II. Precautions
- Identify and address conflict early
- Address before conflict festers with persistent negative consequences
- Lingering conflict potentially spirals into irreparable damage
- Well-managed conflict improves team cohesion
- Greater insight into important underlying issues and their ramifications
III. Approach: Conflict Resolution
- Preparation
- Choose a setting comfortable to both parties
- Allow for adequate meeting time (consider multiple meetings)
- Clearly outline concerns to be addressed prior to the meeting
- Prepare for the meeting, researching the relevant issues
- Establish areas of agreement or common ground between the two parties
- Optimize communication
- Plan to focus on listening
- Expert negotiators spend 70% of their time listening
- Goal is to better understand the reasons for conflict and its associated strong emotions
- Assume a receptive and attentive body position
- Sit down
- Lean forward
- Uncross the arms and legs
- Plan to focus on listening
- Address differences and concerns
- First define the problem in such a way that is acceptable to both parties
- Start with a summary of observation and related concern
- Express concerns directly
- Understand the underlying root issues of disagreement
- Pursue honest discussion and effective communication
- "Seek first to understand, then to be understood" (Covey)
- Listen first, think, then speak
- Forego preconceived notions or assumptions
- First define the problem in such a way that is acceptable to both parties
- Pursue reasonable negotiation
- Acknowledge emotions, but resist allowing them to affect decision-making
- Pursue innovative solutions via joint problem solving
- Negotiate about interests instead of positions
- Positions
- What the other person or team is specifically asking for
- Interests
- Underlying needs, goals and concerns
- Identify common interests
- Positions
IV. Resources
- Mind Tools - Conflict Resolution
- Getting to Yes (by Fisher, Ury and Patton)
- Difficult Conversations (by Stone, Patton and Heen)
V. References
- Claudius, Behar and Charlton in Herbert (2014) EM:Rap 14(11): 2-3
- Montella (2014) Leadership Model Processes and Practices, AMIA’s CIBRC Online Course
- Fickenscher (2011) Physician Exec 37(1): 72 [PubMed]