MAGS: The People Part of Prepping by Charley Hogwood

Author:Charley Hogwood [Hogwood, Charley]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf, azw3
Published: 2013-10-24T00:00:00+00:00

Minimizing Disruptions and Resolving Conflict

In any group setting, conflict will arise, it is human nature. A strong team will embrace this fact and use it to their problem solving advantage. Problems are usually caused by a feeling of imbalance, personality conflict, trust issues or just stress. For example, there may be accusations of someone not pulling their weight or acting in a way that is not helpful. It may just be that the conditions we are in are uncomfortable, dangerous or there is a stagnant feeling that we should be doing something different. It may just be opposing viewpoints. One thing to remember is that conflict is a component of highly functioning teams. This is because of strong personalities and diverse backgrounds. Diverse teams are usually much more effective at solving problems than those that come from similar experience.

The team members must remember this and not let their differences affect the overall job at hand. Unchecked, these differences can turn into full-blown disputes.

As a leader the best bet is to start by addressing the problems quickly. The leader has the challenging job of keeping his team on the rails and moving forward whether there is too much to do or not enough to do. Some people will deal with conflict by ignoring the problem. Some will assign blame and some will attempt to correct it by negotiation or stern action. Which ever way you choose to deal with it, keep in mind the goals of the team and the overarching success of the group must take precedence.

If you have a problem member, pull the member aside and let them know how they are affecting the team. Find out if something is going on that’s causing the behavior because it may be a symptom of another, larger problem. Next, be sure that everyone understands their role on the team. If the problem member is not the leader, let them know that the leader needs their support. If they are the leader, they need to start acting like one or maybe they don’t belong in that position. For thievery, it may be necessary to secure supplies or restrict access to certain areas. Refer to your group rules on punishment or removal or problem members.

When a team crosses over into conflict territory, the leader has some options available to get things back on track. The process will require patience and respect. This will almost become a mediation process. The effective leader will strive to keep opinions constructively balanced and not allow negative attacks on each other.

There are three areas where conflict will affect us: emotions, perceptions and actions. We will need to address all three to resolve the conflict effectively.

o Prepare for a resolution o Understand the situation o Reach an agreement

To prepare for a resolution you must acknowledge the conflict exists. Sounds odd but sometimes we don’t realize we are in a conflict. Is there a problem or is this the way the members normally communicate? Some people just operate at a level of aggravation and it works for them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.