5 Ways You Can Better Manage Conflict At Work. Here’s How.
Conflict is inevitable.
According to Ninis, an Analyst and Development Lead in Ruangguru’s Human Resources department, conflict happens especially often in professional environments. This is because you are not just working by yourself, but with lots of different people. That’s why conflict management is a necessary skill to have.
Ninis first learned about conflict management when she was in college.
“In Ruangguru, I was challenged to fill a class at Skill Academy,” Ninis said. That was the first time she made an online course on conflict management. No surprises there, since her work in the HR department required her to help resolve conflicts, which has led her to further pursue knowledge in conflict management.
Each person has two characteristics that will appear when facing conflict: cooperativeness and assertiveness.
You’re cooperative when you lean towards supporting others’ opinions. On the other hand, you’re assertive when you are more vocal about your beliefs. Ultimately, Ninis explained that based on your level of cooperativeness and assertiveness, there are five conflict resolution strategies.
If you’re currently having a hard time determining the right way to resolve a conflict, scroll down for some explanations from Ninis!
1. Accommodating
This type is high on cooperativeness and low in assertiveness. If you’re an “accommodating” type, you’re more inclined to put aside your concerns because you feel like you don’t have a strong stance. Instead, you accommodate those of the others.
Ninis said she’s implemented this type of approach when she was faced with conflict she wasn’t sure of solving.
“I am put between two things that I don’t necessarily know about,” Ninis said. “Both options are equally beneficial to me, so I decided to go after what the majority chooses.”
For this type of approach, you need to know where you stand. When you are in a position where you don’t have a solid understanding of the situation, you should let another party make the decision, given their understanding of the situation.
2. Collaborating
Collaborations develop when you are high on both assertiveness and cooperativeness. You are in a situation where you have the right to stand for your opinions. At the same time, you have to take others’ into account.
“This has happened a lot in Ruangguru,” Ninis shared.
In a big group of people, this kind of approach allows each person to express their concerns without abandoning their respective needs and interests. This will eventually create a shared solution that satisfies every party.
3. Avoiding
This type is low both on assertiveness and cooperativeness. It is a condition where you simply don’t want to be involved. This approach usually works when the issue is not directly connected to you or when the issue isn’t worth your trouble.
“I seldom encounter this in a professional space, but more in my personal life,” Ninis said. “For instance, I once tried to help resolve a conflict between my good friends but ended up being ignored. In the end, I just let them be.”
In this situation, Ninis chose to avoid the conflict because she didn’t want to pursue her opinions further. It also didn’t affect her immediately. I’m sure some of you have encountered problems between your friends like Ninis had. I wonder how it went — did you resolve it together?
4. Competitive
Resolving conflict by “competing” means you’re high on assertiveness and low on cooperativeness. This kind of approach happens a lot in the workplace, too. In a “competing” setting, you have a firm stance and you keep pushing.
Ninis asked, “Is it wrong to act like that? Because it may seem like that kind of behavior is egoistic.”
This kind of approach is not wrong, Ninis explained. Things and issues vary in significance, especially in a professional environment. Someone in a higher position with more experience may keep rejecting your ideas even though yours are brilliant. Your ideas aren’t wrong, though. It might just be that they are not in line with the company’s current goals.
Once, Ninis used this approach when working on an event which required external vendors for help with registration. The vendor was slowing down the process of the event, and she decided that her team will take over the vendor’s work instead. “You are going to do it my way,” she said to the vendor.
Thus, “competing” is a suitable options in emergencies when time is of the essence.
5. Compromising
The “compromising” type accommodates the 4 types listed above.
In a compromise, you work to find a win-win solution for all parties. According to Ninis, the difference between collaborating and compromising is, in collaborating, everyone reaches a general agreement. In compromising, however, you try to find a middle ground solution instead.
From these five types of conflict resolution strategies, there’s no one ideal strategy for all kinds of issues.
“You can’t compromise at all times. Somehow you have to stand your ground too,” Ninis said.
Now that you have a better idea of conflict management, you decide which strategy can best resolve your conflict! One way to help you determine which conflict management strategy works best for you is by knowing what you want to achieve next.
“My manager once said that it is important to have a goal in every project,” Ninis said. “When you know the goal, it will help you determine what kind of approach is suitable to resolve your conflict.”
Hopefully, this will give you deeper insights into how you can choose the right conflict management strategy for your current conflict. If you want to learn more from people with expertise like Ninis, join #TimRuangguru by clicking here!
