Managing Team Conflict
Conflict has always affected mankind dating back to the biblical era and continues to plaque mankind today. In the Bible conflict was constant where the people were required to live by God’s word, but the kings and their people failed to do so (Merida, 2015, p.4). Today’s leaders recognize that effective decision-making in their organization will always involve conflict (Fibuch and Ahmed, 2019, p.68). Conflict is viewed as a negative attribute in an organization but is unavoidable. Managing conflict within a team is a process that many leaders are tasked with handling daily in their work environments. Conflict in teams is a process and depending on how it is resolved is an important concept in managing conflict. An important leadership function is to recognize, detect, understand and handle or resolve various forms of conflict that promote positive outcomes (Terason, 2018, p. 1).
Leaders involvement with conflict differs depending on the type of conflict which enable a different strategic approach to occur. Research has shown that productive teams have frequent yet brief periods of task conflict in the environment (Wheelan, 2016, p.45). Conflict in teams are not dependent upon whether a team is productive or unproductive in the setting for differences to occur. The productive or unproductive nature of conflict is a factor in how frequent and how long the conflict exists (Wheelan, 2016, p.45).
Leadership Role in Conflict
Conflict management involves a strategic approach that results in an agreed upon solution between the leader and team members. The communication that leaders have with their team members is important for the strategic approach to occur. Leaders are thought to facilitate the development of shared understanding and interpretations of reality among group members (Wheelan, 2016, p.70). When there are a significant amount of leadership interaction in conflict management team performance is effective. A small amount of conflict management makes an organization prone to disagreement and poor performance (Terason, 2018, p. 1). There are three different types of conflict that team members may encounter in an organization. The three types of conflict are relationship, task, and process (Fibuch and Ahmed, 2019, p.68).
In relationship conflict there exist an emotional involvement that brings tension or friction to the two or more individuals (Fibuch and Ahmed, 2019, p.69). Individual members of team have different personalities which often lead to disagreements. Relationship conflicts are one of the most frequent conflicts that exists among a group of individuals. It is important for leadership to be skilled in managing team members with different personalities and enable members to work at their maximum level.
Task conflict involves disagreement on team-based interactions among individuals on the team due to different desires to move task forward. The team is unable to move forward due to different desires on how to finish tasks which could halt team effort. The members are unable to come to an agreement on how to perform tasks that are given (Fibuch and Ahmed, 2019, p.69). Task conflict is one of the least destructive form of conflict compared to other forms. Leadership is able to move the team effort forward with enabling members to come to an agreement on how to finish tasks.
Process conflict involves disagreements on how a known process or activity will proceed within a team (Fibuch and Ahmed, 2019, p.69). The team members are unable to communicate effectively due to disagreements on procedures the team utilizes to complete duties. Leadership moves the team forward with equipping them with adequate policies and procedures where the language is clear and concise. Process conflict will eventually result in a low level of performance for the team if the conflict is not resolved.
Conclusion
An important duty of leadership is managing team conflict within the work environment for high performance teams. Depending on the amount of conflict the performance of teams may be impacted which could result in low level of performance. Leadership utilizing the strategic approach to conflict is an important factor in moving the team forward. Managing the team effectively involves the leader communicating with the team in different ways for ultimate results.
References
Fibuch, E., and Ahmed, A. (2019). Managing Conflict: A Key Leadership Skill. Physician Leadership Journal, 6(4). (p.68).
Merida, T. (2015). Christ-centered exposition, exalting Jesus in 1 and 2 Kings (1st ed). (p.4). B & H Publishing Group.
Terason, S. (2018). The Effect of Conflict Management in Thai Public Sector Sport Organizations on Employee Job Satisfaction and Perceived Organizational Performance. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 17(1). (p.1).
Wheelan, S. (2016). Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders (5th ed.). (p. 1-35). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
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