Dealing with team conflict

2 Conflict in groups is unavoidable Individual differences in motives, goals and beliefs means some conflict will always occur Some conflict is necessary for stimulating creativity and innovation Too much conflict can lead to group failure or dissolution Types of conflict – Relationship conflict – Task conflict – Process conflict

3 Sources of Conflict Differences in solutions Difference in standards Differences in values Cultural clashes Control Misunderstandings Social loafing Air-time hogs Absences Time Habits Conflict is inevitable, but needn’t escalate

4 Conflict often escalates Conflict begins Different goals Argument  commitment to position Blame: Attribution to opponent Shift from soft to hard negoti- ation tactics Negative reciprocity & emotion Coalition formation

5 Task conflict Features – Largely depersonalized – Consists of argumentation about the merits of ideas, plans and projects Effects on group performance – Effective in stimulating creativity – Can improve decision-making outcomes and team productivity – Associated with higher commitment to task and group – Encourages considering issues from different perspectives

6 Relationship/affective/personal conflict Features – Personal, defensive, resentful – Rooted in anger, personal friction, personality clashes, ego and tension – Not always openly expressed Effects on group performance – Interferes with the effort people put into a task – Inhibits cognitive functioning – May encourage dismissing the ideas of others – May result in censored and unproductive communication – Reduces team effectiveness

7 From task to person conflict in the HCII Task disagreement about stages in updating HCII website – Update technology & then outsource new design ($80K) – Update technology, redeploy old design & implement student design ($10K) Led to entrenched positions & personal attacks

8 Escalation A: “I asked X to do a migration of the current site, … reimplement our current theme, [and] implement the winning student design... I've asked him to do the second theme so that we can do A/B testing and have something credible with which to compare any new …design…. And [if the] new design takes longer than planned, we'll have a plausible site to present to the world in the meantime.” B: “I am surprised to hear that you are proposing to bypass the HCII website committee process.... I cannot approve the move to implement the student design... without meeting to talk about it further.” A: “I thought it was worth $2,600 of my discretionary money to have a fallback if a professionally designed site isn't done quickly enough or isn't good enough” B: “I can't approve the implementation of a re-design at this time, regardless of where the funds come from” A: “I encouraged this project and agreed to take it on because I thought it was important for the department, but I see continued foot dragging from you..... With no disrespect, I’ll end by quoting General Patton: lead, follow or get out of the way” B: “I also hear your frustration with me, and I wish it did not lead you to communicate with me in this manner. It's not respectful nor is it effective.”

9 Disciplining a Teammate Context: A 12-member, self-managed blue-collar production team doing electronic assembly – Team diverse on race, gender & family composition – Working together for two years Sharon history: – Two preschool kids (3 & 5) – History of absences for kid-problems – History of lateness (at least once per week) Incident – Sharon calls in late to announce an absence on a day with short- staffing & high workload – Team meeting to discipline Sharon Recount history Threaten Sharon with firing at next offense

10 What did the team do right?

11 What did the team do right? Sets up a team contract Values – – Give best customer top priority. – Make sacrifices to support team – Speak candidly at group meetings – Arrive on time Norms – Work on important customer’s orders first – Arrive at 7AM – Learn all the roles Rules – Formal, clear rules for behavior – Hold 20-minute meeting each morning, with fixed agenda Schedule Task assignment, Coordination Problems – Breaks at 9:30 & 1:30 – Absences must be announced by 7:15

12 Group Process Agreements Work! Agree in Advance On: – Group goals – Decision processes – Conflict contingencies – Procedure for being absent – What happens when you miss a meeting – Response time for – phone messages – Specified Roles and Responsibilities Secretary Client Liaison Team Leader - means? Meeting coordination - agenda creator

13 What did the team do wrong?

14 What did the team do wrong? Focusing on positions & not issues Coercive talk – Use of “You” language: – Blame: “Do you know what kind of problems you caused us yesterday.” Use of power as mediation technique – “We wouldn’t have to [monitor you] if you would just follow our rules” – “You won’t be here if it happens again” Little attempt at problem solving

