Anticipating and Managing Work Group Conflicts as a New Leader

In a professional setting, group conflicts are bound to occur as one must realize “workplace relationships are more or less mandatory relationships (if one wants a job and intends to keep it), and the conflicts of interest to us here involve a “mismatch in expectations of the proper course of action for an employee or group of employees” (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 230).

Identify potential conflicts that can occur in groups.

                Varying types of conflicts may occur in group settings.  The “instrumental/task conflict occurs when there is disagreement between supervisors and subordinates or among members of a team over how to get a job done” (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 231).  Though resolving conflicts of this type take precious group time, they “may result in greater efficiencies and productivity in the long run” (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 231).  

The “Relationship conflict is tied to concepts … such as power, trust, supportiveness, competition, and rules that govern types of interpersonal relationships including those in task-oriented groups such as those found in the work-place” (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 233).  This type of conflict “is the prime culprit for stress among team members and loss of productivity within the team” and the “team’s capacity for effectively and efficiently processing information is impacted as “members spend their energy focusing on the personal antagonisms rather than on the task”’ (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 233).  

The “identity conflict occurs when others treat a person contrary to the way that person sees himself or herself” (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 233).  This type of conflict is fairly self-explanatory as it occurs when members of the group do not meet one’s needs or desires. 

Lastly, the “Process conflict has to do with disagreements over the management style that is typical of a particular organization“(Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 233).  This type of conflict often occurs when parties within the group don’t agree on “their department or organization’s process goals“ (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 233).          

What strategies could you implement to manage the group conflict?

         Several strategies exist that may assist in managing group conflict.  These include: contending (the attempt to impose one’s will on the other), collaborating (which involves working with each other to find mutually acceptable outcomes), avoiding (ignoring it or working around it), compromising (trying to find a least objectionable alternative), and accommodating (sacrificing one’s own interests in order to maintain harmony in the group) (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 240).   

        Often, when managing group conflicts that I am involved in, I rely on a combination of the collaborating and compromising approaches.  I find that group conflicts most often occur because people feel as though their thoughts and feelings aren’t being listened to or acknowledged and both of these conflict management strategies rely heavily on obtaining feedback from all parties involved to determine an appropriate solution.

Abigail, R., & Cahn, D. (2011). Managing conflict through communication. (4 ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.