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Conflict resolution, when carried out effectively, can enhance collaboration, connection, and productivity within your organization. Whether your team is starting from square one or you’ve mastered some strategies to mitigate work conflict, there’s always room for improvement.
This article offers actionable advice for educating your team on conflict resolution.
What is workplace conflict resolution?
Workplace conflict resolution involves identifying potential or immediate conflict and taking action to resolve it, preferably in a way that provides a healthy solution for all parties involved. How leaders and teams resolve work conflict depends on the unique circumstances of the disagreement and the type of conflict, but the main features of conflict resolution remain the same: identification, transparent communication and mediation, problem-solving, and a follow-up plan.
Conflicts in the office can arise for a variety of reasons. Due to the significance of work conflict on organizational culture and psychological safety, incorporating the topic into regular conversation is an excellent way to normalize collaboration, compromise, and healthy solutions.
4 work conflict resolution tips to share with your team
These four lessons will help your team avoid conflict before it happens and prepare them to identify and resolve disagreements when they occur.
1. Review the stages of conflict resolution
Sharing the stages of conflict resolution with your team provides a collective roadmap to solving problems swiftly and efficiently. In seeking conflict resolution, ensuring each stage of the process is constructive is critical so the problem does not worsen.
The steps in conflict resolution for agile teams include:
- Acknowledgment of the conflict: Teams should utilize meetings like standups and sprint reviews to identify conflicts transparently.
- Collaboration: Team members share their perspectives about the conflict and its contributing factors. Remember: creating a psychologically safe and curious environment is vital for effective conflict resolution.
- Problem-solving: Brainstorm potential solutions as a team.
- Implementation: At this stage, the team can develop a plan of action.
- Evaluation & reflection: The team will assess the effectiveness of the solution they tried and propose adjustments if necessary.
It may be helpful for agile teams to refer back to the stages of conflict resolution as needed. One option is to include them in a digital document accessible across the team.
2. Educate your team on types of conflict in the workplace
The types of conflict within teams are wide-ranging. Differences can arise in interpersonal interactions, processes or projects, collaboration or management styles, and more.
The most important distinction in understanding the types of conflict that can arise at work is identifying healthy vs. toxic conflict. Healthy workplace conflict remains constructive and respectful throughout the stages of conflict resolution. Positive conflict resolution helps teams deepen their relationships, grow, and learn together for long-term improvements.
On the other hand, toxic conflict isn’t productive. This type of work conflict can include a lack of understanding, poor communication, and, in some cases, personal attacks and harmful language. Rather than approaching conflict with curiosity, unhealthy conflict hinders productivity and overall team adaptability.
3. Provide useful language for conflict management
Set your team up for success by providing language they can utilize to manage disputes effectively. Because all team members are at different levels of comfort in handling conflict, supplying pointers around vocabulary can be an excellent start to evening the playing field and ensuring healthy conflict resolution.
When crafting language for conflict management, the top priority is to ensure that the focus is not on the other person’s character. One way to do so is through “I” statements, such as “I am concerned that we are labeling work as done without meeting the acceptance criteria, which can lead to important sub-tasks falling through the cracks.”
Asking for clarification and collaboration can also be a productive way to open the floor to healthy discussion. “Can we work together to find a solution?” or, “I think I’m hearing you say that the deadlines we are setting are too short. Is that accurate?”
Conflict management discussions become easier for team members over time, and having a basic shared language is a constructive place to start.
4. Encourage feedback exchange for continuous improvement
Transparent feedback exchange is crucial to improving team conflict management and keeping the conversation active. By regularly discussing conflict resolution, even regarding minor problems, teams will be more prepared to overcome significant hurdles.
One method of providing feedback is to celebrate healthy examples of conflict management within your team. Recognizing effective conflict resolution within your team helps reinforce the values and collaborative efforts that support constructive problem-solving, and it can also contribute to boosting team morale and deepening relationships between team members.
Another method is acknowledging potential, current, or previous conflicts in retrospective meetings, daily standups, sprint review sessions, and other team meeting spaces to find areas for improvement. This feedback normalizes conflict resolution, pointing team members toward potential solutions for the future to stay adaptable.
Conclusion
Foundational knowledge and communication techniques provide a healthy jumping-off point for constructive conflict resolution within your team. Continue to build and strengthen these skills by encouraging collaborative discussions surrounding work conflict and leveraging feedback to improve your approach.
A message from our sponsor, ICAgile
Ready to lead even more Agile change in your team? ICAgile offers certification courses like Leading with Agility and Agile Coaching, which prepare leaders to manage team relationships and conflict effectively and authentically. Find a class that accommodates your schedule and learning preferences, with several course times and providers available. We hope to meet you in class soon!
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