Managing Conflict, 03: Needs for Conflict Management Skills,
The traditional, rather classical way many bosses try to resolve Conflicts is to ask a staff’s boss perhaps a manager, supervisor, or whoever that’s above the Conflicting parties to wave into the matter. Another way is by appointing a grey heir person or older staff to resolve it. These are errors. It makes Conflicts and grievances a child’s play. It was erroneously thought out that position or age in life or service is a variable in resolving Conflicts. Let me surprise you: it is not. 
There are knowledge and skills required for Conflicts Resolutions cum Conflicts Management, especially in the workplace. Note, outside the workplace and family, like nations and states, extra instruments are added like diplomacy, trade relationships, sports, international relationships, etc., and Conflict effects here are not personalized to individual citizens of the Conflicting nations or states. That’s the reason we address workplace/family Conflicts more, as damaging effects are more personally devastating.
The Skills for Conflict Management
Please admonition, begging, encouraging even reconciliation are not skills in conflict management. I’ve seen people going to settle Conflicts;
- start begging the Conflicting parties “Please make una stop this fight and quarrel”,
- start admonishing the Conflicting parties “Love yourself”, and “You’re one”. What a cheap lie!
- start reconciling the Conflicting parties. You can’t reconcile PEOPLE until you resolve the CONFLICTS, and you can’t resolve Conflicts until you HEAR the Disputes. [We take time in live seminars to teach procedurally these processes, when you invite us.]
What are conflict management skills, and how can they help you at work?
Good question! Strong conflict management skills are an advantage in most positions and places, as conflict is virtually impossible to avoid. So, just like conflict, conflict management skills should be skills every workforce should be exposed to and trained on. Conflict is human nature to disagree, and disagreements are healthy when approached correctly.
Eliminating conflict would cause its problems: there would be no diversity of opinion, and no way for us to catch and correct flawed plans and policies. Workplace and life will be producing “o’ yes members, exactly sir followers, definitely sir subordinates…” if Conflicts are idealistically eliminated, but that’s impossible.
What is Conflict Management?
Conflict management, also known as conflict resolution, involves having a workplace that precludes conflict and a management team that successfully handles and resolves workplace issues.
What Are Conflict Management Skills?
The aim for conflict management professionals or trained conflict specialists (like we have Health Safety Environment [HSE], Quality Assurance [QA], etc) in the workplace should not be to avoid conflict, but to resolve conflicts effectively. Employees with strong conflict resolution skills can effectively handle workplace issues.
Individuals who handle conflict in a respectful, optimistic way create the chance for growth and learning within an organization.
Communicating, empathetically, and patiently leads to favourable outcomes and keeps professional relationships strong.
Why Employers Value Conflict Management Skills
Poor communication or interpersonal tension can easily cause simple disagreements to flare up into resentment or worse.
Conflicts that are allowed to fester and grow will ultimately diminish productivity and damage staff morale. This is why employers seek employees with the skills to manage and diffuse conflict. We can help your organization, town, and community grow these skills internally. For Managing Conflict: Needs for Conflict Management Skills CONTACT or reach out to Mike.
