The Top Strategies for Managing Conflict as a Leader Effectively

A company's workplace culture is a reflection of the individuals involved in its teams, where people come together to work towards greatness by blending their unique set of skills. Effective leaders are able to inspire growth and cultivate talent in each of their team members, balancing the team dynamics and ensuring that everyone contributes while maintaining a positive work culture.

But no matter how great your team members work with each other, or even how brilliant you are at leading a cohesive unit, when you have any number of people involved in a common goal, conflicts arise. This isn't a possibility -- it's an inevitability, one that simply happens on the basis of the simple fact that we are human beings first, and human beings tend to butt heads even with the best of intentions. To put this in perspective, note that roughly 85% of employees in the workforce report experiencing some kind of conflict in the workplace.

Part of being a leader is being able to manage relationships, and conflict resolution is a critical aspect of that. Conflict occurs in every team, big or small, and although it is an inevitable part of any workplace, how leaders handle conflict can make all the difference in creating a positive and productive environment. Effective conflict management not only resolves issues but also strengthens relationships, fosters collaboration, and improves team dynamics.

In today's blog post, I want to take you down the road of conflict management skills every leader should practice and commit to their core leadership style. We'll explore what conflict management entails, essential strategies for managing conflict as a leader, and how to turn potential challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.

Understanding Conflict Management

What is Conflict Management?

Conflict management is a skill all leaders will need to become proficient in at some point in their careers. It refers to the process of identifying, addressing, and resolving conflicts in a fair and effective manner. Note the keyword here is resolve conflict, not avoid conflict entirely -- avoiding a conflict simply prolongs the problem and delays creating solutions.

Instead of trying to run from conflict, leaders with excellent conflict management skills tend to prioritize coming to an understanding of the root causes of conflicts and developing strategies to manage and resolve them. Conflicts often arise from misunderstandings, differences in values or goals, or unmet needs. As a leader, it's important to take the time to identify what is really driving the conflict, rather than just addressing the surface-level issues. This is the main idea of conflict management: addressing the underlying issues, proactively.

Developing Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution Skills

Emotional Intelligence in Conflict Resolution

In my latest series on emotional intelligence in leadership, I wrote at length about how important being in tune with the emotional dynamics that drape every team member interaction truly is when leading a group of individuals, large and small. Emotional intelligence allows leaders to promote a respectful and productive working environment by recognizing and managing emotions, especially their own.

When talking about conflict management, emotional intelligence helps leaders effectively manage conflict by being aware of the emotions that may be involved in different types of disagreements, and recognizing how they can impact judgment, relationships, and steps to resolution. Within the core principles of emotional intelligence, conflict management skills tend to fall under the relationship management aspect.

Say for example, you are brought in to manage a dispute between two individuals, a supervisor and someone who works under their management. The employee shares that they often feel that their supervisor is unduly harsh while giving feedback, while their supervisor shares that they are growing frustrated with their subordinate's lack of progress. Let's also imagine that you have worked with this supervisor for many years, and have not known them to be overbearing or abusive.

Using this scenario, let's look at two solutions -- one with low emotional intelligence, and one with high emotional intelligence:

• Low: You decide that the best course of action is to remove the employee from their supervisor's team and place them in someone else's department. Your opinion of the supervisor leads you to believe that this is simply a one-off situation that doesn't demand further digging. You believe that the problem is simply a clash of personalities and that the quickest solution is to separate them.
  • Why this doesn't work: In some cases, separation of employees is mandated, but it should be a step taken only when resolution isn't viable. The problem is that by taking this step, you tend to avoid the root cause of the conflict entirely, and worse, may create new ones -- it is very possible that yes, it may just be a simple problem of personality clash, but:
    • What if the issue is more complex? By avoiding a conversation, you lose out on gaining valuable information on the emotional dynamics -- potentially even toxic ones -- that may be at play in your team without your knowledge.
    • What if, by removing the employee, your actions unintentionally communicate that you are dissatisfied with their work as well? This is a surefire way to destroy morale and instill greater uncertainty in a team.
    • What is your plan to train a new employee in the previous one's position? Do you expect the former to take on the potentially embarrassing responsibility of training what is essentially their replacement? Can you afford the lost time spent on training someone new?
    • What if both team members are giving accurate feedback, and you need to step in with more sensitivity training for your supervisor, and more progress monitoring with their subordinate?
• High: You are troubled by the conflict that is arising between otherwise good team members. You choose to meet with both employees and listen to their concerns without passing judgment on either party. You try to gather information on specifics, and ask about a particular situation or incident where things escalated.
  • Why it works: A constructive conversation with both parties often leads managers to the root causes of the conflict itself. These root causes could be specific to the situation, but importantly, they could even be a sign of ineffective systems in your company that you are not aware are an issue.
    • What if the tasks being assigned to your supervisor for their team to complete are not clear, or their milestones are uncertain? This is a common situation that leads to stress for all involved, since it leaves supervisors with a poor metric to measure progress.
    • What if your workplace culture doesn't allow for direct communication, and forces team members to communicate solely through email or text. Misunderstandings (i.e. "taking it the wrongs way") are bound to happen when electronic means devoid of context or tone are the primary communication method.
    • What if you assigned this supervisor or employee to a team that isn't in line with their skillset? Upon hiring, it is possible their tasks assigned were appropriate for their background, but perhaps a new project, task, or protocol places inappropriate demands on them without you catching it in time to assign training or delegate effectively?

Just from these two broad examples, I hope that it is clear to you just how essential emotional intelligence is for effective conflict resolution, as it helps leaders to understand and manage their own emotions and those of the parties involved.

Key Strategies for Conflict Resolution and Conflict Management

• Active listening: being able to listen actively is a crucial skill for conflict resolution, as it helps leaders to understand the perspectives and needs of all parties involved. It means reserving judgment and opinions until after you've genuinely heard from both sides.
• Effective communication: communicating directly and efficiently is also essential, as it helps to prevent misunderstandings and resolve conflicts in a constructive manner.
• Problem-solving and negotiation skills: the ability to design appropriate conflict management strategies, equitable remedies, and meeting the needs of both parties are also necessary for resolving conflicts in a fair and effective way. You aim to solve the root problems, and negotiate a resolution.
• Setting boundaries and ground rules: Setting clear boundaries and ground rules is essential for preventing conflicts from escalating. Often the ability to manage conflict hinges on being prepared in advance by establishing appropriate forms of conduct and ground rules for employee communication. It helps to establish a positive and respectful work environment, where the creation of a clear, constructive and calm environment can resolve conflict before it even begins. Leaders must also be able to enforce these boundaries and ground rules in a fair and consistent manner.

Conclusion

Managing conflict is a critical skill for any leader, and while workplace conflict is a natural part of working with people, your unique leadership style determines how you apply conflict management skills in your own company. By understanding the root causes of conflict, fostering open communication, staying neutral, and encouraging collaboration, leaders can turn conflicts into opportunities for growth and innovation. Developing emotional intelligence, addressing conflicts early, and seeking feedback when necessary can further enhance your ability to lead through challenging situations.

Ultimately, effective conflict management strengthens team dynamics, builds trust, and contributes to positive outcomes, and a productive work environment.