Conflict Management

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to have an effective fight.

 Focus on the Facts: when People—and not issues—become the focus ofdisagreement. The result is interpersonal conflict.The challenge is toencourage members ofmanagement teams toargue without destroyingtheir ability to worktogether.More information is better. There is a direct link between reliance on facts and low levels of interpersonal conflict

 Multiply the Alternatives: in teams that vigorously debate just one or two options, conflict often doesturn personal.Generating options is also a way to bring managers together in a common and inherently stimulating task.

 Create Common Goals: minimizing destructive conflict involves framing strategic choices as collaborative, rather than competitive-a common goal around which the team could rally, a shared vision and doesn’t imply homogenous teams. sharing a common goal, viewed a cash crisis not as a threat but as

an opportunity to “build the biggest war chest”

 Use Humor: Humor works as a defense mechanism to protect people from the stressful and threatening situations that commonly arise in the course of making strategic decisions

 Balance the Power Structure:managers who believe thattheir team’s decision-making process is fair aremore likely to accept decisions without resentment even when they do not agree with them. Interpersonalconflict is lowest in what is called balanced power structures – a balance between an autocratic style and the power vacuumed leader.

 Seek Consensus with Qualification: talk over an issueand try to reach consensusIf they can’t, the most relevantsenior manager makes the decision, guided byinput from the rest of the group

 Linking Conflict, Speed, andPerformance: conflict over issues is notonly likely within top management teams butalso valuable. Such conflict provides executiveswith a more inclusive range of information,a deeper understanding of the issues, anda richer set of possible solutions