Conflict management - to resolve conflicts among team members

Some days, a manager feels a bit 'like a car full of children on a long journey. Disputes between team members, colleagues tried to eat your snacks, customers complain about the route chosen, and complaint management "Are We There Yet? It 's always someone unhappy with something. But before getting up and shouting: "If I stay in this office ..." a minute to read this recipe to defuse conflict in your team. Tomorrow I will be in conflict with people outsideTeam.


Take it soon - if the e-mail is a rolled-eye in a meeting or derogatory, the seeds of conflict are usually visible long before the fighters take up arms. Ignoring the warning signs of a blood feud is not it more fun to defuse the latest. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict have started small.

Get the Whole Story - If your main goal for the day is an idiot like, feel free to keep all wound up when Suzie said that his idea was Jane. Nono matter how compelling is the story of Suzie, you probably should interview some eyewitnesses and ask for their version Indicted March 1 in isolation.

Focus on the facts - If you gather the facts of a conflict between team members, your eyes put the yellow hat and concentrate on getting a complete picture of the problem to a target. Listen to the people (talking separately with them) and let them vent if they need but do not get caught up inemotional aspects of the topic. Note that your ultimate goal, the problem rather than solve it intensifies, and you can only do so if you can actually see the facts clear. Focus on "what" not "who"

Impact Assessment - Once you decide the facts in place, even if you have to intervene or allow participants to work out. open war is bad for team morale, and certainly to forward your work, the issues that impact productivity orPerformance. But if this is purely an interpersonal problem, you may only need to reaffirm both parties who have not, of course, be friends, must be professional and leave it at that.

Get Together - When you have all the facts on the table and are ready to take action to collect the fire (or at the negotiating table if you're not a fire close at hand). It 'easy to get wound up and badmouth someone who is not directly in frontThem, but often just the act of speaking face to face the tension and compromise. It sounds corny, but it is important to note that there is the value of the people involved. Someone will probably have to admit that they were becoming a constant for this wrong, and this may be difficult for the ego. Your task is to focus on what is good to keep for the team, and we hope to get a consensus on the proper way to solve the problem.

Keep an eye onPrice - Each time you make a change, if it is to achieve a goal or solve some other conflicts, must be in alignment with the vision of the organization and the team. If Mike wants a project that is in conflict with the objectives of Marketing Steve is the definitive reference point for the creation of a compromise with the larger goals of the team. Maybe Mike has discovered how to build a better mousetrap, in which case the hiring of Steve CAT project is no longer the best use of the structure of itsTime.

Monitor the situation - Once all shook hands and made up, you're not out of trouble. You must be sure that team members do more than talk the talk. Keep an eye on things in the coming months and check in periodically to make sure that you have not driven the problem underground in a secret compartment.

The Last Resort - When you dream is realistic to your brother on the side of the road somewhere, it was not alwaysOption. As a manager you have a choice (even if there is a drastic solution) to eliminate the cause of the conflict by the end of one or both employees.
Conflict is an inevitable part of management. Although it is nice to see team members participate in an active debate, it is your responsibility to ensure that the activity does not cross the border in a violent conflict. In Part 2 of this series we'll dive into the difficult topic to calm angry customers.