The Five Styles of Conflict Resolution

• Confrontation : When using the confrontation mode , project managers directly face a conflict using a problem-solving approach that allows affected parties to work through their disagreements.
• Compromise : With the compromise mode , project managers use a give-and-take approach to resolving conflicts.

11 Ways to Manage Project Conflict

1. Exercise power. Yes, power is a way to solve conflict!
2. Withdraw/avoid. “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” –
3. Compromise.
4. Call in the sponsor.
5. Appease.
6. Solve the underlying problem, not the symptom.
7. Delegate.
8. Acknowledge the person first.

In Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, five modes for conflict resolution are explained and the situations when they are best utilized are identified. (19) These modes are Confronting, Compromising, Smoothing, Forcing, and Avoiding.

• Avoiding the Conflict. Avoiding or withdrawing from a conflict requires no courage or consideration for the other party.
• Giving In. Giving in or accommodating the other party requires a lot of cooperation and little courage.
• Standing your Ground.
• Compromising.
• Collaborating.

In the first stage, the “Latent Stage,” the people who are in conflict are not yet aware that a conflict may exist. For example a project may have been turned in late to a client, but the manager is not aware of it yet so the participants are not aware there is a conflict brewing.

Conflict management is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. The aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes, including effectiveness or performance in an organizational setting.