Managing Project Conflict

Familiar with the popular phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen”? In the project environment, this is often the case... at times there are just too many people trying to control, influence, or work on something!

The project team has their thoughts and ideas about how work should be done in addition to various other important project stakeholders.YES! There is no doubt about it, project conflict is inevitable.

Although impossible to avoid, there are many effective techniques that team leads and/or managers can utilize in handling conflict to prevent possible project derailment.

(1) LISTEN. 👂 Being an attentive listener affords you the ability to gather more information.

(2) COLLABORATE. Host a meeting with all relevant stakeholders present. By getting everyone in the same room you have a better chance of coming to a resolution sooner than later.

(3) ACKNOWLEDGE. Conflicts often occur because a person’s ideas and feelings are not being acknowledged as important.

(4) ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS. Address the underlying issue, not the symptoms (there are charts for this)!

Take my word for it... simply start with implementing these techniques. Watch your discussions turn from derailing arguments into healthy debates that encourage productive change! ❤️