Conflict Resolution in Project Management

What is Conflict Resolution?

Conflict resolution involves the action to minimize, resolve and eliminate dynamic forms and types of conflicts. The aim is to determine whether there are any conflicts of interest within the parties of the project. It is to find and fix the negative cause of conflict and prioritize the positive outcome of improving learning in an organization.

Conflicts should be addressed as early as possible or in a confidential, using the means of direct as well as collaborative means.

The team also seeks ways to define conflict resolution in which a business can benefit and get effect from types or levels of conflict.

The conflict resolution model focuses on segregating two means of conflict as:

Healthy Conflict

Diverse parties respect various opinions
Calm and non-defensive
Willingness to pass the issue
Seek Compromise
Focus Resolution

Unhealthy Conflict

Lack of respect for various opinions
Explosive, defensive, and passive
Trying on winning the conflict
Lack of compromise
Fear of conflict

6 Main Sources of Conflict in the Workplace

6 Main Sources of Conflict in the Workplace

Conflict at the workplace can come from many different sources that disturb the atmosphere. These include differences in personality, communication breakdowns, competing goals, unclear roles, resource limitations, and organizational changes.

- Moral Value Conflict:
Moral value conflict arises when employees have differing mismatched beliefs and opinions on religion, politics, culture, and ethics. Moral wrongdoing in the workplace often occurs due to personal ethics, cultural background, or experiences. This can cause tension and hinder collaboration.

- Power Conflict:
Power conflict, which frequently leads to stress, animosity, and decreased cooperation, is the outcome of rivalry for influence, power, or control inside an organization. Addressing these requires clear communication, fair leadership, and transparent authority distribution.

- Economic Conflict:
Economic conflict in the workplace results from disputes over resources, which, if not addressed by just and open decision-making processes, can affect teamwork and productivity. In order to acquire financial or personnel resources, two parties are in competition.

- Interpersonal Conflict:
The struggles between two team members or parties who perceive a lack of cooperation, communication gaps, needs, goals, or approaches to communication or work styles. Resolving conflicts and strengthening interpersonal ties require identifying these underlying causes.

- Organizational Conflict:
Understanding the causes of organizational conflict is essential to its successful resolution. These causes include opposing aims, confusing responsibilities, organizational shifts, conflicting personalities, inefficient communication, and limited resources.

- Environmental Conflict:
Environmental conflict arises from various factors such as competing interests, conservation values, unequal access to resources, and environmental degradation impacts. Finding these sources is essential to solving disputes and achieving permanent solutions.

Top 5 Conflict Resolution Practices for Project Management

A project manager must be keen on the types and examples of conflict resolution skills, to check with natural, open conflict, a team issue, and forces a change for alternatives.

Openness does resolve conflicts. Well, a method of conflict resolution should purely focus on: 

- Core issues, not personalities.
- Stay put on the present, no past.
- Openness.
- Ready for communication.

Grasping different methods between a healthy and unhealthy conflict helps you define the ideal resolution.  It is helpful to run the conflict resolution methods, particularly to project any team size in the right direction.

Some of the five conflict resolution strategies that resource teams use to handle conflict include the following points.

Practice 1: Avoiding (or Withdrawing)

This strategy aims to dissolve conflict by ignoring the scenario. This withdrawal from further engaging in the conflict occurs when the uneasiness of confrontation crosses the expected result of the resolution of the conflict.

Avoidance should not be a substitute for resolving conflicts unless to calm the situation. 

This type of method does not contribute to control over a proper conversation but widens gaps in disengagement to the matter. Nothing gets fixed.

Practice 2: Competing

Usually, this method among the conflict resolution steps completely fails to agree on the opposite coworker's point of view and prepare to win over.

Conflict-competing people start being assertive over the other one. A strategy where there is no space for different perspectives to sound well together. 

In a workspace, competing is rarely a suggestion for solving any group issues.

Practice 3: Accommodating (or Smoothing)

Smoothing is a strategy where one party opts to surrender in accepting the demands of another party. The give-in party is being cooperative. Also, a considerate way to give in when one finds out that the other one is at fault in an argument.

The con to this strategy is that one party finds that the party entertains another party to maintain harmony just to avoid conflict. Thus, the conflict remains unresolved.          

Practice 4: Collaboration (or Confronting)

Collaborating is one of the methods to dissolve the conflict in the major issues popping up to bring about the scenario.  Both parties are ready to address their disagreements, negotiate and move to solve a dispute. Here, the party’s needs and wants are taken, so it is satisfactory on both ends. 

This practice is a win-win and is found effective for the best long term results, but hard and time-consuming to follow.

Generally, a tactic like this encourages a healthy circle to look for a potential solution and past the issue to expect good results.  A shared solution everyone can support.

