BSBLDR 402 GU Resolution Style Worksheeet

BSBLDR402 Lead effective workplacerelationships
Learner Guide
Version 10/9/18
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reproduced by any process without written permission of the publisher.
Published by:
TAFESA
Business, Justice & IT Studies
Contribution and Authorship
This document was developed by TAFE SA
TAFE SA acknowledges the valuable contribution that the project team made to the development of this
publication, and the contribution of others who provided input and reviewed drafts. www.tafesa.edu.au
Guide
This publication has been developed in line with the National Training Package/curriculum for use within
the learning programs of TAFE SA and is based on a philosophy of flexibly delivered, competency based
education and training.
Disclaimer
These training resources were prepared for use in conjunction with a formal training program for delivery
in South Australia and were correct at the time of preparation.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
4
Lead effective workplace relationships
5
Revisit the unit ‘Communicate effectively as a workplace leader’
5
Collect, analyse and communicate information and ideas
6
Communicating information to culturally and socially diverse audience
8
Consulting with your team
9
Develop trust and confidence as a leader
Strategies to build trust
10
11
Organisation’s social, ethical and business standards
11
Adjusting your interpersonal style
12
Emotional Intelligence
12
Develop and maintain networks and relationships
13
Dealing with difficulties
15
Managing poor performance
16
Managing Conflict
17
Fight or Flight?
17
Negotiation
19
References
20
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Introduction
Welcome to your studies in the unit BSBLDR402 Lead effective workplace relationships.
This Learner Guide has been designed to assist students in their studies and provides the workshop
activities, information, and references required to complete the unit.
Facilitator
A member of the program staff will be appointed as a point of contact in regard to your studies in this unit.
If you are unsure about any information, please discuss this with your facilitator as soon as possible. Do not
wait until assignments are due before asking for clarification of what is required.
Please note: Facilitators work between sites and deliver workshops off-campus, so may not attend campus
every day.
All the best with your study.
Facilitators Details
Your facilitator for this unit is:
Lecturer Name
Lecturer, Management Studies
TAFE SA, Adelaide campus
Email:
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Lead effective workplace relationships
In this workshop our focus will be on those skills required to use leadership to promote teach cohesion. It
includes motivating, mentoring, coaching and developing the team and forming the bridge between
management of the organisation and team members. Leaders, supervisors and new or emerging managers
use leadership to develop and maintain effective workplace relationships.
In this workshop we will be discussing:
• Collecting, analysing and communicating information and ideas to improve work performance of
the team,
• Strategies to build trust and your confidence as a leader,
• Strategies to develop and maintain your internal and external network and build these
relationships, and
• Approaches to manage difficulties, resolve issues, manage conflict and address poor work
performance in your team.
In this unit, we will build on our communication skills and knowledge that were discussed previously in
“Communicate effectively as a workplace leader”.
This workshop is activity based and will be focused on the behaviours of effective leaders in the workplace.
Use these activities as a guide for developing your assessment responses and for your workplace
interactions.
Your Cole textbook, Chapter 8 Building effective workplace relationships provides valuable information to
complement this topic.
Revisit the unit ‘Communicate effectively as a workplace leader’
Activity: in your groups discuss the following questions:
•
•
•
What are the characteristics of ‘good communication’?
What communication strategies have you been developing/practicing from this unit?
What are some of your communication challenges?
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Collect, analyse and communicate information and ideas
Leaders play an essential role in ensuring effective communication not only in the information that they
share but also establishing an environment that encourages others to communicate by asking questions
and contributing ideas.
Leaders need to ensure that everyone understands their own, each other’s and their work team objectives
– where the organisation is headed and how they can contribute to the ‘big picture’.
They need to ensure that everyone understands the organisation’s procedures and that everyone is able to
carry out their duties.
In addition to communicating with the work team, leaders also need to communicate the needs and
requirements of their work team to more senior management and vice versa.
Activity: are you able to identify examples of information that leaders need to communicate to their team?
Organisational level
Strategic
Example of information communicated
Work Team
Operational
Individual
Communication strategies are designed to help individuals and organisations to communicate effectively
and to achieve the core business objectives.
Activity: how is your team informed about the following:
How is your team informed about …..
Goals, targets, key performance indicators
Example
Team plans, operational plans, resources
Policies, processes and procedures
Roles and responsibilities, code of conduct
Reporting lines
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Activity: Where do you source information from?
Internal sources of information
External sources of information
Information is useful when it is:
• Valid: information that is correct and can be used for the purpose that it is needed.
• Reliable: information is from a valid and trusted source that you can rely on as being correct.
• Accurate: information should be accurate so as to allow for correct decision making.
• Consistent: when you are analysing information to identify trends and patterns, the information
should be collected in the same manner each time for the results to be accurate.
• Sufficient: there needs to be enough information available to be able to make a decision.
• Verifiable: the ability to demonstrate the accuracy of information through evidence.
• Timely: information should be current and distributed in a timely manner.
