Four Types of Conflict Resolution

Brief #17: One preferred, one fantasy, one ugly necessity, and one horror show

Photo by Simon Hurry on Unsplash

The insidious part of conflict resolution is not “conflict”.  It’s the resolution part.  How conflict ends. Or does not.

Disagreements between personalities, resource demands, priorities, money, timing, opportunities, often fuel conflicts. These are going to happen. Conflicts are a natural part of work and life.

With that being said, people don’t like to think of conflicts. People love to watch some good drama. From a distance. If it gets too close, they become ostriches and stick their heads in the ground. Then bad things start happening which can snowball into failure, firings, and general dismay.

Keep your head out of the dirt and acknowledge a conflict will be resolved in one of four ways. As a leader, prepare your teams for conflicts and working through them. They are coming. There are roles for any and all employees when working through a dispute.

Damage from sincere and legitimate disagreements will generally heal.  Resolution must swift, focused, and understood  by teams.  People should be treated with dignity and respect. And feel that way. While leaders must take the lead in resolving conflicts, everyone on a team has a role in securing a resolution and moving past it.

For most people and situations, conflicts are resolved in of four different ways. Keep these options in mind when you encounter a dispute. Start to think what the odds are for where you are likely to end up and what you can do to get to an acceptable resolution.

Longer and more intense conflicts tend to yield greater damage. Be it intentional or collateral in nature.    Examples of this damage can include: