Managing Conflicts

Recognizing signs of conflict and interceding appropriately to resolve the situation.

Level 1 Addresses difficult interpersonal situations

BEHAVIORS

• Identifies potential sources of conflicts.

• Brings conflict to the attention of the appropriate individual(s) while respecting their points of view.

• Analyzes situations to identify issues and positions.

• Addresses personal disagreements as soon as they occur, seeking mutually agreeable solutions.

• Listens to differing points of view to promote mutual understanding.

QUESTIONS

• Sometimes when dealing with a conflict it is challenging to determine what exactly the source of the issue is. Tell us about a time when you had to deal with a conflict and it was not apparent what the source of that conflict was at the outset.

Probing Questions

* Describe the situation surrounding the conflict.

* What did you ask the people in conflict to help to determine the source of the conflict?

* How did you check what the actual source of the conflict was?

* How did finding the source of the conflict help in the resolution of the conflict?

• When solving a conflict it can often be difficult in getting those in conflict to understand each others' points of view. Describe a time when you had to help two or more people in conflict understand all points of view in the conflict.

Probing Questions

* What was the conflict?

* What was preventing people from understanding each others’ points of view?

* How did you get all those involved to understand each others’ stance?

* How did this process help to solve the conflict?

Level 2 Adapts strategies to resolve workplace conflict

BEHAVIORS

• Uses strategies to mitigate workplace conflict.

• Assists others in defining and clarifying the underlying issues of the workplace conflict.

• Identifies shared areas of interest in a respectful and timely manner.

• Challenges others’ thinking or approaches in a constructive manner.

QUESTIONS

• Tell us about a time when dealing with conflict when you challenged the thinking of one of the members in the conflict in a constructive manner.

Probing Questions

* What was the conflict?

* Why did you feel that the thinking of the individual needed to be challenged?

* How did you challenge their thinking?

* How did the individual react to your challenge?

* How did this challenge affect the solution or failure to solve the conflict?

• Sometimes a tried and tested method of resolving a conflict fails. Tell us about a time that you had to readjust your strategy for dealing with a conflict when traditional methods were used.

Probing Questions

* What was the conflict?

* How did you traditionally deal with the conflict?

* Why was this strategy ineffective?

* When did you know the strategy needed to be readjusted?

* What was the new strategy that you used?

* What was the impact of this change in strategy on the result of the conflict?

BEHAVIORS

• De-escalates difficult situations by being assertive rather than aggressive.

• Initiates discussions between parties to explore differences and help identify common goals.

• Uses a tactful approach to work with other parties to identify potential solutions to emerging conflict.

• Guides others in the resolution of critical conflicts.

• Takes proactive measures to address potential conflict situations.

QUESTIONS

• Tell us about a time when you recognized a situation that might have evolved into conflict if you did not take action to prevent the issue from escalating.

Probing Questions

* What was the situation?

* How did you recognize that the situation might turn to conflict?

* What proactive measures did you take?

* How did you know that conflict would no longer occur?

* What were the results of your actions?

• Tell us about a time when you needed to bring two people or two groups of people together to negotiate a conflict situation.

Probing Questions

* What was the reason for the conflict?

* Why had the individuals (groups) not come together previously?

* How did you bring the two parties together?

* How did you negotiate the conflict?

* What was the result of your actions?

• Sometimes we are called on to assist coworkers when dealing with ethical dilemmas due to a conflict. Tell us about a time when you needed to guide a coworker through a situation of conflict that had an ethical issue?

Probing Questions

* What was the ethical issue?

* How did you guide your coworker?

* What was your recommendation to your coworker?

* What was the result of the guidance?

Level 4 Resolves stakeholder conflict

BEHAVIORS

• Uses tactful approaches to negotiate workable solutions to conflict situations with both external and internal groups.

• Gains agreement from disputants to implementation of a proposed solution.

• Makes interventions based on first-hand observations and information collected from both sides avoiding using hearsay, gossip or personal opinions and values.

QUESTIONS

• Tell us about a time when you needed to negotiate a particularly challenging conflict between stakeholders within an organization and stakeholders outside of the organization. If the conflict was about a large or complex issue, please select one particular element that was particularly challenging.

Probing Questions

* What did you do to balance the needs of both parties?

* What was the conflict?

* Why was the conflict challenging?

* How did you bring both parties together?

* If the conflict was resolved, how did you reach an agreement? If the conflict was not resolved, what prevented resolution

• Sometimes during a situation of conflict, the negotiator must become an arbiter and propose a solution to a problem rather than having stakeholders negotiate an issue. Tell us about a time when you were negotiating a conflict but needed to propose a solution to reach a resolution.

Probing Questions

* Describe the conflict.

* What prevented stakeholders from self-identifying amicable solutions?

* What did you propose as a solution?

* What were the initial reactions of the stakeholders?

* How did you reach a resolution through your proposed solution?

* What was the result of your proposal?

• When negotiating a challenging conflict one must often sift through fact and speculation (for example, hearsay, gossip or personal opinions and values). Tell us about a time when you needed to avoid speculative comments when resolving a conflict.

Probing Questions

* Describe the conflict.

* What were the speculative comments that were used by stakeholders?

* How did you prevent speculation from entering stakeholders’ comments?

* How did you keep speculation from affecting your ability to solve the conflict?

* What were the results of your actions?

Level 5 Promotes an integrated approach to conflict management

BEHAVIORS

• Establishes new or adapts existing conflict management processes.

• Stays abreast of conflict management trends and best practices, integrating them into organizational strategies and processes.

• Identifies opportunities for continuous improvement by analyzing sources and outcomes of conflict situations.

QUESTIONS

• Methods of resolving conflicts are constantly evolving as new ideas are presented in articles and other publications. Tell us about a time when you either established or adapted an existing conflict management process in response to changing views on conflict management.

Probing Questions

* How would you describe the existing conflict management process?

* What new information did you read that led you to make the change?

* How did you revise the conflict management process?

* What were the impacts of this revision?

• Conflict, while sometimes destructive, is typically constructive. Tell us about a time when you learned from analyzing the sources and outcomes of a conflict in order to identify opportunities for improvement in business processes or operations.