Importantly, information is only useful when it is communicated in ways that make it understandable to the
user.
Activity: have you always been able to access the information required? Consider the following grid and
record the impact each quadrant has on sharing information.
List strategies to ensure you have the information required.
The information you know you have –
information that is readily accessible and
available to you
The information you know you don’t have –
further information you need to gather
The information you don’t know you have –
information you may have forgotten you
have
The information you don’t know you don’t have information that you don’t recognise you need
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Once you have gathered your information it will need to be analysed to understand how to present it to
your audience. Cole (2016, p. 162) highlights the following process:
1. “Get in the habit of checking to make sure any ideas, information or opinions you are accepting or
putting forward as facts really are facts.
2. When you offer an opinion, state that it is your opinion so it doesn’t come across as fact.
3. Don’t spread folklore (but listen to it for the insights it can provide).
4. Acknowledge and deal with feelings; listen to hunches and guard against ego-driven
communications.
5. When someone is telling you something, listen carefully and ask questions to distinguish between
fact, fantasy, folklore and feelings.
6. When in doubt, ask the other person to make their thinking process clear: ‘What other factors have
you considered?’ ‘Where did you get that information?’ Think about what might be their motive for
saying that.”
Communicating information to culturally and socially diverse audience
While we will be completing the unit “Lead a diverse workforce” in your program, at this point, it’s worth
exploring some of the cultural and social diversity of your work team, customers/clients and other
stakeholders you communicate with. At times you will need to adapt the way you communicate to ensure
your audience is not intimidated nor offended by your message or approach. For example, you can use
more organisational jargon when communicating within your own team than you can when you are
communicating with customers/clients or external stakeholders.
Activity: Consider the following areas of diversity. Using an example, highlight how misunderstandings
may occur when communicating to people in each area of ‘diversity’:
Male and Female
Age and Generational
Cultural
Religious
Language
Sexual Preference
Pregnancy
People with disabilities
Status
Level of education
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What strategies can you use to understand how to tailor your communicating messages to meet the
diverse needs of your audiences?
Consulting with your team
You may need to consult with your team on a range of issues including:
• You may not have all the information and experience required to make a decision,
• A decision must be taken that have implications for your team,
• When you are aware that the consequences of a poor decision will have serious issues for your
team or stakeholders, and
• You need genuine commitment for a decision from others.
Activity: what communication behaviours are used when we ‘consult’ with others? What communication
behaviours are used when we ‘instruct’ others? Highlight the communication behaviours that are the same
to ‘consulting’ and ‘instructing’.
Consulting includes:
Instructing includes:
When we consult we need to ensure the team environment and atmosphere is welcoming and we value
new ideas.
Activity: what factors contribute to team members feeling their ideas and contributions will be welcomed
and valued by others and the organisation?
You may find “Brainstorming” is a great method to generating ideas in your team. Refer to your Cole
textbook, pp 534 – 535 for tips for effective brainstorming.
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Develop trust and confidence as a leader
For teams to perform at their best there needs to be trust between each other, their leaders and the
organisation. Trust is not awarded without being earned and as quickly as it can be build it can also be
destroyed.
Activity: answer the following questions to consider how you build trust.
In your experience, what are some factors that built trust?
What are some factors that destroy trust?
Factors that build trust
Factors that destroy trust
How would you define:
Integrity
Respect
Empathy
List two examples that demonstrate how you act with:
Integrity
Respect
Empathy
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You may like to compare your definition and examples with others. When doing so you may notice you
have similar or different understanding of these terms. When there are differences in how individuals
define trust, integrity, respect and empathy, consider result this may have in a team.
Strategies to build trust
1. Let people know what is expected of them: Provide you team with a clear understanding of their
roles and responsibilities and the expectation you have of them in their role. If you have been open
and honest about your expectations, then team members will be open to receiving feedback because
they have a clear understand of the standards expected. Providing clear expectation also reduces
ambiguity where individuals can be left guessing what the expectations are
2. Decide on the limits of your trust: Determining from the outset where your limitation of trust will lie.
Whilst it is important to provide trust to your team members you also need to have boundaries in
place.
3. Lead the way: Leading by example is a beneficial way to role model behaviour that will build trust in
your team environment. You can role model this behaviour by providing open and honest
information and sharing your ideas whilst supporting your team and demonstrating loyalty. Leading
by example will not only allow you to gain the trust of your team members it will also encourage your
team to follow your example and demonstrate the same behaviours
4. Build trust gradually: Be prepared that trust isn’t built over night. It takes time to build a trusting
relationship. It will be through your actions and behaviours that trust will be built.
Organisation’s social, ethical and business standards
In the topic, “Show leadership in the workplace” you examined your organisations Vision/Mission/Values
statements and Code of Conduct and how this applies to your leadership behaviours as a role model. In
this topic, let’s consider how these and other policies and procedures impact on your workplace
relationships.
Activity: how does your organisation’s Vision/Mission/Values statements and Code of Conduct influence
workplace relationships with your team, peers, customers/clients and other stakeholders?
