Conflict.

In one of my previous roles, I was able to take the TKI (the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument) assessment on conflict resolution. I loved it, as I do any assessment tool that helps me learn more about myself and how I act with others at work. And doing the assessment as a team helped us understand how to better work together.

The biggest takeaway I had from the conflict resolution work: there is no wrong or right way to deal with conflict. Having an understanding of what conflict style you tend to display more often is helpful. Also, different styles of dealing with conflict are necessary for different events that come up.

Conflict isn't bad. Actually, it's good. Conflict can allow us to have the best deliverables, good discussion and debate about something and can ultimately lead to a better work product.

But, if not dealt with properly, conflict can cause tension and become toxic.

The best way to allow for conflict is to have a safe working space and allow for people to be open and honest without feeling judged. Allowing for that space is imperative for successful team interactions.

When conflict does come up, understanding how you typically deal with it can help. Example: I am competitive in almost every assessment of any kind I take. My way of dealing with conflict is good for emergencies or crisis situations. If there is another type of conflict that may arise, I would want to get a different perspective on how to solve it (like if we needed to build rapport with another team while solving an issue,  I would ask someone who is more accommodating during conflict to get advice on how to handle).

Everyone's way of dealing with conflict is beneficial for certain situations. Understanding those connections is helpful when dealing with workplace conflict.

Conflict at work is good for these reasons:

In order to allow for good conflict to happen, a safe space is needed. Here’s what that looks like: