising conflicts in a team for progress. We all know the theoretical importance of conflicts, I don’t want to be harping on that. But I would rather focus on the question at hand – how to deal with conflict in a team?

Working together is a fascinating experience – personally I find it very curious to see the various dimensions of thought which are brought together to solve a problem. Without over simplifying too much, the job of a team is to ensure that we find the best solution.

And naturally, when we talk about different thought processes coming together, there is no surprise that a conflict can easily arise. It can be as simple as someone disagreeing with your line of thought or as severe as a personal attack/jibe or even note of insensitivity.

Should you avoid the conflict?

How to deal with conflict in a team?

• Should you avoid the conflicts altogether?
• When do you need to escalate to the manager or HR?
• Constructive conflict to foster collaboration?

The first natural course of action is to try and avoid conflicts at all costs in a team. However, I would subscribe to a slightly different line of thought.

This article is heavily inspired from the management theory of constructive conflict to take things further. With a team working together, if everyone is in agreement all the time – there is a bigger problem to consider.

People ought to have their own opinion and feel free to express them. That’s the bottom line of the beauty of being able to work in a team. Naturally we all have creative confines, but you get the general idea.

But yes, these expressions easily can lead to conflicts and difference in opinion in a team. Instead of trying to avoid these conflicts and fostering ill will about the person, I would much rather have it discussed in the open to get rid of.

The unfortunate pain in a conflict is that it can eat up a lot of your time and also the joy of working! It is much better to get rid of something like that and keeping your working day more enjoyable.

How to deal with conflict in a team?

If above was the case, how to deal with conflict in a team? What choices do the team mates have? End of the day, each one of us has the desire to do a good job at work and make a mark.

We are all driven by our passions and goals which is brilliant! But these conflicts can stand in their way and our ability to make the impact. It is almost like an itch you need to scratch. If not, you know that it is going to come back and irritate you further.

So, what do you do in situations of conflict? Do you straight away escalate it to a manager? And if you are a manager what do you do if you see conflict between people in a team?

Conflict Management As an employee:

The first and foremost course of action is a conversation. Please, no matter how difficult this is for you – have that conversation. You cannot let this keep impacting your daily life at work. You will need to talk to the person about it. Please remember however, the premise is – how to deal with conflict in a team, not a fight about who did the right thing.

• Have an open conversation: Tell them how you are feeling, ask them about their point of view and try to explain what that makes you feel like. Don’t attack the person, you just need to tell them what you feel
• Be Curious: Ask them why they did what they are doing? What is their ultimate goal, the driver and motivation for their line of thought. It is possible that both of you are trying to get to the same goal and it might just be a matter of strategy.
• Is there an opportunity to work together: Find out if there is an opportunity to work together. They are here to do a job and so are you. There is no reason to make that more difficult than it already is.

Conflict Resolution As a Manager:

If you find two people or teams having a conflict – get them together. You are not going to solve the conflict by avoiding it. Even if it means a fight, it is better to get that out of the way sooner rather than letting it eat the teams on a daily basis.

Sometimes, waiting can be a good strategy, but that cannot turn into inaction. Things will never get sorted themselves, they all need a decisive action and as a manager, it is your responsibility to do that.

• Get people together: Get the people in conflict together. If it is too many people, get the representatives of each segment.
• It is not about who is wrong: Steer clear from this. Talk about what is expected out of the teams, for the business and for the company. It is not about you vs me. It is about the constructive and collaborative goal in the end. We all either sink together or sail together. That’s just the bottomline
• Arbitrate: Don’t try to do a quick fix. Sit there and arbitrate. If people are getting too personal, stop them. Your job in this scenario is to help the teams get over the conflict – not to create more. The job is to prevent the fight from getting out of hand.

Key Premise to Deal with Conflicts in a Team

Everything in the above looks simple and easy enough. But these communications are hard. Sometimes they work very well and you will be able to resolve them in one go.

But, we are talking about people – we all are different and sometimes conflicts don’t get sorted at ease. These are the scenarios which beg for an escalation. If it needs a formal action, then it needs a formal action. You cannot sacrifice the big picture or else employees start losing interest and trust in the organisation.

Ultimately the requirement is to deal with the conflict in a team and treat it as a stumbling block rather than an impasse. Conflicts in a team are an opportunity to get closer. If these meetings are had under that premise there is a ray of hope. If however the meetings are for who is right, then there is no point in these meetings at all. If it is not for collaboration, then we might as well be looking at defeat even before we start working together.

In the middle of difficulty, lies an opportunity

Albert Einstein