Your response to conflict situations is entirely in your own control.
We talk a lot about conflict in the workplace. Why? It’s reality. The next question: Is it productive? You bet! Problems arise when the conflict is not handled in a healthy, honoring way.
We’ve previously shared Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann’s 5 modes of conflict: COMPETING, ACCOMMODATING, AVOIDING, COLLABORATING and COMPROMISING.
All modes serve a purpose; what’s important is using the most effective mode to address the conflict at hand.
Conflict can be complex. Besides utilizing the most effective style, we need to understand our emotions and triggers as well as understand the behaviors of those we’re interacting with. It’s also a priority that we curb our destructive behaviors.
Enter Wiley. Many of you are familiar with the DiSC styles (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness). Wiley is currently developing a tool to improve self-awareness around conflict behaviors.
The awareness will include our natural preference to engage versus restrain from conflict, examples of how each DiSC style is likely to influence conflict, and our tendencies to engage in both productive and destructive behaviors (with solutions for maximizing the “productive” and minimizing the “destructive”).
We are currently participating in the beta testing, look forward to learning even more, and can’t wait to be able to share it with you!
QWIKTIPS – click below
Conflict: Address, Avoid, or Leverage?
For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate. Margaret Heffernan