There are four basic forms to manage conflict between employees (Proksch, 2016):
- issue-related measures: Changes to the structure of the team and organization, e.g. changing a process or a workflow, implementing regular meetings, clarifying roles, information management, etc.
- separative measures: Separating conflicting parties, e.g. dismissal, transfer, assigning different tasks, etc.
- individual-related measures: Developing and supporting conflict parties individually, e.g. Coaching, Training, etc.
- integrative measures: Conflicting parties work together on a solution, e.g. clarifying conversations, moderated meetings, Mediation, etc.
How to choose the right measures for conflicts in your team: a step by step guide for leaders
Let’s have a look at those 4 groups of measures, see their pros and cons and when to use them to manage conflict in your team.
1. Issue-related measures
When you choose issue-related measures, you analyze the conflict independently of the conflicting parties. You search for factors in the structure of the team or organization that cause the conflict and redesign processes and structures based on that analysis.
Examples of issue-related measures
- Implementing a jour fixe to improve the flow of information
- Agreeing on a set of “rules” on how to work as a team
- Clarifying the different roles within the teams and their responsibilities
- Changing a form or a workflow
Pros of issue-related measures
- Can be done without the conflicting parties: Issue-related measures can be implemented without involving the conflicting parties.
- Potential of improvement: You use the conflict as an opportunity to improve processes and structures in your team or your organization.
Cons of issue-related measures
- Conflict resolution is not very in-depth: Sometimes team members involved in a conflict “hide” behind issue-related matters no avoid talking about relationships and emotions. If a conflict is not only caused by issue-related topics but also interpersonal problems, the conflict can continue even after having implemented issue-related measures.
When to use issue-related measures
- When conflicts are caused by unclear instructions
- When conflicts are caused by operations and processes of the team or organization
When NOT to use issue-related measures
- Conflicts that also have interpersonal and emotional aspects
2. Separative measures
As the name suggests, this group of measures solves a conflict by separating the employees involved in the conflict. The goal of this measures is solving the conflict by making sure the conflicting parties do no longer work together. This form of conflict management is chosen relatively often in companies that don’t want to deal with conflict. But there are cases where this actually is the best form to solve a conflict.
Examples of separative measures
- Dismissing one or several employees
- Transfer one or several employees
- Change tasks and projects of employees to avoid them working on the same team/project
Pros of separative measures
- Fast and efficient: No need for long meetings and a lot of talking. Separative measures can solve a conflict quickly and efficiently.
- Can be done without involving conflicting parties: The employees being in conflict do not have to be actively involved in resolving the conflict. They don’t have to put in an effort to fix the relationship between them.
Cons of separative measures
- Not always a permanent solution: There are cases where conflicts are not resolved by separative measures. For example, a dismissal could not be accepted and lead to a lawsuit. That means the conflict is not resolved but only shifted and continues to cost money and time.
Conflicts can also reappear in a similar form even after one or several of the conflicting parties has left the team or the company. In this case, the conflict was indicating structural problems.
If the conflict was already quite escalated before taking separative measures it’s possible it was transferred to other employees and that causes it to continue even after the parties left the team. - No learning effect: When using separative measures, the conflicting parties do not solve the conflict and often the conflict is not even discussed. That means you don’t gain information on how to avoid escalating conflicts in the future and/or the employees involved miss the opportunity to develop a new skill set for solving conflicts competently.
When to use separative measures
- The behavior of an employee is incompatible with the values of the organization: If the goals, values and the behavior of an employee do not or do no longer align with the goals and values of the company, separation is the best way forward.
- Conflicting parties are not willing to resolve the conflict together: If the employees involved in the conflict are not willing to work on a solution even though the conflict is having negative effects for the team and the organization, you have no choice but to make the decision yourself and separate the conflicting parties.
When NOT to use separative measures
- Conflict is caused by structural problems: You don’t solve a structural problem by separating employees. In the case of structural problems you just lose time and possibly good employees if using separative measures.
- Willingness to work on the conflict: If the employees involved are willing to work on finding a solution for their conflict together you often benefit from using integrative measures instead of separative measures. Integrative measures strengthen communication, help developing new skills, and often lead to great, sustainable solutions that make the team and the organization better than before the conflict.
3. Individual-related measures
Individual-related measures support the conflicting parties individually. They can be used to deescalate the situation by giving each employee the possibility to get off their chest what is bothering them and reflect the situation. Individual-related measures are also often used if you want your team members to develop new skills.
Examples of individual-related measures
- Individual meetings of leaders with their team member
- Coaching
- Training
Pros of individual-related measures
- Quick de-escalation of the conflict: For conflicting parties, it’s often important to know that they are not alone and that they will receive help. I often find that employees are more relaxed once they know there will be a meeting.
- Developing new skills and strategies: Especially when choosing employee coaching, employees get the chance to develop new strategies for dealing with conflict. The safe space they have with their external coach makes it easier to reflect honestly and to be open to improving for example their communication skills.
Cons of individual-related measures
- Employees do not work together on finding a solution: While it’s possible to solve a conflict by working just with one person or with all the employees involved individually, it’s not the best way to fix the relationship between them. The strategies developed are unilateral and there is no consensus with the other conflicting parties.
When to use individual-related measures
- The conflict is highly escalated and/or the employees experience it as very stressful: Sometimes it needs some preparation before conflicting parties can talk to each other. In this case, individual-related measures can be great for deescalating the situation and preparing for integrative measures.
