Handling Conflict in Teams

We often need to express disagreement when working with our colleagues. How we express our disagreement is important. Here we offer some scientifically proven ways to express disagreement effectively.
Thumbs Up

USE POSITIVES TONES

Frame your disagreement in terms of potential areas of improvement, rather than critical comments.

 
Headphones

LISTEN

Hear what others have to say about the issue and seriously consider others’ suggestions.

 
Negative

AVOID SAYING OTHERS ARE WRONG

Acknowledge the other person’s opinion before you disagree. You may use phrases such as:
“I see what you are saying but…”
“I understand where you are coming from but…”

 
Hand holding a pencil

ASK CONFLICTS VS. RELATIONSHIP CONFLICT

Engage in task conflicts that foster creativity and improve team performance, avoid engaging in relationship conflicts. In other words, focus on the task, don’t get personal.

 

 

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Teamwork: An Open Access Practical Guide Copyright © 2020 by Andrew M. Clark; Lolin Martins-Crane; Mengqi Zhan; and Justin Dellinger T. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book