Conflict Management & Mediation Skills for Work

In this lesson, Anastasia mentions that 85% of employees experience conflict to some degree. This stat really brings home the importance of building conflict resolution skills. Speaking of conflict resolution, let’s do a quick refresh of its definition.

Conflict resolution is a series of techniques or processes in which a disagreement or conflict is resolved. It seeks to reduce or eliminate the conflict altogether. Keep reading for an extended list of conflict resolution strategies:

• Remember the importance of the relationship. If not handled properly, conflicts can be detrimental to relationships. By putting the relationship at the center of your conflict resolution strategy, you’ll be able to find solutions that fit for all parties in the long run.

• Focus on the conflict at hand and not past ones. It’s easy to get caught up in bringing up behaviors or past conflict scenarios. While addressing past conflicts might be necessary, this is not conducive to solving the current conflict at hand. So, try to stay on task and focus on one conflict at a time.

• Prioritize resolving the conflict over being right. One of the most important skills in conflict resolution is realizing that there can be more than one version of the truth. By showing a willingness to find a solution, even if there are several valid versions of the truth on the table, you can ease the conflict resolution process. Use 'yes, and' statements to help you along the way.

• Know when to apologize and forgive. This goes back to the importance of empathy for conflict resolution. Show a willingness to compromise or collaborate. And be willing to move on once a solution has been met.

Let’s recap the main responsibilities of a mediator during a conflict:

• Neutral facilitator

• Manage process

• Enhance communication

• Maintain confidentiality

There are a few more key responsibilities that mediators should keep in mind:

• Analyze conflict: Conflict resolution is a series of techniques or processes in which a disagreement or conflict is resolved. It seeks to reduce or eliminate the conflict altogether.

• Solve problems: A mediator is skilled in helping parties generate creative solutions that meet their interests and needs.

• Test reality: Mediators help parties assess the feasibility and practicality of proposed solutions.

• Empower: Through active engagement and empowerment techniques, a mediator helps parties regain a sense of control over the resolution process.

Lastly, mediators are master active listeners. They listen to understand, they don’t interrupt, they ask clarifying questions, and they pay attention to non-verbal cues. They are able to make every participant feel fully heard. Active listening doesn’t only ensure that you understand what’s going on, it allows you to:

• Create a tactful response: By helping people understand your perspective in a respectful way, mediators can elicit a more receptive response from them.

• Focus on the future: Instead of focusing on what went wrong or who should have prevented a mistake, mediators focus on what can be done to solve the problem and keep it from happening again in the future.

• Build creativity: Good mediators come up with creative solutions and carefully consider all alternatives.

• Offer multiple solutions: When possible, mediators give participants a choice between several solutions. When folks have more than one positive choice, they will feel more supported and more likely to collaborate.

As we’ve seen in this lesson, both negotiation and problem solving are key skills in conflict resolution. Let’s review the 5 step framework that Anastasia shared in this lesson.

1. Define the problem

2. Generate potential solutions

3. Evaluate solutions and decide on the best one

4. Implement the solution

5. Review the outcome

This framework gives us a basis on which to build out our conflict resolution strategy. Once the problem is clearly defined, all parties involved can brainstorm potential solutions. Using strategic thinking, participants can evaluate the proposed solutions and reach an agreement on the one they’ll implement. Then, once implemented, the outcome of that solution should be reviewed. If things went well, take note. If things didn’t fully get solved, it’s time to get back to the drawing board to come up with an alternative solution. Keep working within this framework until the conflict has been completely solved.

Now that you have a good idea of how to go about resolving conflicts, check out the Conflict Resolution Case Studies resource to put your skills to practice.

One of the most effective ways to navigate these differences is by communicating. Let’s look at some ways you can actively apply cross-cultural communication and collaboration skills from a place of authentic allyship.

• Ask questions and practice active listening

• Create space for different types of communication styles

• Practice self-awareness and allyship

• Be conscious of intersectionality and individual differences

• Spend time with folks outside of your inner circle

• Books/documentaries/articles on cultures you’re unfamiliar with

Emotional intelligence also plays a role in successfully navigating intercultural conflict. It allows you to interpret the other person’s emotions and better communicate with them without causing confusion, frustration, or anger. Ultimately, it leaves space for everyone involved to think creatively and logically about a solution. Emotional intelligence is a dynamic skill that requires consistent practice to master. It involves:

• Self-management: You're able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances.

• Self-awareness: You recognize your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behavior. You know your strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.

• Social awareness: You have empathy. You can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization.

• Relationship management: You know how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict.

  
  

Keep reflecting on how you can apply these skills throughout the full conflict management process, which we’ll touch on in the next module.

