Help Wanted: Team Conflict Manager

Dealing with team conflicts can be a full time job for many leaders and managers. Sometimes we spend more time focusing on our differences than we do our similarities.

I am not advocating that we all need to be alike, because then we would fall prey to groupthink and find ourselves stuck. If we look at the individual unique qualities of our teams, and understand how to leverage those individual strengths, our teams would be strong, innovative, and productive.We can also take some simple steps to avoid conflict with mindful and intentional strategies. Here are six steps to avoid workplace conflict and build teamwork:

  1. Ensure that areas of responsibility are clearly understood
  2. Eliminate conflicts of interest among team members
  3. Goals and objectives should be clearly explained and understood
  4. Let people know the importance of their contribution to the team effort
  5. Assign jobs that are appropriate to each team member
  6. Create conditions that help people motivate themselves for their reasons, not yours

Remember that we cannot do our work alone. Teams and collaboration are what gets things done.What are some strategies you employ to move your team from conflict to collaboration?With love,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.