Are there other policies or procedures that guide workplace interactions in your organisation? How are
team members informed of these policies and procedures?
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Adjusting your interpersonal style
The ability to modify and adjust your interpersonal style to meet the needs of the circumstances is a skill
that most managers work to prefect throughout their career. We each naturally have a preferred
interpersonal style however your style may not be appropriate for every situation. Depending on the
situation you will need to adjust your approach to ensure a positive and productive outcome.
Interpersonal skills are an important factor that contributes to effective workplace relationships. The
following examples may be cause for adjusting your interpersonal style:
• Ability to manage conflict
• Problem solving
• Communication
• Demonstrating responsibility
• Being accountable for your actions
• Showing appreciation
• Flexibility
Emotional Intelligence
Recognising the opportunities when you should adjust your style and having an understanding of how your
interpersonal style is perceived by other is a valuable skill to develop.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise your emotions and understand how they are perceived by
others and how they affect others. This in turn allows you to manage your emotions to achieve positive
outcomes. In addition to recognising your own emotions, your ability to understand how others are feeling
and act accordingly, will assist you build effective relationships.
Daniel Goleman states that “Emotional Intelligence” is even more of a contributor to business success than
IQ. He says “On average, close to 90 percent of success in leadership was attributable to emotional
intelligence”.
http://www.quantumlearn.com/blog/bid/50925/What-are-the-Interpersonal-Skills-You-Need-at-Work
Activity: explain an example where you have had to adapt your communication style. What caused you to
make this adaption? What did you do differently? How did you feel communicating differently to your
‘natural response’?
What will you do to encourage others in your team to adapt their communication style and act within your
organisations policies and procedures?
Optional reading: Recently Flinders University conducted research into the ‘classic optical illusion’ and
found some interesting results. Refer to the article at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-11/ageismtested-with-classic-optical-illusion/10231710
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Develop and maintain networks and relationships
The formal structure of an organisation is the one we are more often familiar with as it is represented
through the organisational chart.
There are numerous relationships that exist within an organisation that aren’t represented on the
organisational chart. The informal organisation is a network of informal relationships that exist between
individuals. These relationships can be at varying levels of the organisation or across departments that
don’t usually work together.
These networks may be a result of personal friendship, school background, shared interests, membership
of the same sporting or social club, but irrespective of the reason, this informal organisation has a number
of benefits for the organisation.
For employees they provide the opportunity to relieve stress or anxiety by having a sounding board at
times of frustration. They can also be a useful source of information for managers to support decision
making.
On the other side there can be some negatives. These informal relationships can result in conflicting
loyalties and can impact levels of morale. These communication networks are essentially the grapevine and
can become an unofficial channel for communicating of information, news and gossip.
Networking is about developing your reach of contacts and through these informal relationships you can
gain access to specialist advice, assistance and support. Developing your contact will expand your sphere of
influence and will broaden your access to information. The more people you know and the more contact
you have the greater your exposure will be to information and ‘behind the scenes” activity.
Activity: who do you network with? List the people within and external to your organisation that you
interact with for business purposes. As you develop your list you may like to consider which of these
relationships could be developed further to benefit you, your team and/or your organisation.
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Identify three people within your network and identify the benefits this relationship brings to your team
and/or the organisation
Person
Benefit to team
Benefit to organisation
What strategies could you use to build the relationships you identified from the previous activity?
How can networking enhance your career?
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Dealing with difficulties
In your role you will be managing multiple tasks and as you navigate your varying demands you can often
find yourself in a reactive position when dealing with difficulties at work. Problem-solving and decision
making should be proactive not reactive.
Difficulties and potential difficulties should be identified and dealt with before they become harder to
resolve. Everyone can develop an effective problem solving process to identify difficulties and resolve
problems.
1. Identify problem. Define problem, symptoms and root causes.
Establish a clear understanding of the problem. Quite often, the issue that draws our attention is
actually only a symptom of a greater underlying problem or root cause. To achieve a successfully
outcome you should be focussed on addressing the root cause not the symptom.
2. Define desired situation.
Once the problem is clearly defined you can establish the objectives of what you want to achieved
and what the end result will look like
3. Gather and analyse data.
Take the time to investigate the problem in detail. Through this process you will establish some
baselines for the current performance. These are valuable as they will be a point of reference when
your review if the solution has been effective in improving performance
4. Generate alternatives. Consider potential impact/risks. Brainstorm a number of different solutions
to evaluate.
5. Choose an alternative. Make decision, Plan and implement.
Select the best solution to meet your objective and plan your implementation of the solution.
6. Monitor and evaluate. Adjust plan.
After a period of time, review the solution and measure the outcomes to assess whether you have
successfully achieved your objective. This is where the baseline measurement you collected earlier
becomes a valid point of reference.
A number of other techniques may be useful for resolving problems including:
• Mind mapping
• 5 Why’s
• Cause and effect diagrams
Refer to your Cole textbook for further information about these methods.
