By Mike Myatt, Chief StrategyOfficer, N2growthThe issues surrounding conflictresolution can be best summed-up in three words..."DealWith It". Conflict Resolution is a skill set necessary forsurvival in today's business world. While you can try and avoidconflict (bad idea), you cannot escape conflict...The fact of thematter is that conflict in the workplace is unavoidable. It willfind you whether you look for it (good idea) or not. The ability torecognize conflict, understand the nature of conflict, and to beable to bring swift and fair resolution to conflict will serve youwell as a senior executive or entrepreneur. In today's blog postI'll share my perspective on the art and science of conflictresolution.How many times over the years have you witnessedotherwise savvy professionals self-destruct because they wouldn'tengage out of a fear of conflict? Putting one's head in the sandand hoping that conflict will pass you by is not the most effectivemethodology for problem solving. Conflict rarely resolvesitself...In fact, conflict normally escalates if not dealt withproactively and properly. It is not at all uncommon to see whatmight have been a non-event manifest itself into a monumentalproblem if not resolved early on. Remember that sleeping dogs allwake-up at some point in time.Developing effective conflictresolution skill sets are an essential component of a building asustainable business model. Unresolved conflict often results in aloss of productivity, stifles creativity, and creates barriers tocooperation. While conflict is a normal part of any social andorganizational setting, the challenge of conflict lies in how onechooses to deal with it. Concealed or avoided, conflict will likelyfester only to grow into resentment, create withdrawal or causefactional infighting within an organization.So, what createsconflict in the workplace? Opposing positions, competitivetensions, power struggles, ego, pride, jealousy, performancediscrepancies, compensation issues, just someone having a bad day,etc. While the answer to the previous question would appear to leadto the conclusion that just about anything and everything createsconflict, the reality is that the root of most conflict is eitherborn out of poor communication or the inability to control one'semotions. Let's examine these 2 major causes ofconflict:Communication: I've heard it said that90% of all problems in business could be avoided with bettercommunication. My personal opinion is the number is closer to 50%(with the remaining 50% being caused by unmanaged emotions). If youreflect back upon conflicts you have encountered over the yearsyou'll quickly recognize that many of them resulted from a lack ofinformation, poor information, no information, or misinformation.Let's assume for a moment that you were lucky enough to havereceived good information but didn't know what to do with it...Thatis still a communication problem, which can in turn lead toconflict. Clear, concise, accurate, and timely communication ofinformation will help to ease both the number and severity ofconflicts.Emotions: Another common mistake made inworkplace communications that leads to conflict is letting emotionsdrive decisions. I have observed countless examples of people whojeopardize their future to indulge their emotions, when whatthey should have done was protect their future by exhibitingcontrol over their emotions. I have witnessed otherwise savvyexecutives place the need for emotional superiority ahead ofachieving their mission (not that they always understood this atthe time). Case in point...have you ever witnessed an employeethrow a fit of rage and resign their position in the heat of themoment? If you have, what you really watched was a person indulgingtheir emotions rather than protecting their future.The very bane ofhuman existence, which is in fact human nature itself, will alwayscreate gaps in thinking and philosophy and no matter how much weall wish it wasn't so...it is. So the question then becomes how toeffectively deal with conflict when it arises.It is essential fororganizational health and performance that conflict be accepted andaddressed through effective conflict resolution processes. Whilehaving a conflict resolution structure is important, effectiveutilization of conflict resolution processes is ultimatelydependant upon the ability of all parties to understand thebenefits of conflict resolution, and perhaps more importantly,their desire to resolve the matter. The following tips will help tomore effective handle conflicts in the workplace:

1. Define Acceptable Behavior: You know what theysay about assuming...Just having a definition for what constitutesacceptable behavior is a positive step in avoiding conflict.Creating a framework for decisioning, using a published delegationof authority statement, encouraging sound business practices incollaboration, team building, leadership development, and talentmanagement will all help avoid conflicts. Having clearly definedjob descriptions so that people know what's expected of them and awell articulated chain of command to allow for effectivecommunication will also help avoid conflicts.
2. Hit Conflict Head-on: While you can't alwaysprevent conflicts, it has been my experience that the secret toconflict resolution is in fact conflict prevention where possible.By actually seeking out areas of potential conflict and proactivelyintervening in a fair and decisive fashion you will likely preventcertain conflicts from ever arising. If a conflict does flair up,you will likely minimize its severity by dealing with itquickly.
3. Understanding the WIIFM Factor: Understandingthe other professionals WIIFM (What's In It For Me) position iscritical. It is absolutely essential to understand other'smotivations prior to weighing in. The way to avoid conflict is tohelp those around you achieve their objectives. If you approachconflict from the perspective of taking the action that will helpothers best achieve their goals you will find few obstacles willstand in your way with regard to resolving conflict.
4. The Importance Factor: Pick your battles andavoid conflict for the sake of conflict. However if the issue isimportant enough to create a conflict then it is surely importantenough to resolve. If the issue, circumstance, or situation isimportant enough, and there is enough at stake, people will do whatis necessary to open lines of communication and close positionalgaps.
5. View Conflict as Opportunity: Hidden withinvirtually every conflict is the potential fora tremendous teaching/learning opportunity. Where there isdisagreement there is an inherent potential for growthand development. If you're a CEO who doesn't leverageconflict for team building and leadership developmentpurposes you're missing agreat opportunity.