Saturday, June 25, 2011

Making Use Of Your Conflict Resolution Capabilities

By Maria Rivera


Conflict Resolution will help you progress. Conflict comes from differences. It happens whenever people differ over their beliefs, motivations, views, ideas, or needs. At times these differences look trivial, but when a conflict activates strong feelings, a deep personal need is at the core of the problem. It is a desire to feel safe and sound, a desire to feel respected and appreciated, or a desire for increased closeness and intimacy. One method to manage issues is by telling what's troubling you using I messages. I messages are a tool for articulating the way we feel without fighting or blaming.

By starting with the word I we take responsibility for the way we comprehend the issue. This is in distinct contrast to you messages which put others on the defensive and shut down doors to interaction. A statement like, "You've left behind the room in pretty bad shape again! Can't you ever tidy up after yourself?" will increase the issue. Now check out how differently an I message comes across: "I'm frustrated because I figured we agreed you'd tidy up the room after working with it. So what happened?" When constructing "I" statements it's crucial that you avoid put-downs, guilt-trips, sarcasm, or negative body gestures.

We have to arrive from a place inside that's non-combative and ready to bargain. A vital credo in conflict resolution is, "It's us against the issue, not us against one another." "I messages" help us to say this. People tending towards the avoiding style attempt to avert the issue totally. This style is typified by assigning controversial decisions, agreeing to default decisions, and not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. It can be appropriate when victory doesn't seem possible, when the controversy is trivial, or when someone else is in a better position to solve the situation. However in numerous situations this is a weak and ineffective approach to take.

Once you comprehend the distinct styles, you may use them to look at the best fitting approach or combination of processes for the problem you're in. You can also think about your personal instinctive approach, and learn how you have to change this if necessary. Ideally you can adopt an approach that meets the situation, solves the problem, recognizes people's legitimate interests, and mends damaged working interactions. Here you are attempting to get to the underlying interests, requirements, and concerns. Ask for the other person's perspective and ensure that you regard his or her viewpoint and need his or her cooperation to fix the issue.

Conflict Resolution is really an art. Try to comprehend his or her motivations and objectives, and see how your actions may be affecting these. Also, attempt to understand the conflict in objective terms: Is it affecting work performance? Is it damaging the delivery to the customer? Is it interfering with team work? Is it hampering decision-making? Be sure to give attention to work issues and leave personalities out of the dialogue. Listen with sympathy and see the conflict from the other person's point of view.




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