There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

I took over an IT team at the beginning of the year. When I first entered, I found that there were problems everywhere, and there were contradictions between members. The contradiction between front-end development and back-end development. The front-end feels that the design is too responsible and difficult to implement. The design feels that the design looks good and the user experience is good. The contradiction between product and development, the development feels that the product is always changing the requirements, the product feels that this small change cannot be done, is the structure not well designed.

All kinds of contradictions add up to a long list. Everyone has different views on things, different positions, and different interests, so conflicts arise. When conflicts arise in the team, they are not resolved in time, and the whole team is full of depression. In such an atmosphere, it is very inefficient, distrustful, uncooperative, and delays the progress.

A good team can do things like a tiger going down a mountain, and has super strong execution, while a poor team can't do anything, just wasting time and losing opportunities in everyone's quarrels, so the construction A good team is crucial. In Abu's article "How to build a first-class efficient team? Do these four points, the team has amazing combat power" which talks about how to build a good team.

One of the most important things in building a team is to deal with conflicts. The conflicts here are not only quarrels, but also contradictions. With different views on things, how to manage conflicts and build a good team?

There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

1 Conflict is inevitable

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are right and wrong. Different people have different ideas, different living environments, and different ways of doing things. The way of solving problems is different. In this way, when solving the same problem, Conflict is inevitable in a team.

Of course, to say it is inevitable does not mean to let him develop. In a mature team, use the basic rules of the team, the norms of the team and mature management practices to reduce the number of conflicts.

Since it is unavoidable, it needs to be managed, and successful conflict management increases productivity and improves working relationships. At the same time, when managed properly, differences of opinion can lead to increased creativity and improved decision-making.

There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

Reasonable conflict can boost team performance. At point A, conflict is low and the team is lifeless, taciturn, unresponsive to change, and lacking in thought.

As the conflict level increases, it reaches point B, which is the best conflict level and has the best performance. Here, team members have efficient self-criticism and the courage to innovate. As the conflict escalates to point C, the team is chaotic, uncooperative or even destructive.

If disagreement becomes a negative factor, it should be the responsibility of the team members to resolve it first; if the conflict escalates, the team leader should provide assistance to facilitate a satisfactory resolution, using a direct and cooperative approach, and dealing with the conflict early and often in private. If destructive conflict continues, formal procedures, including disciplinary measures, are available.

There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

2 Sources of conflict

Sources of conflict include resource scarcity, schedule prioritization, and differences in personal work styles. The use of team ground rules, team norms, and proven management practices can reduce the number of conflicts.

Seven of Conflicts

First, progress: it involves time allocation. If the time for work is too tight, it will easily cause everyone to be nervous, or if they need to work overtime, it is easy for everyone to conflict.

Second, the priority: Everyone wants to put the things they do on a high priority, so that they can get more support.

Third, the distribution of resources: there is no problem of widowhood but uneven distribution. As long as there is uneven distribution, there will definitely be some people who have opinions.

Fourth, technical opinion: This is normal. Everyone's technical background, ability, and depth of consideration are different.

Fifth, administrative procedures: There can be dissatisfaction with the company's procedures, especially reimbursement, overtime, and commute procedures.

Sixth, cost: that is money. When the investment is less, grievances will come out, which is similar to resources.

Seventh, personality: There is one thing to pay attention to here. Many times, I think it is personality, but it is actually the previous reason. The previous reason causes everyone to be too nervous and unwilling to cooperate. If you look at it at a superficial level, it is the personality problem that does not cooperate , but looking deeper, it is still an imbalance of mind caused by too little time.

Just like our front-end and back-end development, there are currently three back-ends and one front-end. Every time I look for something to do with the front-end, the front-end is not very cooperative, and the back-end is very cooperative. I thought that the front-end attitude was not good and the degree of cooperation was not high. After chatting with him, we are a front-end. He has too many things to be responsible for. If some things are promised, there is not enough time to complete them, so he is unwilling to change them. Later, we adjusted the direction and put more modifications on the back end. At this time, the front end was not so busy. At this time, we will find that the front end cooperates very well.

There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

3 Five Common Conflict Resolution Methods

The famous "Thomas-Kilman" model of conflict management style, Thomas focuses on two dimensions of cooperation and personality, and identifies five main conflict management styles: competition, avoidance, compromise, cooperation and concession.

There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

There are five common conflict resolution techniques, each with its own role and purpose.

1. Competition

Both sides consider issues in their own interests, and they do not give in. There must be a winner and a loser, whether it is straight or not. This method is characterized by head-on conflict, direct arguments and quarrels. Both sides of the conflict only consider their own interests without regard to the impact on others, and try to sacrifice the interests of others to achieve their own goals.

At this time, we can only seek common ground while reserving differences, moderate/tolerate, and emphasize consistency rather than differences; take a step back in order to maintain harmony and relationship, and consider the needs of other parties.

2. Avoid

Avoidance is when both sides of the conflict take no action, neither cooperate nor attack. This is the fact that both parties are aware of the existence of conflict, but try to ignore the conflict, exchanging time for space.

At this time, both sides are retreating. Step back from actual or potential conflict, defer issues until more prepared, or push issues to others for resolution.