Activity: consider a recent problem within your team. Using the problem solving steps above, work
through the problem to identify where steps were actions or where problem solving could be improved.
What were your findings? What worked well or could be improved? When could you use this approach?
List two examples of when it is appropriate to guide and support team members to resolve work difficulties
themselves instead of resolving these yourself? Why is this appropriate in these situations?
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Managing poor performance
The management of poor performance is an essential part of effective people management. However,
before you can manage this, you need to identify that it is occurring.
To identify poor performance monitoring a variety of reports such as productivity report or error report will
provide information of outputs and performance outcomes. Customer feedback is also a valuable source of
information to identify poor performance. In addition, you can use your own observation of work
performance, work interactions and monitoring of attendance.
Activity: what are some of the causes of poor performance?
If you identify a situation of poor performance you can choose to take a variety of actions depending on the
severity of the poor performance, how long it has been occurring and the impact it is having on the
individual and team achieving their objectives.
This might involve:
• Collaborative problem solving
• Counselling
• Performance planning
• Conflict resolution
• Negotiation
• Mentoring or coaching
• Specific training
• Reassignment
Activity: how is poor employee performance managed in your organisation? Who is involved in this
process? What policies and procedures are available to assist with managing poor employee performance?
Refer to your Cole textbook Chapter 16 ‘Managing underperformance’ for a further strategies and
consideration when managing poor employee performance.
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Managing Conflict
In the 1970s Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann identified five main styles of dealing with conflict that
vary in their degrees of cooperativeness and assertiveness. They argued that people typically have a
preferred conflict resolution style. They also noted that different styles were most useful in different
situations.
These are described briefly below:
• Competing is assertive and uncooperative. Attempts to overwhelm an opponent with formal
authority, threats, or the use of power.
• Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative – the opposite of competing. May simply involve
giving in to another’s wishes.
• Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative. Not interested in pursuing own concerns or those of
others.
• Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative. Involves an attempt to satisfy the concerns of
both sides through honest discussion.
• Compromising involves intermediate amounts of assertiveness and cooperativeness and strives for
partial satisfaction of both parties’ desires by seeking middle ground. To succeed at compromising,
both parties must be willing to give up something.
Fight or Flight?
Physiologically we respond to conflict in one of two ways—we want to “get away from the conflict” or we
are ready to “take on anyone who comes our way.” Think for a moment about when you are in conflict. Do
you want to leave or do you want to fight when a conflict presents itself? Neither physiological response is
good or bad—it’s personal response. What is important to learn, regardless of our initial physiological
response to conflict, is that we should intentionally choose our response to conflict.
Whether we feel like we want to fight or flee when a conflict arises, we can deliberately choose a conflict
mode. By consciously choosing a conflict mode instead of to conflict, we are more likely to productively
contribute to solving the problem at hand.
Activity: complete the Conflict Styles Questionnaire to identify your preferred approach to managing
conflicts. What style do you usually use? Do you agree or disagree with this result?
Explain the difference between assertive and aggressive behaviour. What is passive behaviour?
Provide an example of each of the above behaviours.
• Assertive
•
Aggressive
•
Passive
Explain the three responses to conflict ‘fight’, ‘flight’ and ‘flow’.
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Conflict-Handling
Appropriate Situations
Styles
Competing
1. When quick, decisive action is vital, e.g. emergencies
2. On important issues where unpopular actions need implementing, e.g. cost-cutting, enforcing unpopular rules, discipline
3. On issues vital to company welfare when you know you’re right
4. Against people who take advantage of noncompetitive behaviour
Collaborating
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To find an integrative solution when both sets of concerns are too important to be compromised
When your objective is to learn
To merge insights from people with different perspectives
To gain commitment by incorporating concerns into a consensus
To work through feelings which have interfered with a relationship
Compromising
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
When goals are important, but not worth the effort of potential disruption of more assertive modes
When opponents with equal power are committed to mutually exclusive goals
To achieve temporary settlements to complex issues
To arrive at expedient solutions under time pressure
As a backup when collaboration or competition is unsuccessful
When an issue is trivial, or more important issues are pressing
When you perceive no chance of satisfying your concerns
When potential disruption outweighs the benefits of resolution
To let people cool down and regain perspective
When gathering information supersedes immediate decision
When others can resolve the conflict more effectively
When issues seem tangential or symptomatic of other issues
When you find you are wrong – to allow a better position to be heard, to learn, and to show your reasonableness
When issues are more important to others than yourself – to satisfy others and maintain cooperation
To build social credits for later issues
To minimize loss when you are outmatched and losing
When harmony and stability are especially important
To allow subordinates to develop by learning from mistakes
Avoiding
Accommodating
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Lead effective workplace relationships Learner’s Guide
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Negotiation
Negotiation is a process in which two or more people (or parties) with common or conflicting interests
decide on a specific issue or business transaction. The type of outcome (win-win, win-lose or lose-lose)
depends on the skill of the negotiators and the chosen negotiation approach. (Dywer & Hopgood, 2010)
When negotiating, consider the following steps:
1. Plan – What is your objective? Gather data and organise information. Plan your approach and
sequence of issues to be raised. What are the other party’s objective? Identify links and common
ground.
