When Teams Work

CHAPTER 10

DEALING WITH CONFLICT EFFECTIVELY

‘Dialogue is the most effective way of resolving conflict.’

Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama

INTRODUCTION

Conflict and confrontation are facts of life. When people work together there are bound to be differences. For instance: difference of opinion, difference in personality, difference in skills and difference in experience, as well as the more obvious differences of age, gender and nationality – any of these differences can cause conflict to arise. We believe that conflict, when handled effectively, can be productive and is often a key feature in high-performance teams. The challenge is how the various people involved, the team leader as well as the team members, deal with the conflict. It is ...