Managing conflict

One of the biggest keys to have a successful group is knowing how to spot and manage conflict. The first step in being able to manage conflict is accepting that every group will have some sort of conflict it is unavoidable because of the fact that a group is comprised of individuals. This means the strongest part of the group can also be one of the biggest downfalls. Every member brings to the table his/her own unique way of looking at a situation which if handled properly can generate lots of ideas for a solution to whatever the current task is. Once you know to look for conflict even in little areas you can start to implement steps to negate the negative aspects of conflict by making sure members in your group maintain a strong respect for one another and not just shut down someone’s ideas just because it is different from their own thought process. Even if someone is wrong in every aspect of what they are saying it is better to let them finish and not belittle them because their next idea could be the best thing for the project but if they have constantly been shut down they may be more reluctant to share any more ideas and how you have lost your cohesiveness of the group and are no longer working at the maximum potential that you could be with everyone’s input.
Also a little conflict is not bad it gets debates going which force your group members to talk about an idea and brainstorm. Having someone challenge and idea is good for the person that came up with it simply because now they have to think of reasons that support what their idea is standing for. This micro conflict and help the group, but you must be careful not to let it get out of hand and evolve in to an argument. If an argument occurs there are a few ways to look to diffuse the situation. One the outside or leaders