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"Leadership has a harder job to do than
just choose sides. It must bring sides together".
Jesse Jackson
~~~~~~~~~~~
A successful leader:
- Is aware of their preferred
conflict style but readily uses all styles
- Recognizes the conflict
styles of others
- Understands effective conflict
management and when and how to get engaged
- Assesses if they are over
or under using a style and determines how that may impacting their
leadership skills and abilities
Take the time to review your
preferred style(s) and determine how incorporating the use of other styles
could make you a stronger leader!
Effectively handling conflict
is critical for being a successful leader. This includes having
the capability to use (and leverage) all five conflict handling modes
as defined by Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilman:
Ø Competing - This is a power oriented mode and is assertive and uncooperative;
the individual pursues his or her own interest at the expense of the other
person.
Ø Accommodating - This is the opposite of competing and is unassertive and cooperative.
The accommodating person neglects their own concerns to satisfy
the concerns of others.
Ø Avoiding - Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative. The individual
does not pursue their own concern or those of another person.
Ø Collaborating- This is the opposite of avoiding where the individual
is both assertive and cooperative and works to satisfy all of the concerns
of everyone.
Ø Compromising - This falls between competing and accommodating and is both assertive
and cooperative, a mutually acceptable solution is reached, and both parties
make concessions to resolve the issue.
Some styles sound like they may be "better"
than others but in reality there is no right or wrong style and all five
modes are useful when used in the appropriate situation.
WHEN TO LEVERAGE EACH STYLE
The COMPETING mode is most effective when
quick, decisive action is required and for important issues that may be
unpopular or are vital to the organization. Examples include discipline,
cost cutting, legal requirements, and enforcing company rules and policies.
ACCOMMODATING is useful when preserving harmony is essential, for allowing others
to learn from their mistakes (where the risk is minimal), and when you
realize you can learn from others and that their position is likely a
better solution or that the issue is much more important to the other
person than it is to you.
AVOIDING is useful when there are more pressing issues, when others
are addressing the situation and don't require your intervention, when
gathering more information is more important than having an immediate
response, when you have no chance of satisfying your own concerns, and
to let people cool down and reduce tension and then readdress the concern
at a later time.
COLLABORATING is useful when there are important issues on both sides which cannot
be compromised, must be integrated into a solution, and when there
is a need to work through hard feelings that are impacting interpersonal
relationships.
COMPROMISING is useful when there are time constraints and solutions must be
obtained quickly, when your issue is moderately important, when
two opponents of equal power are strongly committed to differing goals
but must reach a solution (ex. Labor contracts), and as a
back-up when collaboration or competition fails.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success".
Henry Ford
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