How do you handle conflict? Each of us has a conflict management style that we use predominately.
Collaboration
Collaboration is by far the best style because it causes us to work together so that everyone can win.
Compromise
Some think that compromise may be the best, but this style boils down to satisfying some interests, but not all of them.
Competition
Competition is disruptive in most cases. The idea here is “I am out to beat you at all costs.”
Avoidance
Avoidance is the worst and most frequently used. The strength of this style is that it allows you to choose your battles, but its weakness is that you can end up in an undesirable position when trying to avoid the conflict.
Accommodation
Finally, accommodation puts others’ interests ahead of your own. This style can lead to you being taken advantage of when there is excessive accommodation.
Which style do you use? Perhaps its time to try out a new style and see how much more effective you can be.
What do you think about this? Have you found that one of these strategies works better than the others? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.
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More Resources on Conflict and Conflict Management
- Common Causes of Conflict
- Conflict Management on Wikipedia
- Conflict Resolution: Resolving Conflict Rationally and Effectively
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