WHAT’S YOUR CONFLICT STYLE?
When you are faced with conflict, what is your usual response? Do you try to ignore the situation and hope it just goes away, do you let the other person have their way for the sake of keeping everyone happy, or do you stand up for what you want no matter what?
We all have a typical way of responding to conflict that we are most comfortable with. If you like, it is our “default” response to conflict. We may be a habitual conflict avoider, or we may be the sort of person who gets in there to try to sort things out as soon as conflict looks like it might be starting. We might have a different default style for different contexts – for example, in my personal relationships I might typically accommodate the other person’s needs over my own in order to keep everyone happy; but at work I might be much more prepared to compromise with my colleagues; my management style, however, may be more of a competitive/forcing style when my subordinates disagree with me.
Knowing your typical conflict style is the first step toward constructively managing conflict!
