Managing Conflict in Project Teams

Challenge: What strategies can a project manager employ to resolve conflict on a team?

• Compromise: a lose-lose solution used to keep relationships equal.
• Problem Solving: an intervention requiring time to find the best solution for maintaining relationships and resolving conflict.
• Smoothing: a temporary solution for minimizing conflict.
• Withdrawal: a yield-lose solution useful for allowing parties to "cool-off".
• Forcing: an autocratic, win-lose strategy for finding a timely solution.

Why is problem solving often chosen as the preferred solution?

• It focuses on factual data to uncover the root cause of a problem.
• It avoids emotional responses and finger-pointing.
• It builds trust and relationships by objectively correcting the root cause of conflict.

Overview/Description

This Business Impact discusses some of the options a manager has when resolving conflict in the workplace.

Target Audience

Individuals who have interest in knowing more about Project Management, including those in positions that require them to carry out a project management role to individuals that are full-time project managers wishing to hone their skills further.