Managing conflict
Featured in the Using Emotional Intelligence at Work training manual
By Mike Bagshaw
Category: Emotional Intelligence
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
If people spent their lives agreeing with everybody else, there would be no growth of ideas. It is good and healthy, for individuals as well as organisations, to have a range of opinions. A new outlook is fresh blood to an old idea. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to see it like that. People get attached to their own ideas and tend to protect them fiercely, rather than let new ideas flow in, merging with, modifying or replacing the old; this can lead to raging conflict instead of a stimulating crossflow of ideas. The faster things change, the more likely people are to cling on to the apparent security of the old. The faster things change, the more important it is that people are willing to let go of what’s past, and to find the best way to incorporate the new. It is a major leadership challenge to create a climate where a variety of viewpoints is welcomed. If difference leads to conflict, it needs to be faced – managed, not avoided. This training activity for leaders and others is a step towards creating that kind of climate.
The training activity starts with a quick check around the group to establish the last time they were in conflict. You draw out views about sources of conflict, present a definition of conflict, and then talk about the more usual sources of conflict in the workplace. The reasons why conflict is so prevalent are discussed. Then the participants are involved in a conflict simulation where they focus, in a practical way, on how conflict develops and how it can be resolved. There is then a discussion about why people avoid conflict – and how – as well as the pitfalls of doing this. Particular attention is paid to passive aggressive behaviour. The participants are then given an opportunity to explore their own conflict-handling style. This leads to a small-group exercise in which the participants consider some of their key relationships, and how they may improve the way they personally manage conflict.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to understand their own response to conflict and to help them to engage in constructive discontent rather than destructive animosity.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:50:00 |
| No of Pages: | 24 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers on team-development programmes, with groups who are experiencing conflict, on assertiveness programmes, team leader development programmes, and training events on dealing with difficult people situations.
Download the training activity, Managing conflict as featured in the Fenman training manual; Using Emotional Intelligence at Work