HOW TO RESOLVE CONFLICT?
Writer: Yousuf Almas
Rarely will you find a leader who has not faced internal or external conflict while working in an organization or a group of people. Facing such conflicts and how you resolve them is a immediate test of a leader’s abilities. Success in resolving a conflict will take the leader and his organization forward while failure will result in the downfall of both. Maturity and emotional control are some characteristics that are necessary to deal with conflicts as well as honesty and selflessness. In addition to this being observant and knowing about the attitudes and behaviour of people also aids in better resolving of a conflict. A leader should immediately understand the next person’s point of view, analyze the conversation and judge its consequences.
When aiming to resolve a conflict you, as a leader, need to keep these things in practice at all times. Conflicts are best dealt with by using confrontation, talking out the issue face to face with the other party. You should maintain eye contact and a respectful attitude and body language while conversing with the person and try to point out the positive attributes of the person in front of him rather than criticising him on his flaws. Try to keep the reasons behind the conflict as focus of the conversation and listen to the whole issue with impartiality. Biasness or leaving out of information while dealing with issue can lead to bigger problems later on. He should also avoid using a preaching attitude or trying to change the attitudes of the party in order to reach a conclusion
He should also try to resolve a conflict at its earliest stage, before it grows out of proportion. This could be done by relocating individuals in departments and shuffling responsibilities to break patterns and groupings that can lead to conflict. A leader does not follow the example of another or wait for someone else to resolve it; rather he should be the first one to take initiative. To some extent counselling has also been proven beneficial, but that does not mean providing convenience or higher designations the person to reach a quick solution as this creates greater problems for later by reinforcing him and others to do the same for gains in the future.
To sum it up, a leader should deal with confrontations of conflict in such a way that respect and dignity is to be maintained of all the personnel involved. Discussion should be done in a serious attitude without any irrelevant dialogue taking place and decisions should be made keeping the societal norms and traditions in mind, as people are sensitive to those. With practice and hard work on these guidelines, a leader can overcome any difficulties and successfully resolve conflicts that come his way.
.webp)
