Disagreements and conflicts are experienced in everyone
lives. They can be with a supervisor, colleague, or someone personal in your
life. This week I reflected on strategies that I have learned that can help me
manage and resolve conflicts more productively.
The first strategy I choose was “Getting to Yes” (Billikopf
2009). This strategy helps people identify the needs and focus on them rather
than others positions. I feel that by making sure the conflict is aligned with
the needs of all parties, and then the conflict should resolve itself. It is
hard when times are tough to focus on actual purpose than get wrapped up in how
the others are talking and the negative aspects of communication they might be
using. This strategy could also show broader ranges of solutions. When people
are working together for a common purpose than against each other for what goal
they want, more gets accomplished and the communication becomes more
productive.
The second strategy I choose was to involve a third party.
Using a third party could also be very beneficial in the work environment. A
third party makes sure that everyone is on task and working towards a common
goal and not badgering or being negative towards the other parties. The only
issue with using a third party is making sure that they are not bias and will
hold their own opinions and feelings towards individuals inside. A third party
is also good at coming up with a compromise for the parties and looking for
more solutions that are possible.
Nonviolent communication and the 3 R’s are also a good way
to make sure that communication from you is proper and not harmful to another.
By understanding disagreements and conflicts and receiving knowledge about
different strategies, they should be solved in a peaceful and productive way.
Billikopf,
G. (2009, August). Conflict management skills. Retrieved from http://cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/13.htm
I’m sure we all have some type of conflict each day and in some cases don’t even realize it. We do need to have strategies that work for us because we will have conflicts that need more attention. You picked some good strategies this week-have you had to use any of them yet? I always enjoy reading your posts and getting ideas to use.
ReplyDeleteAbigail,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you disagreements are part of your life. The problem exist mainly when people think that the only right is their way. When we are not willing to listen and accept that we are all different and that things can be done differently. This is so important for Early childhood professionals to learn to communicate effectively with the families we serve and other colleagues because in our field we are always trying to find ways to resolve something.
Conflicts truly is a part of our interpersonal relationships but our ability to adopt appropriate strategies that would make such conflicts productive and interest benefits for parties involved is our priority as educators dealing with children and families of diverse culture.We therefore need to make conscious effort to resolve conflicts rather than ignore or not address it.
ReplyDeleteI have just had a situation where a third party was involved and it seemed as though the two of them were teaming up against me. i found out later that the third party had just recently dated the brother of the person that I was having a conflict with.
ReplyDelete