2. Discuss – Be sociable. Review what has led to this meeting. Work to agree to “facts”. Confirm both
parties’ objectives. Listen carefully. Identify area of agreement. What is the common ground before
moving into areas of difference?
3. Propose – Define the issues and specify what you wish to resolve. Deal with one issue at a time.
Don’t Generalise/Pass judgment on the other person. Don’t confuse the other party’s personality
with the issue. Do paraphrase their message to check your understanding. Summarise.
4. Negotiate – Start by asking for what you want. Accept that your goal may have to be modified.
Collaborate “If…. then….” Separate the people from the issue. Generate as many solutions as
possible. Summarise. Confirm agreement.
5. Check – each party is committed to the result.
Activity: what do you negotiate? Think back to the last time you had to negotiate; what was your
objective? Do you recognise the above steps in the approach you used? What did you do well? How could
you improve your negotiation approach?
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References
Cole, K, 2016 Management: theory and practice, 6th edn, Cengage, Australia.
Dwyer, J and Hopwood, N (2010) Management Strategies and Skills, McGraw Hill, NSW
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Assess Your Conflict Resolution Style
INSTRUCTIONS
Consider situations in which you find your wishes differing from those of another person.
How do you usually respond to such situations?
On the following pages are several pairs of statements describing possible behavioural
responses. For each pair, please circle the “A” or “B” statement that is most
characteristic of your own behaviour.
In many cases, neither the “A” nor the “B” statement may be very typical of your
behaviour, but please select the response which you would be more likely to use.
Conflict Mode Instrument
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A
There are times when I let others take responsibility for solving the problem.
B
Rather than negotiate the things on which we disagree, I try to stress those
things upon which we both agree.
A
I try to find a compromise solution.
B
I attempt to deal with all of his/her and my concerns.
A
I am usually firm in pursuing my goals.
B
I might try to soothe the other’s feelings and preserve our relationship.
A
I try to find a compromise solution.
B
I sometimes sacrifice my own wishes for the wishes of the other person.
A
I consistently seek the other’s help in working out a solution.
B
I try to do what is necessary to avoid useless tensions.
Page 1
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
A
I try to avoid creating unpleasantness for myself.
B
I try to win my position.
A
I try to postpone the issue until I have had some time to think it over.
B
I give up some points in exchange for others.
A
I am usually firm in pursuing my goals.
B
I attempt to get all concerns and issues immediately out in the open.
A
I feel that differences are not always worth worrying about.
B
I make some effort to get my way.
A
I am firm in pursuing my goals.
B
I try to find a compromise solution.
A
I attempt to get all concerns and issues immediately out in the open.
B
I might try to soothe the other’s feelings and preserve our relationship.
A
I sometimes avoid taking positions that would create controversy.
B
I will let the other person have some of his/her positions if he/she lets me
have some of mine.
A
I propose a middle ground.
B
I press to get my points made.
A
I tell the other person my ideas and ask them for his/hers.
B
I try to show the other person the logic and benefits of my position.
Page 2
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
A
I might try to soothe the other’s feelings and preserve our relationship.
B
I try to do what is necessary to avoid tensions.
A
I try not to hurt the other person’s feelings.
B
I try to convince the other person of the merits of my position.
A
I am usually firm in pursuing my goals.
B
I try to do what is necessary to avoid useless tensions.
A
If it makes the other person happy, I might let them maintain their views.
B
I will let the other person have some of their positions if they let me have
some of mine.
A
I attempt to get all concerns and issues immediately out in the open.
B
I try to postpone the issue until I have had some time to think it over.
A
I attempt to immediately work through our differences.
B
I try to find a fair combination of gains and losses for both of us.
A
In approaching negotiations, I try to be considerate of the other person’s
wishes.
B
I always lean toward a direct discussion of the problem.
A
I try to find a position that is intermediate between his/her and mine.
B
I assert my wishes.
A
I am very often concerned with satisfying all our wishes.
B
There are times when I let others take responsibility for solving the problem.
Page 3
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
A
If the other’s position seems very important to him/her, I would try to meet
his/her wishes.
B
I try to get the other person to settle for a compromise.
A
I try to show the other person the logic and benefits of my position.
B
In approaching negotiations, I try to be considerate of the other person’s
wishes.
A
I propose a middle ground.
B
I am nearly always concerned with satisfying all our wishes.
A
I sometimes avoid taking positions that would create controversy.
B
If it makes the other person happy, I might let them maintain their views.
A
I am usually firm in pursuing my goals.
B
I usually seek the other’s help in working out a solution.
A
I propose a middle ground.
B
I feel that differences are not always worth worrying about.
A
I try not to hurt the other’s feelings.
B
I always share the problem with the other person so that we can work it out.