15 Conflict resolution as problem solving: Air all the view points. – Interview everyone & find out what each person wants & why. State the problem – Combine everyone’s needs into a summary – Use neutral language – Focus on what should be done (not recriminations). Keep going until everyone agrees “If X happens I’ll be satisfied” Create a solution – Identify a range of possible solutions. Brainstorm – Negotiate over solutions that best meet everyone’s interests – Go to faculty/supervisor for help

16 Position: a statement of demands or wants. Often a solution the persons sees as the only way to solve the problem. Statement of the outcome the person would like to see. Stated as a command, often. Often a win/lose proposal. POSITIONS AND INTERESTS:

17 Interest: a need or concern underlying a position. The motivation that caused the person to arrive at a position Why a person holds his/her position. Keep asking why until you get to an interest Convert positions to Interests:

18 PROBLEM STATEMENT PURPOSE: To state the problem in terms of the interests of all parties. To foster collaborative problem solving. To provide a focus for generating solutions. 18

19 Ask as question that states the problem in terms of the interest of all parties. Use positive, inclusive and neutral language. Make sure that all parties agree that if this question is answer the problem will be solved. How to form a problem statement:

20 Problem statements Combine Interests to form a problem statement. “How can we get the work done, when one of our members has to miss work?” “How can we build in flexibility for team members, while still getting the work done? Not: You must be here on-time or else “How do we make the work fair?” Not: As the programmer, it is your job to do x “How can we waste less time in meetings and get everyone’s input?” (Not: Choose btw voting and discussion) “How can we get the best website, while reducing cost & uncertainty?” – Not: Choice student design versus contract out.

21 Conflict management styles Accommodating – You cooperate to a high-degree. May be at your own expense and work against your goals, objectives, and desired outcomes. Avoiding – You simply avoid the issue. You aren’t helping the other party reach their goals ot assertively pursuing your own. Collaborating – Win-Win. You & partner with the other party to achieve both of your goals. Requires a high-degree of trust and reaching a consensus can require a lot of time and effort to get everybody on board and to synthesize all the ideas. Competing – This is the “win-lose” approach. You act assertively to achieve your goals, without seeking to cooperate with the other party, and it may be at the expense of the other party. Compromising –“lose-lose” scenario where neither party really achieves what they want. This requires a moderate level of assertiveness and cooperation. The trap is to fall into compromising as an easy way out, when collaborating would produce a better solution.

22 What are you? CONFLICT STYLE AvoidingAssertiveAccommodatingCompromisingCollaborating

23 Conflict style questionnaire

24 Methods of conflict resolution

25 Conflict resolution as negotiation What works? – Problem solving behavior, such as giving or requesting information about a party’s priorities among the issues, encourages high joint benefit. Problem solving behavior – Contentious behavior, such as making threats or standing firm on cone’s proposals, encourages failure to reach agreement or, if agreement is reached, low joint benefit. Contentious behavior – Conceding makes agreement more likely but favors the other party’s interests. – Prosocial motivation (resulting, for example, from positive mood or the expectation of future interaction with the other party) encourages problem solving and high joint benefit and discourages contentious behavior, but only when resistance to yielding is high Prosocial motivation – The party who makes the first offer tends to achieve greater benefit than the other party.

26 Conflict resolution as negotiation Look for integrative, mutual gain solutions (win-win) Look for trade-offs rather than dividing a fixed pie – Reveal your interests – Understand your partner’s interests – Logroll Benefits – Best solution for the group (Pareto optimum) – Integrative solution strengthens the relationship between parties, because they are mutually rewarding Cooperative in expanding the pie & then, if necessary, compete in dividing it – Suboptimal: Competition (maximizing difference), Avoidance, Compromise & Accommodation

27 I FEEL /get/ am…frustrated WHEN…you talk while I am talking. BECAUSE…What I am saying is important and I want you to hear it. I Messages/ Assertion Messages:

28 Assertion Message Should: Focus on you Describe the specific behavior or situation that is a problem to you Describe the impact on you or the group of the behavior or situation Communicate your interests or needs Describe your feelings (I feel…, I get…, I am…) Be addressed to the person with whom you are in conflict Assertion Message Guidelines

29 Assertion Message Should NOT: Focus on the other Blame or criticize Assume the other person has the same understanding of the situation Name Call Assume the other person knows how you feel Generalize Assertion Message Guidelines