Practice 5: Compromising

Both parties get involved in the conflict to obtain something. This solution partially satisfies both parties. Compromise makes a good umbrella for everyone to give their goals and ideas, but, a poor roof for everyone to get satisfied.

Nothing beats best as “Compromise is the best and cheapest lawyer to a conflict” with the final outcome. Here, both parties are both assertive and cooperative. 

Measures to Quickly Manage Conflicts

The effective tips to manage the conflict are as follows; 

- Maintain calmness and try to establish a dialogue
- Refrain from taking sides
- Find out the root cause of the conflict
- Give chance to both parties to talk
- Identify measures to resolve problems
- Find shared goal and drive an agreeable solution
- Analyze how the decision was made
- Make preparation to refrain from various future conflicts

Start Right, Start Strong - Benefits of Conflict Resolution

It’s very important for a leader, project manager, or even a team member to know how to master skills to resolve conflicts and communicate in situations.

Each practice is useful, having its own sets of pros and cons to it based on the situation.

Conflict is an unavoidable reality in the workplace. Smart organizations are aware of it and prepare their management with proper conflict resolution to handle and resolve the workplace quickly and effectively.

Conflict resolution enhances better communication and workplace morale. Innovative and creative ideas can result from constructive disagreement when addressed correctly.

Let's explore some of the key benefits  of conflict resolution:

- Improved Communication:
One of the positive outcomes where it fosters effective communication by allowing conflicting parties to actively listen and express their thoughts without judgment. This process reduces misunderstandings and improves teamwork. This process helps reduce misunderstandings and improves overall teamwork.

- Enhanced Relationships:
Another positive outcome where it enhances relationships by fostering mutual understanding and trust among team members. This deepens trust, allowing open dialogues and fostering a safe environment for sharing ideas. This mutual respect strengthens team bonds and fosters a more cooperative environment.

- Increased Productivity:
Conflict resolution techniques help employees manage stress and focus on tasks. Addressing disagreements in projects can increase productivity and foster innovation. Effective conflict resolution also helps teams navigate differing viewpoints, leading to growth and learning opportunities.

- Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills:
Conflict resolution improves team problem-solving skills by identifying root causes, considering alternatives, and reaching agreeable solutions, thereby becoming an asset to organizations facing complex issues.

- Creating a Positive Work Culture:
Addressing conflicts directly can boost team morale and productivity, reducing the negative impact of unresolved disputes. This proactive approach encourages open dialogue and constructive problem-solving, benefiting individuals and the organization's overall success.

To gain knowledge about conflict resolution and other areas of project management, enroll in our Conflict Resolution Training and PMP Certification Training. This program is designed and conducted by industry experts. Chat with our course executive to get complete details.

Frequently Asked Questions

1) What is an example of conflict resolution?

Given below are the varying prominent examples of conflict resolution:

-  An coworker believes they have faced racial discrimination or harassment
-  An employee with sexual harassment
-  Miscommunication leads to disagreements
-  Clashing of perspectives and working style

With the above scenario, the best solution a project manager would bring to conflict resolution is by listening to both parties, explaining, and brainstorming solutions together.

2) How do you improve conflict?

A good leader can improve conflict by taking all the right measures suitable for the circumstance by staying cool, negotiating, communicating, consolidating, and many more.

3) Why is conflict resolution important?

For the group to motivate and bring success together in harmony, conflict resolution plays equally important as any factor in project management. 

Multiple unpredictable conflicts do occur during the project lifecycle progress and without conflict resolution; it is a surely slow growth of success, high disagreement, worst case, and low satisfaction to the peers.

4) How do you handle conflict?

There are numerous ways to handle conflict. The best ways involve:

- Avoid talking when things need to cool down.
- Not to blame or pinpoint.
- Be patient and justify without judgment.
- Communicate.
- Compromise on the middle ground to bring a shared solution.

5) What is conflict resolution in project management?

Conflict resolution in project management involves identifying and addressing disagreements or disputes within a project team to ensure smooth collaboration and project success.

6) What are the 5 conflict resolution strategies?

- Avoiding: Ignoring the conflict.
- Accommodating: Yielding to others' demands.
- Competing: Asserting one's viewpoint at the potential expense of others.
- Compromising: Finding a middle ground.
- Collaborating: Working together to find a mutually beneficial solution.

7) What are the 5 skills for conflict resolution?

- Effective Communication: Clearly conveying thoughts and actively listening.
- Empathy: Understanding others' perspectives.
- Problem-Solving: Identifying solutions that satisfy all parties.
- Negotiation: Reaching agreements through discussion.
- Emotional Intelligence: Managing emotions constructively.