Page 4
SCORING
Circle the letters below which you circled on each item of the questionnaire.
Competing
Collaborating
Compromising
1
2
3
B
A
A
A
B
A
9
B
10
A
B
B
B
8
A
B
A
B
11
A
12
B
B
13
B
14
B
A
A
A
15
B
16
B
17
A
A
A
B
18
B
19
A
20
A
21
B
B
A
B
B
A
A
23
A
24
B
B
A
A
B
26
B
A
27
28
B
A
7
25
A
B
5
22
Accommodating
A
4
6
Avoiding
A
A
B
B
29
A
30
B
B
A
Total number of items circled in each column :
COMPETING
COLLABORATING
COMPROMISING
AVOIDING
ACCOMMODATING
Source : The Conflict Resolution Network
Page 5
Graphing Your Profile Scores
Your profile of scores indicates the repertoire of conflict-handling skills which you, as an
individual, use in the kinds of conflict situations you face. Your score profile can be
graphed on the next page entitled, “Your Scores on the Conflict Mode Instrument”.
The five modes are represented by the five columns labelled “competing”,
“collaborating”, and so on. In the column under each model is the range of possible
scores on that mode – from 0 (for very low use) to 12 (for very high use). Circle your
own scores on each of the five modes.
Each possible score is graphed in relation to the scores of managers who have already
taken the Conflict Mode Instrument. The horizontal lines represent percentiles – the
percentage of people who have scored at or below a given number. If you had scored
some number above the 80% of the people who have taken the Conflict Mode
Instrument – that you were in the top 20% on competition.
The double lines (at the 25th and 75th percentiles) separate the middle 50% of the scores
on each mode from the top 25% and the bottom 25%. In general, if your score falls
somewhere within the middle 50% on a given mode, you are close to the average in your
use of that mode. If your score falls outside that range, then your use of that mode is
somewhat higher or lower than most of the people who have taken the Instrument.
Remember that extreme scores are not necessarily bad however, since your situation
may require high or low use of a given conflict-handling mode.
There are no “right” answers. All 5 modes are useful in some situations. The
effectiveness of a given conflict handling mode depends upon the requirements of the
specific conflict situation and the skill with which the mode is used.
Source : The Conflict Resolution Network
Page 6
Your Scores on the Conflict Mode Instrument
Competing
Collaborating
Compromising
Avoiding
Accommodating
12
12
12
11
11
100%
12
High
25%
11
12
11
10
10
10
11
10
9
9
90%
8
9
10
7
80%
8
9
70%
7
8
8
96
7
60%
6
8
6
5
7
Middle
50%
50%
7
5
40%
4
6
30%
4
5
5
6
3
20%
3
4
5
4
Low
25%
2
3
10%
4
0%
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
Source : The Conflict Resolution Network
Page 7
COMPETING
Is assertive and uncooperative – an individual pursues their own concerns at the other
person’s expense. This is a power-oriented mode, in which one uses whatever power
seems appropriate to win one’s own position – one’s ability to argue, one’s rank,
economic sanctions. Competing might mean “standing up for your rights,” defending a
position which you believe is correct, or simply trying to win.
ACCOMMODATING
Is unassertive and cooperative – the opposite of competing. When accommodating, an
individual neglects their own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other person; there
is an element of self-sacrifice in this mode. Accommodating might take the form of
selfless generosity of charity, obeying another person’s order when one would prefer not
to, or yielding to another’s point of view.
AVOIDING
Is unassertive and uncooperative – the individual does not immediately pursue their own
concerns or those of the other person. They do not address the conflict. Avoiding might
take the form of diplomatically sidestepping an issue, postponing an issue until a better
time, or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation.
COLLABORATING
Is both assertive and cooperative – the opposite of avoiding. Collaborating involves an
attempt to work with the other person to find some solution which fully satisfies the
concerns of both persons. It means digging into an issue to identify the underlying
concerns of the two individuals and to find an alternative which meets both sets of
concerns. Collaborating between two persons might take the form of exploring a
disagreement to learn from each other’s insights, concluding to resolve some condition
which would otherwise have them competing for resources, or confronting and trying to
find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem.
COMPROMISING
Is intermediate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness. The objective is to find some
expedient, mutually acceptable solution which partially satisfies both parties. It falls on a
middle ground between competing and accommodating. Compromising gives up more
than competing but less than accommodating. Likewise, it addresses an issue more
directly than avoiding, but doesn’t explore it in as much depth as collaborating.
Compromising might mean splitting the difference, exchanging concessions, or seeking
a quick middle-ground position.
Source : The Conflict Resolution Network
Page 8
The Five Conflict Handling Modes
This Conflict Mode Instrument is designed to assess an individual’s behaviour in conflict
situations. “Conflict Situations” are situations in which the concerns of two people
appear to be incompatible. In such situations, we can describe a person’s behaviour
along two basic dimensions.
•
•
The extent to which the individual attempts to satisfy his/her own concerns.
The extent to which the individual attempts to satisfy the other person’s concerns.
