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Conflict Resolution Skills

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge,

aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Reality of Conflict

It is extremely difficult for someone to be an effective leader without the
ability to deal productively with conflict. Since all human interaction is
fundamentally based on conflict, leaders need to accept this reality and
learn how to work with it. 161 This begins with the recognition that
diversity and difference are essential characteristics common to all human
experience. 162 Being a leader means moving through the human

interaction “mine field” without detonating any major explosions. The role
of good leadership is not to put an end to all conflict. That will never
happen. Instead, the effective leader must be able to recognize and use
those competencies and skills that move organizational interaction through
conflicts and toward positive and valuable outcomes for all involved. 163

Clearly, it is part of human nature to allow differences between people to
easily lead to disagreements. When differences are minor, disagreements
are easily resolved. However, significant differences can occur as
individuals find that they seem to have incompatible goals, and this can
lead to significant conflict.

Research has demonstrated that supervisors spend more than 25 percent of
their time on conflict management, and managers spend more than 18
percent of their time on relational employee conflicts. 164 Leaders in an
organization clearly have to know how to handle difficult people and

resolve conflicts. Serious conflict has the power to disrupt relationships and
create divisiveness, low morale, and organizational chaos.

161 C. Tessier, et.al., NetLibrary Inc. Conflicting Agents Conflict Management in Multi-agent Systems. New York:
Kluwer Academic, 2002.
162 M. LeBaron. Bridging Cultural Conflicts: A New Approach for a Changing World, 1st ed. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 2003.
163 Tim Porter O’Grady, “Embracing Conflict: Building a Healthy Community,”
http://www.unc.edu/courses/2009fall/nurs/379/960/M9%20motivation%20perf%20app%2009/porter%20o
grady%20embracing%20conflict.pdf.
164 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_management.

David Kolzow 149