Overview of the webinar
This webinar includes:
Functional organizational conflict:
- Is constructive, healthy and cooperative
- Is when the parties are talking and focused on achieving a mutually acceptable outcome
- Generates new perspectives and ideas
- Allows options to be debated
- Enables Individuals and teams to grow
- A component of high-performing teams
During functional conflicts we feel:
- Optimistic
- Full of ideas
- Heard
- Valued
- rusted
- Respected
Dysfunctional Organizational Conflict:
- Generates little if any benefit to the parties
- Negatively impacts the well-being of the parties and organization
- Hijacks time, energy and trust
During dysfunctional conflicts we feel:
- Vulnerable
- Angry
- Frustrated
- Anxious
- Attacked
- Stressed
Ineffective approaches to managing conflicts include:
- Ignoring it and hoping it will go away
- Not discussing the issues objectively
- Premature judgments/conclusions
- Using intimidation and inappropriate use of power
These ineffective approaches are triggered by four universal, instinctive responses to conflict:
- Fight: confront the issue and stand our ground
- Flight: run away and fight another day
- Freeze: do nothing and wait to see what happens
- Fall: yield and give in
However, effective leaders and negotiators know when and how to utilize each of the five conflict resolution strategies:
- Waiting and Avoiding – ‘The Turtle’
- Accommodating – ‘The Teddy Bear’
- Using Power – ‘The Shark’
- Compromising – ‘The Fox’
- Collaborating – ‘The Owl’
Area Covered In The Webinar
I. Managing Conflicts with Individuals
What is interpersonal conflict?
What causes conflict?
Functional vs. dysfunctional conflict
Words that lead to conflicts
Resolving conflicts by asking questions
Our four instinctive responses to conflicts
Five conflict resolution strategies
Managing conflict with the AEIOU model
i) How to resolve conflicts by separating:
Solutions from the problem
Commonalities from differences
Future from the past
Negotiation from emotions
Process from content
Options from preferences
ii) How collaboration:
Is more pleasurable and respectful
Can produce better abn longer-lasting results
Builds relationships
Encourages learning
Inspires novel thinking and ideas
iii) Tips for Collaborating During a Conflict
Recognize that conflict can be a positive experience
Try to see the issues from the other party’s point-of-view
Focus on satisfying both parties’ interests vs. defending your position
Commit to resolving the underlying issues
Speak with clarity and without judgment
Seek alternatives that are focused on shared interests
II. Managing Conflicts within Teams
Functional Conflict is a Component of High-Performance Teams and Organizations
Utilizing the Action Planning Conflict Resolution Process which:
Obtains from the participants their proposals for resolving the issues causing the conflict
Then facilitates the participants discussing their proposals, developing and implementing an action plan to resolve the conflict
Benefits of the Action Planning Conflict Resolution Process:
- Issues addressed are current and of the highest priority to the participants
- All participants have an equal voice in the process throughout each step creating maximum participation, buy-in and ownership
- Maximum candor since names are not associated with the participants’ responses
- Saves meeting time by being able to immediately display and begin discussing the participants’ proposals
- Results in an action plan - that has a ‘life’ after the planning meeting - with accountabilities and deadlines for addressing the issues
III. Action Planning Conflict Resolution Process Steps:
Identifying the issues causing the conflict
Obtaining the participants’ proposed initiatives for resolving each issue
In a planning meeting:
- Reviewing and discussing the anonymous proposals
- Developing an action plan with team accountabilities and deadlines
Implementing the action plan in teams
Evaluating the results of the action plan
Why should you attend?
Interpersonal conflict occurs daily when:
We perceive that someone is impeding on or threatening our needs or goals
Two or more persons seek to possess the same object, resource, position
People maintain incompatible goals, values, or motives
Conflicts can be caused by differences in:
Information - do we have the same data?
Perceptions - do we see things from different backgrounds and experiences?
Roles/priorities - do we have different status or positions that cause us to take a different stand?
Relationships/assumptions - do we have the trust level needed to address the issue?
Conflict is a product of our uniqueness, and so it is inevitable - its absence would be abnormal. Some kinds of conflict can contribute to the health and well-being of an organization. Other kinds of conflict can be detrimental to an organization and/or its employees, but conflict is only one component of a relationship. Often, we are not in conflict with the other person but with that component. Success is addressing that component vs. attacking the other person or defending our ego.
About the speaker
Years of Experience: 35+ years
Pete Tosh is Founder of The Focus Group, a management consulting and training firm that assists organizations in sustaining profitable growth through four core disciplines:
• Implementing Strategic HR Initiatives
• Maximizing Leadership Effective