These two basic dimensions of behaviour can be used to define five specific methods of
dealing with conflicts. These five “conflict-handling modes” are shown below :
HIGH
COMPETING
Pursuit of
Own
Concerns
COMPROMISING
AVOIDING
LOW
•
COLLABORATING
ACCOMMODATING
Pursuit of Other’s Concerns
HIGH
This two dimensional model of conflict handling behaviour is adapted from “Conflict
and Conflict Management” by Kenneth Thomas in The Handbook of Industrial and
Organisational Psychology, edited by Marvin Dunnetter (Chicago : Rand McNally,
1976). Another valuable contribution in this field is the work of Robert Blake and
Jane Mouton in The Managerial Grid (Houston : Gulf Publishing, 1964).
All of us are capable of using all five conflict handling modes; none of us can be
characterised as having a single, rigid style of dealing with conflict. However, any given
individual uses some modes better than others and therefore tends to rely upon those
modes more heavily than others, whether because of temperament or practice.
Source : The Conflict Resolution Network
Page 9
Competing
USES
•
When quick, decisive action is vital, e.g. emergencies.
•
On important issues where unpopular courses of action need implementing, e.g.
cost cutting, enforcing unpopular rules, discipline.
•
On issues vital to company welfare when you know you’re right.
•
To protect yourself against people who take advantage of non-competitive
behaviour.
IF YOU SCORED HIGH
Are you surrounded by “yes” men/women? (If so, perhaps it’s because they have
learned that it’s unwise to disagree with you, or have given up trying to influence you.
This closes you off from information).
Are subordinates afraid to admit ignorance and uncertainties to you? (In a competitive
climate, one must fight for influence and respect – which means acting more certain and
confident that one feels. The upshot is that people are less able to ask for information
and opinions – they are less able to learn).
IF YOU SCORED LOW
Do you often feel powerless in situations? (It may be because you are unaware of the
power you do have, unskilled in its uses, or uncomfortable with the idea of using it. This
may hinder your effectiveness by restricting your influence).
Do you have trouble taking a firm stand, even when you see the need? (Sometimes
concerns for others’ feelings or anxieties about the use of power causes us to vacillate,
which may mean postponing the decision and adding to the suffering and/or resentment
of others).
Page 10
Avoiding
USES
•
When an issue is trivial, of only passing importance, or when other more important
issues are pressing.
•
When you perceive no chance of satisfying your concerns, e.g. when you have
low power or you are frustrated by something that would be very difficult to
change (national policies, someone’s personality structure, etc.).
•
When the potential damage of confronting a conflict outweighs the benefits of its
resolution.
•
To let people cool down – to reduce tensions to a productive level and to regain
perspective and composure.
•
When gathering more information outweighs the advantage of an immediate
decision.
•
When others can resolve the conflict more effectively.
•
When the issue seems tangential or symptomatic of another more basic issue.
IF YOU SCORED HIGH
Does your coordination suffer because people have trouble getting your input on issues?
Does it often appear that people are “walking on eggshells”?
(Sometimes a
dysfunctional amount of energy can be devoted to caution and the avoiding of issues,
indicating that issues need to be faced and resolved).
Are decisions on important issues made by default?
IF YOU SCORED LOW
Do you find yourself hurting other people’s feelings or stirring up hostilities? (You may
need to exercise more discretion in confronting issues or more tact in framing issues in
non-threatening ways. Tact is partially the art of avoiding potentially disruptive aspects
of an issue).
Do you often feel harried or overwhelmed by a number of issues? (You may need to
devote more time to setting priorities – deciding which issues are relatively unimportant
and perhaps delegating them to others).
Page 11
Accommodating
USES
•
When you realise that you are wrong – to allow a better position to be heard, to
learn from others, and to show that you are reasonable.
•
When the issue is much more important to the other person than to yourself – to
satisfy the needs of others, and as a goodwill gesture to help maintain a
cooperative relationship.
•
To build up social credits for later issues which are important to you.
•
When continued competition would only damage your cause – when you are
outmatched and losing.
•
When preserving harmony and avoiding disruption are especially important.
•
To aid in the managerial development of subordinates by allowing them to
experiment and learn from their own mistakes.
IF YOU SCORED HIGH
Do you feel that your own ideas and concerns are not getting the attention they deserve?
(Deferring too much to the concerns of others can deprive you of influence, respect and
recognition. It also deprives the organisation of your potential contributions).
Is discipline lax? (Although discipline for its own sake may be of little value, there are
often rules, procedures, and assignments whose implementation is crucial for you or the
organisation).
IF YOU SCORED LOW
Do you have trouble building goodwill with others? (Accommodation on minor issues
that are important to others are gestures of goodwill).
Do others often seem to regard you as unreasonable?
ss
Do you have trouble admitting when you are wrong?
Do you recognise legitimate exceptions to rules?
Do you know when to give up?
Page 12
Compromising
USES
•
When goals are moderately important, but not worth the effort or potential
disruption of more assertive modes.
