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Conflict Management Style Choosing a conflict management style is important in many areas of life, especially in business and the workplace. If you are a manager or owner of a company, you will need to choose a conflict management style to handle problems between employees, as well as between an employee and yourself. Below we will discuss different types of conflict styles and why some may work better than others.
The first conflict management style is forcing. Using this method, one would use their position as the manager or owner to make a decision regarding the conflict no matter how the employee(s) feels about the situation. Without hearing everyone’s side or taking anyone’s feelings into account, the manager whose conflict management style is forcing will make his own decision in what would be best and that decision would not be up for discussion. This style would not be best for those who are trying to work with their employees so as to be a leader who influences them and is looked up to by them because forcing will tend to alienate those who are affected by the decision and make them feel as if their thoughts and feelings are unimportant.
The second conflict management style is accommodating. Using this method, one would allow the employee to make the decision or make the decision that would make the employee feel the best without regard to how it makes the manager feel or if it is really the best decision for the company. This style would not be best for a manager or owner who wants to continue to have a smooth running business because with this style it is easy for authority figures to be taken advantage of and walked all over by lower-level employees. This is because they are seen as a people pleaser rather than someone who will crack-down. When this happens it can turn into work being habitually late or being done sloppily and not up to the level that is expected.
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The third conflict management style is avoiding. Using this method, one would completely ignore the conflict or issue at hand. Furthermore, the manager or owner would not take any steps to eliminate the conflict or issue. Like the accommodating conflict management style, avoiding can be very harmful to a business and set it on a downward slope. This is because the employees will see this person of authority as someone who either does not care or someone who won’t take action against them when they do something that is not good for the company, such as become habitually late with assignments or become sloppy and produce substandard work.
The fourth conflict management style is compromising. Using this method, one would come up with a solution to the problem or issue at hand that would make both parties happy without completely giving in to one side or the other. This could possibly be a good strategy for an issue between two employees; however, if it is between the manager or owner and an employee, then it might not be the safest strategy since you do not want your employees to think that you are “giving in” to meet them half way.
The fifth conflict management style is collaborating. Using this method, one would sit down with the individuals involved in the issue and hear their concerns, as well as voice their own. Once each party has had a chance to have their say, the manger or owner would then try to find a solution that would make both parties happy if possible. If not, they would choose the solution that is best for the company.
Choosing one of the last two conflict management styles would benefit most managers in most situations; however, there is always room for change. If a certain method does not seem right for a particular problem, then you may need to change your approach for that specific predicament. Knowing what method to use for a situation is important to fixing the issue without losing the respect of your employees.
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