3. Compromise

Compromise is when both parties make concessions. Everyone gives up part of their demands and interests, but at the same time preserves certain demands and interests. There are no winners and losers in this solution, and everyone bears the cost of the conflict.

At this time, someone needs to mediate and the two sides negotiate. In order to temporarily or partially resolve the conflict, looking for a solution that will satisfy all parties to a certain extent, but this approach sometimes leads to a "lose-lose" situation, because the problem is not resolved, and there may be subsequent outbreaks.

4. Cooperation

This is the most respected way by everyone, considering both parties to the conflict and safeguarding everyone's demands and interests. Taking into account different viewpoints and opinions, adopting a cooperative attitude and open dialogue to guide all parties to reach consensus and commitment can lead to a win-win situation.

In this way, both parties to the conflict need mutual trust and respect, and in this process, a lot of communication and time are needed. Once a consensus is reached, it is a win-win situation. If a consensus cannot be reached, it may delay the progress.

5. Concession

When a conflict occurs, only consider the requirements and interests of the other party, and put the interests of the other party above your own interests, without considering or sacrificing your own requirements and examples.

In the team, it is often implemented with forced orders. Pushing one side's point of view at the expense of others; offering only win-lose scenarios. Power is often used to force an urgent problem, an approach that often results in a "win-lose" situation.

This is easy to happen in a company where the boss speaks his mind. A few years ago, at a strategic meeting about JD.com, Liu Qiangdong confidently announced that JD.com will establish its own logistics delivery system, which requires a lot of investment, which means that JD.com will not be able to make real profits for a long time in the future. .

When Liu Qiangdong proposed this decision, an executive of JD.com immediately stood up and opposed it, and the reasons were very good. Many people at the meeting agreed with the executive's opinion, thinking that Liu Qiangdong was playing with fire. But Liu Qiangdong said: It is my decision to build a logistics and distribution system by JD.com, and I am not discussing with you today, but rather to inform you, please follow the implementation.

At the same time, Liu Qiangdong said to the executive: I did not ask you to come to Jingdong to prove whether my decision was right or wrong. I invited you to implement my decision. If there is any difficulty, I will find a way to complete it. . At the meeting a week later, the executive's position had changed. Today, JD.com has far surpassed Taobao in terms of logistics.

There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

4 Use different methods according to different situations

Generally speaking, everyone thinks that cooperation is the best choice, but when it comes to actually resolving conflicts, it is impossible to generalize. Different conflicts require different solutions. Blind cooperation may delay time, and it may be just wishful thinking. It is a speculative act that dare not face conflict.

Factors affecting conflict resolution, the ability to resolve conflicts often determines the success or failure of its management team. Different people may use different conflict resolution methods. Factors that influence conflict resolution methods include:

First, the importance and intensity of the conflict;

Second, the urgency of the conflict;

Third, the relative power of those involved in the conflict;

Fourth, the importance of maintaining good relationships;

Fifth, the motivation to resolve the conflict permanently or temporarily.

1. Corresponding to different processing methods according to the priority of the matter

We are doing things, some work is very important, some is unimportant, some is urgent, and some is not so urgent, according to different situations, there will be different ways to deal with it.

There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

First, for important and urgent matters, at this time, competition or concession is required. In fact, we are not afraid of competition. We should state all our interests and requirements. This can be used as a reference, so that leaders can make decisions and take timely actions. Of course, when you find that your plan doesn't work, you can back down in time.

Second, regarding what is important or not urgent, this one has time and needs the opinions of more important people. You can think more carefully, so that the way of cooperation can be accepted by everyone.

Third, it is not urgent and not important, this can be avoided, wait until there is time to solve it, or just give in directly.

Fourth, it is not important and urgent, so there is no need to care so much. We can discuss with each other and compromise.

2. Use influence instead of forced acceptance

In the process of dealing with conflicts, if it is forced to accept, although the problem is solved at that time, it will still leave a bad impression on both sides of the conflict. After a while, it feels suppressed, which is not good for the atmosphere of the team.

Also, in some teams, especially in a matrix management environment, there is often little or no command authority over team members, so the ability to influence stakeholders in a timely manner is critical to ensuring success. The influence is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

First, convince others;

Second, express opinions and positions clearly;

Third, active and effective listening;

Fourth, understand and consider a variety of viewpoints;

Fifth, collect relevant information, solve problems and reach consensus while maintaining a relationship of mutual trust.

With influence, it can be dealt with in a less hard way, but in a softer way, which is better accepted by both sides of the conflict.

There are constant conflicts in the team and the efficiency is not high, that is, you have not used these five conflict resolution methods

5 at the end

In the process of doing things, we will encounter conflicts, and conflicts are inevitable, but we should control the conflicts within the best conflict range.

There are five ways to deal with conflicts. According to the importance of urgency, there are different ways to deal with different situations. In the process of coming out, unless you are particularly urgent and use a coercive way, you should use your own influence and use the appropriate method. way to deal with.

When conflicts are handled well, the dark cloud over the team can be dissipated, the atmosphere can be good, and work efficiency can be high.