82. Anticipate Problems and Deal with Them Immediately

Conflict is not going to dissolve on its own. Someone must take ownership of each conflict and work to resolve it positively. There is another element of conflict resolution—the time factor. Once you become aware of a conflict, you do not have the luxury of time to wait and see what will happen. It is imperative that when you see a problem developing, you deal with it immediately. Become an active observer and communicator in order to anticipate problems as they are arising. With this approach, you will be able to resolve conflict when it is still in the formative stage.

Performance Prompts

• Always look for things that are amiss, such as people who have different points of view, do not agree with a decision, or feel unfairly treated.

• Ask team members, coworkers, and friends to tell you when problems are arising.

• Before initiating any project or program, develop a contingency plan. Watch for any problems that may develop and be ready to implement your contingency plan.

• Before initiating any action, review past projects and programs, analyze what conflicts occurred, and how they were resolved.

• Confront conflict as soon as you notice it. Never let conflict grow into an unmanageable situation.

• Before plunging in to resolve the conflict, take time to think about it.

• Plan the best way to handle the situation. If the conflict is between two people, you most likely do not need to involve your entire team in its resolution.

• Think about how the involved people are going to respond when you meet. Who will be confrontational? Who will be passive and give in?

• If you do not know how to resolve the conflict, ask for help.

• Ask your peers how they effectively resolved conflict on similar problems.

When This Happens ...

You noticed the conflict, and you must deal with it. You now have enough information from your individual discussions to plan your group meeting. The problem is that you like everyone on your team. This puts you in an uncomfortable position.

Try This

Get past feeling uncomfortable. You have a problem, so deal with it. This does not mean you need to jump right in. First, carefully plan how you will work to resolve the conflict. If four members of your team are involved, meet with those four only. Think about how you are going to open the meeting and facilitate the discussion. It is very important that you also think about how each team member is going to respond. Who will be outspoken? Who will try to dominate the conversation? How is Dave going to handle a meeting where others may criticize him? By carefully planning, you will find the best way to resolve the situation.

When you meet conflict head on, you will gain respect as an involved leader.