Saturday, June 25, 2011

Making Use Of Your Conflict Resolution Abilities

By Maria Rivera


Conflict Resolution will help you progress. Conflict arises from dissimilarities. It takes place each time people disagree over their ideals, motivations, views, ideas, or desires. Sometimes these differences look insignificant, but when a conflict invokes strong feelings, a strong personal need is at the center of the issue. It is a desire to feel secure and safe, a desire to feel highly regarded and valued, or a desire for greater closeness and intimacy. One method to manage issues is by advising what's bothering you using I messages. I messages are a tool for revealing how we feel without attacking or blaming.

By starting with the word I we take responsibility for the way we comprehend the issue. This is in distinct contrast to you messages which put others on the defensive and shut down doors to interaction. A statement like, "You've left behind the room in pretty bad shape again! Can't you ever tidy up after yourself?" will increase the issue. Now check out how differently an I message comes across: "I'm frustrated because I figured we agreed you'd tidy up the room after working with it. So what happened?" When constructing "I" statements it's crucial that you avoid put-downs, guilt-trips, sarcasm, or negative body gestures.

We have to arrive from a place inside that's non-combative and ready to bargain. A vital credo in conflict resolution is, "It's us against the issue, not us against one another." "I messages" help us to say this. People tending towards the avoiding style attempt to avert the issue totally. This style is typified by assigning controversial decisions, agreeing to default decisions, and not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. It can be appropriate when victory doesn't seem possible, when the controversy is trivial, or when someone else is in a better position to solve the situation. However in numerous situations this is a weak and ineffective approach to take.

When you comprehend the different styles, you can use them to look at the most appropriate approach or combination of processes for the situation you are in. You may also consider your personal instinctive strategy, and find out how you need to modify this if needed. Ideally you can embrace an approach that meets the situation, solves the issue, respects people's genuine pursuits, and repairs broken working interactions. Here you are trying to get at the actual interests, needs, and concerns. Ask for the other person's perspective and confirm that you respect his or her viewpoint and need his or her cooperation to resolve the problem.

Conflict Resolution is really an art. Try to comprehend his or her motivations and objectives, and see how your actions may be affecting these. Also, attempt to understand the conflict in objective terms: Is it affecting work performance? Is it damaging the delivery to the customer? Is it interfering with team work? Is it hampering decision-making? Be sure to give attention to work issues and leave personalities out of the dialogue. Listen with sympathy and see the conflict from the other person's point of view.




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