If you find yourself dreading workplace conflict or dealing with a hostile working environment, you may wonder if there is a way out, and who can help you. Knowing which positions in your company are involved in conflict resolution, and what role you can play in the process, is how you can excel at resolving conflict, no matter what your title might be.
Key Roles Most Often Responsible for Workplace Conflict Resolution
Depending on the size of your team and your company, you may have many options for who to go to when trying to resolve a workplace dispute. Where to turn depends on the nature of the disagreement, and how serious the issues involved are.
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Managers and Supervisors
When most people face an interpersonal problem at work, they turn to their supervisor. Managers and other direct supervisors are often the first line of defense when conflict arises. They may be able to identify and diffuse tense situations, communicate with the team members involved, and even act as informal mediators. Skilled managers can be helpful in resolving interpersonal issues and disputes that arise as a result of the working environment and the personalities or assignments involved.
Team Leaders
You may also find that there are informal leaders within your team who excel at resolving conflict. These may be individuals with high emotional intelligence and empathy. They may also have had special training in collaboration or facilitation. These leaders excel in addressing the conflict that arises because of the work you are doing, such as when team members disagree on the best approach to a problem.
Human Resources Personnel
Your Human Resources team also plays a key role in the formal conflict resolution process. They may be able to facilitate conflict resolution conferences, or meet privately with employees to discuss their perspectives on the situation, and offer an objective third-party perspective. They are also better trained to handle issues like discrimination or harassment, and conflict between people on different rungs of the corporate ladder. If your HR professionals excel at resolving conflict, it can be a very effective way to air grievances and reach consensus for how your team will move forward together.
Who Can Excel at Resolving Conflict at Work
Even if your job title has nothing to do with personnel or management, you can still excel at resolving conflict at work. Conflict resolution is a set of skills that anyone can learn through training, practice, and consistent application. These skills include:
- Active listening – so you can understand the problem
- Empathy – to understand the emotions and positions of others
- Emotional regulation – to deescalate strong or negative emotions that add to the dispute
- Advocacy – to better represent people’s interests and set and maintain boundaries
- Problem-solving – to brainstorm collaborative solutions that work for all parties involved
- Non-judgmental communication – to focus on the problem, rather than the people
- Negotiation and compromise – to help find adjustments that address people’s needs
Taking time to develop your own conflict resolution skills can reduce stress, increase personal productivity, and simply make you happier at work.
Strategies to Excel at Resolving Conflict
If you are trying to excel at resolving conflict, or are a supervisor, manager, or HR representative for whom conflict resolution is part of the job description, there are a number of strategies you can use to do your job more effectively.
Raise Issues Early Before Resentment Sets In
Conflict between coworkers often grows if left unchecked. As resentment and hard feelings build, it can escalate the conflict, making it harder to resolve and more likely to negatively affect the workplace as a whole.
Reflect on Your Own Emotions Before Helping Others
If you are attempting to facilitate conflict resolution, be sure you understand your own perspective on the matter, and any emotions that are affecting it. Reflect on your assumptions and emotional state, and try to remain objective as you meet with the different participants. If you feel emotions are taking control, remember you can always call a break and come back later.
Communicate Openly
Transparency and open communication are key strategies to building trust among coworkers. If you are struggling with workplace conflict, it may be because you are not communicating openly about your feelings, expectations, and needs. Identify ways you can improve communication, and commit to keeping the lines open to receive feedback.
Identify the Root Cause of the Conflict
Surface-level complaints about bad behavior or lacking resources are often just the tip of the workplace conflict iceberg. If you want to avoid recurring conflict, you will need to dig deeper to identify the root cause of the conflict.
Focus on Solutions, Not Blame
Excelling at resolving conflict requires you to be focused forward, on solutions, rather than backwards on how the conflict arose. Often, coworkers will want to feel vindicated by having their stories heard, but that won’t resolve the conflict. Listen and validate their feelings, but then turn the focus on solutions, rather than personal attacks.
Invite Collaborative Problem-Solving
The best workplace solutions are the ones employees reach themselves. If you are involved in a dispute with another coworker, invite that coworker to brainstorm together on how to fix it. Involve a mediator if you struggle to communicate or feel strong emotions. Be ready to commit to whatever solution you find, even if it isn’t your idea. That way, you can come up with a variety of possible solutions, and increase the chances that one will work for everyone involved.
Follow Up and Be Accountable
Don’t just say you are going to do something to resolve workplace conflict. If you want to excel at conflict resolution, you need to follow through. Check in with your coworkers to see if the solution you identified is working. Be willing to admit if it isn’t going as planned. And hold yourself accountable to the strategies you identified along the way.
David Stanislaw is an organizational development specialist with over 25 years’ experience helping leaders excel at resolving conflict. Through conflict resolution training and facilitation, David helps resolve interoffice conflict between team members and leaders. Contact us to meet with David and develop a plan to improve your company’s conflict resolution strategies today.
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