Conflict is often associated with aggressive behaviours, which can lead to injury and loss for individuals, as well costing the organization in terms of productivity, culture, and financial costs.
Conflict is necessary to bring about change and can even be a positive thing, as it provides an opportunity for new results that are valuable.
It is important to avoid negative, destructive conflict. However, there are many benefits in addressing workplace issues and conflicts and harnessing the energy and perspectives of diverse personalities, experiences and backgrounds.
We will find solutions that work.
Water and Conflict
Water’s innate power to change is comparable to conflict. If you do not water your plants or garden, or if there is a dry spell, nothing will grow.
Flooding can also overwhelm your garden and crops. It is inevitable that it will rain, especially in the UK. We devise methods to capture or channel rainwater, using surface water drainage. This water can then be used as a resource.
We come up with solutions to make the system work. To work with conflict, we also need to accept the problem, acknowledge what’s needed, and understand how to fix it. Then we can benefit from what we have learned.
Conflict has its benefits
1. Conflict helps us grow as individuals by developing interpersonal skills like negotiation, empathy, listening deeply and resilience. We learn how to have difficult conversations and overcome challenges together.
2. Conflict is a challenge to the status quo. Employees who can see things differently and from other people’s perspectives will be more innovative, creative and open to brainstorming. We tend to feel more engaged when we share our thoughts and ideas. This increases accountability, and encourages ownership. We feel more engaged when we are heard.
3. Conflict can help clear up misunderstandings. Conflict can clear up misunderstandings.
4. Conflict can increase productivity. Teams can be more productive when they take a look at areas where there is room for improvement. They will identify inefficiencies, risks and opportunities, and outdated practices.
5. Improve your working relationships. Trust can be developed through collaboration. We can achieve positive results, improve team dynamics and learn from each other by addressing underlying tensions.
Take advantage of conflict to your benefit
We need to understand conflict and its dynamics in order to benefit from it. With good leadership and positive role modelling, we need to inspire others to come together to face the challenges that lie ahead.
To be able transform an adversarial attitude into a collaborative approach and be able catch it early, we need the right tools, resources, and mindset. Organisations must design tailored frameworks to help them deal with conflict, and encourage staff to commit to early resolution processes.
Conflict resolution aims to resolve disputes without formal complaints
Communication skills and conflict resolution training helps us understand conflict theory and processes.
Conflict resolution is the process of resolving disputes through dialogue, negotiation, agreement-making, and mediation, provided that communication between parties has not irrevocably broken.
Direct negotiation is effective if the parties involved haven’t started an adversarial “blame game”, have the necessary skills to resolve issues and are willing to dedicate the time and effort required.
It may be necessary to have a neutral or impartial mediator to help them negotiate and create an environment that is as conducive as possible for reaching an agreement.