Welcome to section 3! In this section, we’ll guide you through the conflict management process step by step. Let’s take a quick bird’s-eye view of what that looks like.

• Step 1: Identify the conflict

• Step 2: Understand the conflict

• Step 3: Choose a conflict resolution strategy

• Step 4: Execute that strategy

• Step 5: Reflect

This lesson focuses on step one of the conflict management process, identifying the conflict. Recognizing conflict and knowing when to intervene can be complicated. If you come in too quick, you can come off as controlling, but if you wait too long, the conflict can get out of hand.

As Anastasia mentioned in this lesson, if you’re a mediator, it’s best to wait until you’re notified of the conflict before stepping in. And if you’re the one involved in the conflict, addressing it as early on as possible is usually the best approach.

The last part of this lesson talked about how to start the conflict intervention process and Anastasia left you with a scenario to think through. It involved you receiving urgent requests from a coworker outside of your working hours. We’ll learn more about the conflict management process in the rest of this module, but it’s good practice to start thinking about what you might do in this situation. Here’s our suggestion on how you could handle it:

We recommend addressing the situation right away by simply reminding your colleague of the time difference and your working hours. You can set some clear expectations by letting them know that you will not read or respond to messages outside of those hours. It could be beneficial to chat with them to understand why they’re messaging you so late. If they weren’t aware of your time zone or hours, there is a very simple solution. But if they’re writing to you because they expect you to be on at all hours of the night, it might be a bit more complicated to help them see your side. Whatever the reasoning is, you’ll want to come up with a solution that is beneficial for both of you. So share some potential options and discuss which one works best for each one of you. The key here is communication. Being able to openly talk about the situation makes finding and sticking to a solution much easier.

Let´s talk conflict management frameworks.

These frameworks outline a clear process to follow to address a conflict and reach a desired income.

In Module 1, Anastasia introduced us to the Managerial Grid model which identifies five conflict resolution styles — avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. An appropriate approach is chosen based on how important the outcome is and how important the relationship is to you.

Next, we have the interest-based relationship model. This style is all about finding a win-win solution, or a collaborative solution if you’re referencing the managerial grid. Everything done in this framework focuses on maintaining a positive relationship. The idea is to agree on a problem, brainstorm possible solutions, and respectfully negotiate the final solution.

Next, we have The Circle of Conflict, which is a model that centers of identifying the source of the conflict in order to find the best way to address it. It categorizes the causes of conflict into six types: data conflicts, relationship conflicts, interest conflicts, structural conflicts, value conflicts, and style conflicts. Because each type of conflict has its own characteristics, it can be easier to come up with solutions once you’ve identified it.

Don’t forget you can combine strategies and remove strategies as you see fit.

Let’s quickly review the steps for creating an action plan in a conflict resolution scenario.

Step 1: Define goals

Step 2: Identify actions to achieve those goals

Step 3: Assign roles and responsibilities

Step 4: Monitor progress

Step 5: Review and adjust as needed

The idea of this framework is to create an organized, well thought out plan that is flexible and dynamic. People change, circumstances change, and dynamics change, so it’s important to be open minded and flexible when creating a plan to address a conflict.

Check out our resource on the SMART goals framework to start thinking about your action plan. And at the end of this course, you’ll receive an action plan template you can download and modify for future conflict scenarios.

What’s better than flawlessly navigating a conflict scenario and coming up with a win-win solution and a positive outcome for everyone involved? How about preventing the conflict from happening in the first place.

Of course, it’s not realistic to think that you can prevent all conflicts, but conflict prevention is a key skill to have as an effective conflict manager. Anastasia gave us some tips on how to prevent conflict. Let’s go over them.

• Know your conflict style. Everyone has a different way of approaching conflict, and there is no one correct way to handle things. But understanding how you tend to handle conflict can give you the opportunity to prevent it by mitigating clashes in communication style, differing goals, and more. You can take this conflict style quiz to help you identify what your natural tendencies are.

• Form connections with others. This involves practicing empathy and active listening. When you have a strong connection with someone, it can be easier to focus on the problem and work together to find a solution rather than assuming the other person is at fault.

• Communicate effectively and respectfully. When you disagree with someone, communicating can become tough. But even in the midst of high emotions and different opinions, respect should be at the forefront of your communication. Communicating clearly can help prevent a minor disagreement from becoming something bigger than it needs to be.

• Assume best intentions. Try to be understanding and compassionate by not assuming the worst. Give folks the benefit of the doubt. Shifting your mindset will allow you to approach the situation calmly and without any preconceived notions, which will result in more effective communication, and hopefully conflict prevention.

Congratulations on completing the Conflict Management course. Be sure to review the key takeaways from each module before taking the final exam.