Many people state “conflict†is great for business because it enlightens different views and provides you insight into what’s important. However, conflict can be a road block in your business so it’s important you know the different types of resolutions you can apply to your business model. The models we’ll be discussing are important so you achieve an outcome good for you and your business. Here’s a quick definition of the term conflict…
“Any situation where your concerns or desires differ from those of another person. That can be as simple as deciding where to go for dinner with your spouse to something as complex as brokering the details of a huge corporate merger.†(Source: Flipboard.com)
If your involved in a business where there are more than 2 people than you might run into a conflict every now and then. Next, if your an authority blogger with thousands of readers each day, you might run into a conflict over popular content, your view on a topic, comments, etc.
Let’s look at some ways to handle conflict so it won’t affect your business in the long-run and keep you clear of your focus.
Collaborating
The first method to solve conflict is by collaborating and for those of you not familiar with the term it’s when you work jointly on a task or activity. The objective is to work together to increase productivity and stay on path so the overall objective won’t be compromised. However, you have to understand what types of situations will require collaboration. First, if you both have a similar idea and each of you want to take charge of completing it. Next, writing content with several different points of view in which case each of you working together will be your best option. However, you have to be careful of the following…
First, don’t overuse the concept of collaborating because this can lead to inefficiency, lower production and time wasted. If both of you feel the other is responsible for work to be completed then none of you will put 100% effort into getting it done.
Compromise
In certain situations compromise will be the best conflict resolution because both of you are meeting in the middle. Personally, I feel only in relationships is compromise completely acceptable because in business you have more to lose and other people depend on your leadership. However, I’m not saying compromise is a bad thing even when running a business because it really depends on the situation.
Comprise is a tricky resolution to a conflict because by comprising on everything your losing the big picture and what’s important to you. It’s important to always stand strong for what you believe in and don’t comprise when your companies values are at stake. It takes a true leader to understand when to compromise and when to stand firm so you have to decide what’s important to you so you don’t disrupt your core values.
Accommodating
Sometimes in business it’s good practice to accommodate the request to avoid conflict altogether. Accommodating is giving in and letting the person express what they want to do completely. The concept of “accommodating†is important when you want to keep the peace, show reasonable understanding and leave control to someone else. However, you need to be careful when implementing this concept into conflict resolution. Here’s why…
- You can be taken advantage of if your too accommodating
- You have to be careful who you accommodate because they might not have the same values as you
- Build resentment because your always the one that’s accommodating which can lead to productivity problems going forward.
Competing
When competing you’ve put your core values, focus, leadership and perfection as number 1 and won’t stand for anything less. Competing or “competitiveness†in conflict can lead to tensions because both of you are fighting for what you believe in. In business being competitive is great as long as both of you have the same objective in mind with the same values. However, competing leads to one of you losing and the outcome will be the following…
- Resent from the other person
- Un-empowered and tensions
- Other person feeling defeated
A good leader knows when to pick their battles so to ensure you keep a calm work environment it’s important to compete only when the core values of your business or product are in danger.
Avoiding
Avoiding a conflict is the best approach to diffusing it quickly without any further issues. Many believe in life “avoidance†the best approach to conflict however in business you need to be careful. If you avoid a problem that might be good initially, but if profit is your main objective than “avoidance†may be the downfall to success. Pick your battles and don’t avoid situations that will effective business in the long-run. It can be harmful if decisions are left untouched without any influence or focus.