Emerging leaders tend to struggle when it comes to conflict mediation. Whether you were promoted from within an organization or hired from the outside, demonstrating your ability to navigate conflict as a leader is critical to gaining the respect and trust of your team.
A conflict resolution skill set begins with the ability to see past the surface and identify the root causes of many common conflicts in the workplace: generational differences, poor communication, and organizational change.
Generational differences
Today’s workforce is made up of five distinct generations, encompassing the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Just hearing those titles likely brought negative stereotypes to mind, so the first step is to notice that tendency within yourself.
Next, it is important to take your team’s generational breadth into consideration when addressing conflict. Often team members from different generations have the same ultimate goal–team success–but disagree when it comes to the prioritization of different aspects of a project or the way in which a task should be accomplished.
As a leader, if you can see past the minutiae and remind the team that everyone is working toward a common goal, you’ll start from a place of connection rather than isolation. Then, you can help each party see ways in which they might adapt to one another’s preferences while still achieving group success.
Poor communication
There’s a reason every business publication seems to talk about communication ad nauseam: poor communication is the root cause of many workplace problems. As the leader, it’s your responsibility to communicate expectations in a clear manner and to draw boundaries around appropriate workplace behavior.
Excellent communication starts with you. Leaders assign roles and responsibilities to their team members, and clarity in this task is essential to ensuring all future communication is productive. Role clarity ensures that team members don’t step on each other’s toes by repeating work or overlooking certain duties.
In addition, spearheading the creation of a social contract or formal behavior standard upfront sets you up for success down the line when conflict inevitably arises. You can fall back on the expectations laid out in the document rather than come up with rationale for conflict intervention on the spot.
Organizational change
Finally, organizational change can bring out the worst in people, especially if they don’t have strong leadership. Team members may feel vulnerable and uncertain of job security during times of upheaval in the workplace, which can lead to negative behaviors.
As a leader, preparing your team for upcoming organizational changes through clear and early communication is a must. The more transparent you can be, the better, even when it means admitting that something hasn’t gone according to plan. This maintains trust with your team instead of sowing discord.
Conflict among team members can arise when expectations about how a change will play out are unmet. Sometimes leaders feel overwhelmed because they, like their team, can’t predict the future and know how everything will end up. But their job necessitates the ability to cast a hopeful vision and shepherd everyone toward it.
Your path to improvement
If you are relatively new to leadership and struggling with conflict resolution skills, our Team Leader Foundations course can help. An eight-session, online program created for leaders of any level, Team Leader Foundations will equip you with the ability to identify, navigate, and resolve conflicts among your team members.
In addition, you will be assigned a cohort of similar leaders with whom you can role play conflict mediation using real-life examples. Expert coaches will weigh in on areas in which you excel and areas of constraint that need your attention.
Inquire about the Team Leader Foundations program today to take your first step toward confidence in professional conflict resolution.