It’s inevitable that when you’re a leader, you will have to deal with conflict at some point. This is one of the primary skills required for great leadership, so it’s essential that you learn how to do this well.
Most problems in organizations and groups get started from small conflicts that simply grew bigger. The problems associated with mishandled conflict can escalate rapidly. When it’s ignored or mismanaged, conflict has a tendency to morph into jealousy, petty deeds, envy, and all sorts of other unhealthy attitudes. Once those attitudes are firmly entrenched, it can be hard to clear the air, even though after a while, neither side may fully remember why they don’t like the other side.
It is usually relatively easy to tell that conflict exists, if your channels of communication with team members are open. Team members should not be afraid to come to you to report a conflict happening to or nearby them. There may also be a conflict brewing or in the recent past if you notice signs like pettiness, an unfounded dislike of any other team or department, or office gossip about a falling-out between employees. Such tales aren’t always true, but it’s good to be aware of what might be going on that you don’t know about.
When conflict is reported or spotted, respond immediately to establish your leadership, but don’t crack down on it or forbid it. A hardline approach will only force the conflict underground, not make it vanish – it will resurface someday, probably at the worst possible time. Instead, try to get unbiased opinions, or at least both sides of the story, and find out what the underlying cause of the conflict is. For example, if one department at a company is resentful of another because there are so many transferred calls, it may not be a matter of reducing the number of calls being transferred. Instead, perhaps that department feels like it’s not respected or looked at as the “grunt work” department, so a more effective way to handle the conflict would address these underlying feelings of not being respected (and see if there is any truth to them).
Avoid the instinct to sweep conflict away, even if it’s easier to tell people to “shake hands and make up” or something similar. Get the conflict out in the open, as this is the only way to really figure out what is going on that you don’t know about, and then effectively address it. The satisfaction of all parties involved will be much higher, and you will be more respected as a competent and open leader. Nobody likes to feel like their problems, which feel like crises to them, are unimportant.
Conflicts can be difficult to begin managing effectively, particularly if you are a new leader, but they don’t have to be. Conflict resolution is an important skill to learn as a leader, and once you know how to handle them, you will be better able to fulfill your duties.