•
When two opponents with equal power are strongly committed by mutually
exclusive goals – as in labour management bargaining.
•
To achieve temporary settlements to complex issues.
•
To arrive at expedient solutions under time pressure.
•
As a back-up mode when collaboration or competition fails to be successful.
IF YOU SCORED HIGH
Do you concentrate so heavily upon the practicalities and tactics of compromise that you
sometimes lose sight of larger issues – principles, values, long term objectives, company
welfare?
Does an emphasis on bargaining and trading create a cynical climate of gamesmanship?
(Such a climate might undermine interpersonal trust and deflect attention away from the
merits of the issues discussed).
IF YOU SCORED LOW
Do you find yourself too sensitive or embarrassed to be effective in bargaining
situations?
Do you find it hard to make concessions? (Without this safety valve, you may have
trouble getting gracefully out of mutually destructive arguments, power struggles, etc.).
Page 13
Collaborating
USES
•
To find an integrative solution when both sets of concerns are too important to be
compromised.
•
When your objective is to learn, e.g. testing your own assumptions, understanding
the views of others.
•
To merge insights from people with a different perspective on a problem.
•
To gain commitment by incorporating other’s concerns into a consensual decision.
•
To work through hard feelings which have been interfering with an interpersonal
relationship.
IF YOU SCORED HIGH
Do you spend time discussing issues in depth that do not seem to deserve it?
(Collaboration takes time and energy – perhaps the scarcest organisational resource.
Trivial problems don’t require optimal solutions, and not all personal differences need to
be thrashed out. The overuse of collaboration and consensual decision making
sometimes represents a desire to minimise risk – by diffusing responsibility for a decision
or by postponing action).
Does your collaborative behaviour fail to elicit collaborative responses from others? (The
exploratory and tentative nature of some collaborative behaviour may make it easy for
others to disregard collaborative overtures; or the trust and openness may be taken
advantage of. You may be missing some cues, which would indicate the presence of
defensiveness, strong feelings, impatience, competitiveness, or conflicting interests).
IF YOU SCORED LOW
Is it hard for you to see differences as opportunities for joint gain – as opportunities to
learn or solve problems? (Although there are often threatening or unproductive aspects
of conflict, indiscriminate pessimism can prevent you from seeing collaborative
possibilities and thus deprive you of the mutual gains and satisfaction which accompany
successful collaboration).
Are subordinates uncommitted to your decisions or policies? (Perhaps their own
concerns are not being incorporated into those decisions or policies).
Page 14
Conflict Handling Styles
THE TURTLE – AVOID
Turtles withdraw into their shells to avoid conflicts. They give up their personal goals
and relationships. They stray away from the issues over which the conflict is taking
place and from the people they are in conflict with. Turtles believe it is hopeless to try to
resolve conflicts. They feel helpless. They believe it is easier to withdraw (physically
and psychologically) from a conflict than to face it.
THE SHARK – COMPETE
Sharks try to overpower opponents by forcing them to accept their solution to the conflict.
Their goals are highly important to them and the relationship of minor importance. They
seek to achieve their goals at all costs. They are not concerned with the needs of other
persons. They do not care if other persons like or accept them. Sharks assume that
conflicts are settled by one person winning and one person losing. They want to be the
winner. Winning gives sharks a sense of pride and achievement. Losing gives them a
sense of weakness, inadequacy and failure. They try to win by attacking, overpowering,
overwhelming and intimidating other persons.
THE TEDDY BEARS – ACCOMMODATE
To teddy bears, the relationship is of great importance, while their own goals are of little
importance. Teddy bears want to be accepted and liked by other people. They think
that conflict should be avoided in favour of harmony and believe that conflicts cannot be
discussed without damaging relationships. They are afraid that if the conflict continues
someone will get hurt, and that would ruin the relationship. They give up their goals to
preserve the relationship. Teddy bears say, “I’ll give my goals, and let you have what
you want, in order for you to like me.” Teddy bears try to smooth over the conflict in fear
of harming the relationship.
Page 15
THE FOX – COMPROMISE
Foxes are moderately concerned with their own goals and about their relationships with
other people. Foxes seek a compromise. They give up part of their goals and persuade
the other person in a conflict to give up part of their goals. They seek a solution to
conflicts where both sides gain something, the middle ground between two extreme
positions. They are willing to sacrifice part of their goals in order to find agreement for
the common good.
THE OWL – COOPERATE
Owls highly value their own goals and relationships. They view conflicts as problems to
be solved and seek a solution that achieves both their own goals and the goals of the
other person in conflict. Owls see conflicts as improving relationships by reducing
tension between two people. They try to begin a discussion that identifies the conflict as
a problem. By seeking solutions that satisfy both themselves and the other person, owls
maintain the relationship. Owls are not satisfied until a solution is found that achieves
their own goals and the other person’s goals. They are not satisfied until the tensions
and negative feelings have been resolved.
Source : The Conflict Resolution Network
Page 16