Identifying Managing Conflicts in a Team

Identifying Managing Conflicts in a Team

Conflicts are common scenarios in teams, and they are as a result of many factors such the mistrust among team members. Such conflicts hinder the sharing of ideas between members. They obstruct decision making and team performance. In such scenarios, team members work against each hence impeding progress. Team leaders can use several approaches when pursuing conflict resolution.

In the first instance, Da Jour, a 24-year-old employer, is now a new member of the company. The team should use effective approaches to ensure that he is incorporated into the team appropriately. The leader should introduce him to the other team members. He should then explain to him the roles of every team member and as well as allow him to interact with them (Fackler et al., 2019). Da jour should be then be empowered by allocating him resources needed to accomplish his tasks. This will incredibly motivate him and also enhance the confidence and trust of the other members towards him. Da Jour is always late, and this has led to conflicts within the team. The leader should clearly outline the consequences of being late, and Da Jour should face those consequences when he arrives late or leaves earlier than expected.

Gabriela, a 30-year-old employee, has worked for the company for seven years. This time is enough for her to have bonded with other team members. However, it seems that Gabriella is not in a good relationship with her fellow team members because she prefers completing assignments on her own, although she always meets the deadline. To cope with his, the team leader needs to keep the team members focused on their goals. Encouraging informal social events is another strategy that will allow the team members to mingle and understand each other better. (Habeeb et al., 2018). Keeping all the members motivated and enhancing their morale is one of the roles of the team members.

Arthur is 25 years old on his job; however, he seems to have a negative perception towards the other team members. He thinks that Gabriela is not a team player, and Da Jour is a slacker. Both Gabriella and Da jour believe that Arthur micromanages. To combat this, the crucial roles and responsibilities of every member should be documented; therefore, when there is a clash on opinions regarding the obligations, members can refer back to it. The team leader should explain to them the need to work together to achieve team goals (Yu et al., 2018). The objectives of the team should be specified, and in this way, the teamwork will become more purposeful. Excellent teamwork should be rewarded, and this will motivate the team member to be more committed to achieving the team goals. To avoid micro-management, the team members should start respecting each other, for teamwork to flourish, respect is required. The leader should adopt different strategies such as effective communication, avail the required tools and resources, and promote healthy workplace culture to enhance teamwork.

A team is made of people with different viewpoints, and at times, those differences may escalate into a conflict. How those conflicts are handled determines the success of a team. The team leaders must deploy different strategies and resolve these conflicts. Understanding and appreciating the various viewpoints is an essential factor in conflict resolution. It is, therefore, essential to maintain a healthy balance between the diverse opinions and avoid destructive judgments that can destroy cooperation in a team.

References

Fackler, J. C., Rehman, M., & Winslow, R. L. (2019). Please Welcome the New Team Member: The Algorithm. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 20(12), 1200-1201.

Habeeb, M. O. Y., & Kazeem, A. O. (2018). Organization Conflict and Industrial Harmony: A Synthesis of Literature. Organization, 10(11).

Yu, Y., Chen, Y., & Shi, Q. (2018). Personality, Team Goals, Motivation, and Tacit Knowledge Sharing Performance Within a University Research Team. In Strategy and Performance of Knowledge Flow (pp. 71-81). Springer, Cham.