Collaboration Toolbox || MODULE 1 > Conflict Management


			Conflict Management SOLVE, The Anger Action Model: Learning to use your Emotional Intelligence (H. Weisinger, 1996 and Burrell, 2001) ACTION PLAN For Settling Conflict State the Problem Define and identify the problems you are having in the team. Communicate that you are having a disagreement or in conflict is the first step to finding a resolution. Asking other questions can help you further understand the disagreement or conflict. What kind of conflict is it? What are the areas that you want to be changed that will rid you of the conflict? Be as specific as possible.What would your response to the problem be under the best of circumstances? What about the worst of circumstances? State the problem. Be as specific and comprehensive as possible and avoid vagueness and ambiguities. This forces you to reevaluate what might have seemed irrelevant at first glance. List the other team member's usual responses. Consider all the facts and information available to you. Is it necessary to seek additional information? Developing a complete and concrete understanding of the problem is the true beginning of solving your conflict with your team members. Ask yourself these questions: Who is involved? What does or does not happen that provokes you? When does it happen? Why does it happen? How does it happen? How do you act when you interact with the team member? How do you feel about the conflict or disagreement? Why do you act the way that you do? What do you want to happen? After you have analyzed and written down these responses, start to reframe your thoughts to change your perception of the problem. You reframe thoughts by stating what specific data you have collected, what reasoning you are using, and what conclusions you have come to. Here are some reframing statements that can support the process: The real problem is not who is involved, but how I am responding. The real problem is not what's done that bothers me, but how I respond. The real problem isn't how it happens, but how I feel about it. The real problem isn't why it happens, but why I respond the way that I do. The real problem isn't the situation, but how I am responding to the situation. When you reframe a problem, you shift the creation of the problem from the situation to yourself. This gives you the power to deal with the problem. List your alternatives. Brainstorming is a good strategy at this point. Generate as many solutions to the problem as possible. Remember to leave out any alternatives that lead to destructive criticism and judgmental evaluation. Be freewheeling, and combine and improve on the alternatives as you go along. Alternatives: Visualize the consequences. Now that you have investigated several alternatives think through what each of these strategies would accomplish. Cross out all ineffective strategies. Combine compatible alternatives as much as possible. Try to ensure that the solution is interpersonal. Write down your three best strategies and list the positive and negative consequences of each. This part of the exercise may be very quick, or it may take time for you to analyze each situation. To be successful it must be done thoroughly, rigorously, and consciously. Ask yourself: How would this strategy affect what I feel, need, and want? How will it affect the team?What are the short-term consequences? What are the long-term consequences? Visualize dealing with the different outcomes. Choose the plan that has the best outcome for you. At this juncture we can meet to decide which is the best of all the alternatives suggested. The final part of the process is evaluating your results. This part of the process does not take place until some weeks after you have taken action. But once your plans have been discussed and put in place then you can act on them and evaluate the results. Ask yourself: Are the plans proceeding as you had anticipated? Are the results meeting your goal? Is this solution actually better than what was happening before? Do you need to go to another alternate strategy that you have developed?