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Taking a Look at Conflict

Decent Essays

Conflict is destructive when it results in a negative impact to you, others or the business. What are the ingredients for destructive conflict? • Ingredient #1: mismanagement: Sometimes it is the goal, or what you want to achieve, is too narrowly defined. Some people also call this a power struggle. There is a difference between “I know my solution is right” and “We need to find a way to get this project moving forward”. The end-game is different in these two goals. Focusing on “my solution” is too narrow and rigid. Another way conflict is mismanaged is when personal attacks come into play. This can result in one party becoming defensive. Or another result could be individuals or teams becoming less flexible and having a win vs. defeat mentality. • Ingredient #2: misunderstanding. This is when the real issues are ignored or never uncovered, and it happens for a variety of reasons like lacking confidence, making assumptions, lacking empathy or the inability or unwillingness to understand the views of others, being afraid of change or personal vulnerability. Talk about ‘wide’ variety! • Let’s spend a little more time on this issue because it is a critical part of avoiding destructive conflict. Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding is thinking we are dealing with one type of conflict, but the reality is that we are not dealing with what we THINK we are dealing with. When we have conflict with others, it can really occur on three primary levels: 1. Subject matter or

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