Team Building Tip: Introduction To Conflict

February 27, 2017

team building Melbourne having a great time

Team Building Tip: Introduction to Conflict

You might have wondered why some team building experts encourage the presence of conflict to spark your team’s teamwork and productivity. A wide range of reasons and studies are backing up the claim about the positive effects of conflict to your team. Some team building Melbourne events that we have conducted in the past have concerns and questions regarding this issue. To properly explain the answer that we provided for them, let us first know the definition of conflict.

Definition

Conflict is a word which is associated with discord, antagonism, clash, collision and opposition. In the corporate world, it is often related to the disagreement that occurs between parties with differing viewpoints. When accompanied with the emotional component of having disagreement, conflict can be a disruptive element that will ruin the team anytime. So how can experts view conflict as a helpful element for your team building?

Being able to approach the different viewpoints without the emotional factors that other people might have is a way for the disagreement to be constructive for the team. Leaving behind the emotions and seeing the differing ideas without bias can help your team to create more innovative and productive projects for your tasks.

Sources

The main source of conflict lies upon the multitude of differences that the team has. A lot of factors contribute as source of conflict. Some of the most common ones are differences in personality, attitude, ideologies, culture, behavior, religion, values and even race.

Expanding your business simply means adding more employees to your current rooster. And despite your efforts of keeping the personal differences into a minimal amount, conflict will still arise. Interactions and communication within your team guarantees different points of view. If you are unable to resolve these differences in its earliest stage, it will surely result to having conflicts within the team.

Resolution

When people are engaged in a conflict, they usually reject the idea of viewing the issue using the other person’s view point because they don’t want to see the weakness of their own ideas. The idea of losing to another member of your team can be humiliating but understanding that it was necessary to create a better project is the key to not feel hurt. The type of resolution mentioned in this case is the resolution through the ‘win-lose’ model.

If the first model will not be effective, making use of the ‘collaboration’ model of conflict resolution can be very helpful. This model involves taking the strong points from both ideas in creating an idea that will be used for the team’s project. The collaboration method is now often used by most teams since it helps the team to be more inclined into working together.

Getting your team to arrive at a resolution that will make the conflict productive is a difficult task that most leaders are unable to do. Understanding the viewpoints of your team members and encouraging them to stand for their ideas will make them develop confidence. Teaching them the right attitude when it comes to team conflict is a fundamental part of team building. Make sure that your team is informed! For more information about team building Australia, contact Beyond the Boardroom now!

 

You might also like these posts