Whenever a conflict appears in a team, people tend to avoid it. It is an error because precisely what is bad is not the existence of the conflict but its mismanagement. In general, it could be affirmed that: A team without conflicts is a team that does not exist. Furthermore, a team without preparation to positively manage its conflicts is a team condemned to die.
As the existence of conflicts always raises discomfort in the teams, the so-called «open sequential method» (Díaz de Santos) is proposed, which starts from listening as the fundamental element in conflict resolution in work teams, hence the first The norm of action is that the other listens, therefore making a clear description of the problem in question (these phases will be detailed in subsequent explanations), to clarify the problem itself, it is suggested to establish turns of questions and answers with the final objective of that each party express their feelings towards the problem itself, and also understand the positions of the opponents and be able to reach a solution or agreement and know how to carry it out.
We established the element of listening as a fundamental previous step in the open sequential method, in order to reach it, it is important to first relax (although sometimes due to the scope of the problem it is more complicated), try to put yourself in the other person's place and, even trying to understand it is recommended, there is also to respect it and make you feel heard.
Another structure is the one shown below for conflict resolution (Make a Team):
The important thing about this structure is to understand that the conflict is based on two basic pillars: one emotional and the other structural.
When solving a conflict, the two parts must be considered, the rational and the emotional. Therefore, at first what you should do is detect the causes that cause that emotional distress. Normally, this emotional distress originates from structural problems, such as the poor design of the structure in terms of internal organization, roles… Once this first step has been carried out, a therapeutic action must be started through the leader (therapist) to prevent conflict. it is unmanageable. You must provisionally heal wounds and restore vital balances, then move on to deeper measures through:
· Imposition: imposing logical and rational measures.
· Concession: in order to prevent the conflict from escalating, it can sometimes be helpful to make partial concessions.
· Comprehension: show some of the parties that you understand their reasons.
· Negotiation.
Next, the structure that caused the conflict must be redesigned (repair it) and finally it is essential to restore the feeling of justice, preventing anyone from being harmed by the conflict.
