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Understand that no matter how carefully you plan, periodically you will have to deal with conflict. Whether it be conflict between employees, with a vendor, or with a customer, conflict has a way of uniquely appearing, demanding that we acknowledge and deal with the challenge.

Just as you would not ignore poorly-produced products or inferior job performance, you can’t afford to ignore conflict. While it is unrealistic to think that you can create a conflict-free environment, you can learn more about how to resolve issues so that conflict doesn’t overwhelm you and impact your company’s productivity. With practice, you will become confident in your ability to resolve conflicts that typically arise in the day-to-day operations of an organization.

Defining Conflict

Conflict is a fact of life and is here to stay. Wherever you have groups of people working together, you are going to experience conflict. Know that this is a normal occurrence and that the better you understand conflict, the better you will be able to effectively deal with the challenges inherent in supervising people.

Here are some tips for success when facing conflict:

1. Don’t ignore conflict. Chances are, if left alone, the conflict will escalate, not go away.

2. If you work with people, there is potential for conflict. This is no reflection on your ability as a supervisor or manager. What will distinguish you is your ability to confidently deal with workplace conflict.

3. Before attempting to resolve issues, make sure you know the facts. The best way is to talk with employees one-on-one to learn firsthand about their perceptions regarding the conflict.

4. Remember to listen more than you speak when resolving conflict. As a manager or HR professional, we are accomplished problem-solvers. When the conflict revolves around people and feelings, it is critical that you listen, listen, and then listen some more!

5. Make every attempt to remain objective and neutral. Your team is looking to you as a role model. They will be influenced by how you resolve conflict. If you are calm, objective, and solution oriented, you are demonstrating positive techniques for resolving conflict.

6. To help ensure you remain objective, focus on the problem, not the people involved with the problem. Doing this helps you stay detached from the emotion surrounding the conflict and helps you better focus on positive outcomes.

7. During periods of conflict, help employees refocus their attention on your team’s goals. When you emphasize goals and outcomes, it demonstrates your commitment to resolving the conflict and focuses energy back on the reason we are in business.

8. If you reach a stalemate when attempting to resolve conflict, declare a time out. Giving those involved a time to cool off may help all parties better focus on solutions.

9. When resolving conflict, attempt to utilize the collaboration method which strives to achieve a solution that is mutually acceptable to all parties. Using the collaboration style helps ensure that neither party in the conflict feels like the “loser.”

10. Once the conflict is resolved, periodically check back with the participants to make sure that there are no further issues.

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Peter Barron Stark Companies is a nationally recognized management consulting firm that specializes in employee opinion surveys, executive coaching, and leadership and employee training. Send Peter Barron Stark Companies an email at info@peterstark.com for more information about how we can help you create an organization where your employees love to come to work and your customers love to do business.