- Some parties are not willing to work with each other on finding a solution: If someone in your team is just not willing to work on finding a solution for a conflict that is causing problems, you might have to think about separative measures. But sometimes employees are just not willing to face each other (yet). In those cases, I use a special mediation process called “Shuttle-Mediation”. In a Shuttle-Mediation, the Mediator goes back and forth to talk with the different parties and mediates without them being in the same room.
When NOT to use individual-related measures
- Conflict is caused by structural problems: If conflicts are caused by unclear instructions, you will not get a solution by offering your employees coaching.
- Willingness to work on the conflict: If the employees involved are willing to work on finding a solution for their conflict together integrative measures have more benefits.
4. Integrative measures
Integrative measures ensure that your team members deal with the conflict, find a good solution together, and can work together well in the future.
Examples of integrative measures
- Clarifying conversations: The easiest step is a conversation between the conflicting parties and often makes sense to try first. Before you get involved as a leader, you can suggest the employees involved have a clarifying conversation. There is a risk of escalating the conflict further if they don’t find a solution. Then it’s time to get professional help. So if you suggest clarifying conversations keep an eye on the situation and be ready to take further measures if needed.
- Moderated Meetings: Another option could be to have a meeting moderated by you or for example somebody from the HR team.
- Mediation: If a conflict can not be solved, the best option is to get support from a professional Mediator.
Pros of integrative measures
- Parties deal actively with the conflict: The employees deal with each other, fix their relationship, and develop solutions that fix their situation perfectly.
- Understanding the cause of the conflict: Integrative measures allow to get information about the conflict to avoid similar conflicts in the future.
- Better communication: The employees restore their communication and make sure they can work well together in the future.
- Organizational development: Integrative measures can help to develop the whole team and organization further. This type of measure also helps to strengthen the values and the culture of your company.
- Employee development: The employees develop new skills for dealing with conflict.
Cons of integrative measures
- Can be time-consuming: Integrative measures have a lot of benefits but to deal with each other and talk it out costs time and energy. With the help of a Mediator, it can be possible to find a solution in one Meeting but there is no guarantee. In my professional experience, a Mediation process usually takes 1-4 meetings.
- requires the willingness to work together on finding a solution: For integrative measures to work the employees involved need to be open to working with each other to find win-win solutions.
When to use integrative measures
- You want the employees involved to work well together: If you want your team members to continue working together and get along, integrative measures are your best chance to reach that goal.
- You want to use the conflict for development: Integrative measures have a great potential for development and learning.
When NOT to use individual-related measures
- Conflict is caused by structural problems: If conflicts are caused by unclear instructions, integrative measures are not the right way to go because the employees involved often are not the ones deciding how the structure looks like.
- Incompatible values: You cannot mediate a difference in values. If the values of an employee do not fit the values of the company the best way to go are separative measures. But be careful: Not every behavior you don’t like is actually a difference in values. An example: An employee who gets loud in a conflict might do so because they don’t know how to react in a better. They don’t like it and they wish they could do differently. They want to be treated with respect and treat others with respect but they are missing communication and self-management skills. Those skills are trainable, so a dismissal would not be the best way to go.
- Lack of willingness to work together on a solution: You might be able to “force” an employee to come to mediation meetings but you can’t force them to be open and participate. That’s why Mediations are voluntary processes. Now what you can try is ask your team member to meet with the Mediator at least once. Often employees don’t want to take part in a mediation process because they don’t know what to expect (click here to learn how Mediation works). Getting to know the Mediator and the Mediation process can convince employees to work together on a solution with the professional help of a Mediator.
My employee refuses to participate in finding a solution
Sometimes employees don’t want to talk about the conflict. It seems like they don’t want anything to do with it. They might tell you something like “I don’t have any problem. If Peter thinks we have a conflict, it’s his problem.”
Sometimes they might acknowledge the conflict but refuse to talk to the other person or participate in a Mediation process. If they are not ready to talk to each other, Mediators can offer a Shuffle-Mediation where they go back and forth between the conflicting parties and mediate without them being in the same room.
If they are afraid of talking to a Mediator because it feels weird to them to talk to a stranger about their problems, you can ask them to agree to at least one meeting. Just to get to know the Mediator and the process. A few advantages of a Mediation for employees:
- Safe space: A Mediator takes care that there is a safe space to talk about issues. The conflicting parties are professionally guided to find great solutions.
- They can influence the solution: In a Mediation, the conflicting parties find the solution. The mediator doesn’t influence that process and in most cases, leaders are open as well to the solutions their team members develop. If a Mediation fails usually there is no other way than separating the employees involved. That means instead of a win-win situation, they find themselves in a situation where they are likely to lose.
If none of that works, you will have to take a decision as a leader. You will have to decide if the negative impact of the conflict is high enough to chose separative measures. And if you chose separative measures, you have to decide who will have to go. It’s very difficult to give a general recommendation but maybe you find your answer if you have a look at your team’s or company’s values. If for example one employee refuses to work on finding a solution for a problem they are part of, it might be an indicator they are not the right fit for your team.
Quick summary: How to manage conflict in your team as a leader
Find out what could be the cause of the conflict. If the cause lies in unclear structures and processes, fix those. If not, check if the values of one or several employees are in conflict with the values of your team or organization. If so, use separative measures. If not, find a way for the employees involved to talk it out. If it seems difficult, get professional help.
It’s not your job as a leader to solve the conflict yourself. It is your job to realize when employees are having problems working together and find the best measures to find a solution.
Do you have any questions? Are you having a difficult situation with your employees? Contact me for a free consultation!
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