Week 8: Communication and Managing Conflict

Dimensions of controversy

distributive and integrative assertive vs cooperative -confrontation -compromise -avoidance -collaboration -accommodation

Analytic (strengths and weaknesses)

industrious, systematic, persistent, detail oriented, serious, precise, thinking oriented, strong need to be right Practice assertiveness

Verbal communication

meaning is often subjective

Interpersonal problems

•Assertiveness -domineering -submissive •Sociability -overly social -cold and aloof •Interpersonal Sensitivity -oversensitive -insensitive

Amiable (Strengths and Weaknesses)

Friendly, dependable, easygoing, cooperative, loyal, feeling oriented, strong need to maintain relationships Practice assertiveness

Healthy vs unhealthy conflict

Healthy: -Focus on task issues -legitimate differences of opinion about task -differences in values and perspectives -different expectations about the impact of a decision unhealthy: -competition over power, rewards, and resources conflict between individual and team goals -poorly run team meetings -personal grudges from the past -faulty communications

Assertiveness

I think, I feel, I want

Expressive (Strengths and Weaknesses)

Imaginative, stimulating, loving, enthusiastic, spontaneous, strong need for social recognition improve listening skills and use more probing questions and paraphrasing to draw out others opinions

Virtual communication

Improved knowledge sharing: Teams are no longer bound by geographical limitations. Teams can include subject matter experts from all over the world. Information can be stored and accessed from large knowledge sharing databases. Inherent problems: •Virtual teams tend to be abstract and ambiguous. •The distance between members: -Amplifies dysfunction -Dilutes leadership -Weakens human relations and team processes •Virtual teams have a hard time building trust and establishing a shared vision. Communication Challenges: •Members are more reluctant to express their opinions in virtual discussions. •The lack of social context makes it more difficult to understand what others mean. •Teams take longer to make decisions.

Active listening

Posture (SOLER) Paraphrase probing questions

Comparing Different Approaches to conflict resolution

-Avoidance, confrontation, accommodation •Winners and losers •Trouble implementing decisions -Collaboration •Everyone wins •Greater commitment to decisions •Best when equal status and time to work through problem •Time consuming, difficult

Constructive controversy

-Commitment to helping each other -Requires: •High degree of trust •Psychological safety

Conflict management styles

-Cooperative •Encourages communication -Competitive •Discourages communication

Psychological Safety

-Environment where people feel free to express their thoughts and feelings -Interpersonal trust, mutual respect -Important when giving feedback -Leaders promote safety

Communication Climate

-Evaluation versus Description -Control versus Problem Orientation -Strategy versus Spontaneity -Neutrality versus Empathy -Superiority versus Equality -Certainty versus Provisionalism

Building trust

-Evolves from shared values, attitudes, and emotions -Based on social relationships -Requires being trusting and trustworthy -Impacts on interpersonal communication, cooperation, and teamwork -Techniques to rebuild trust: •Apologize sincerely for actions that destroyed trust in the group. •Act trusting and demonstrate your support for others in the group. •Promote cooperation in the group. •Review the group's goals and gain commitment to common actions. •Establish credibility by making sure that actions match words.

Gender and Communication

-Masculine Communication Style •Emphasizes gaining status •Embodies independence, competition, exerting control, reporting knowledge -Feminine Communication Style •Emphasizes building connection •Embodies interdependence, cooperation, and empowerment, interest in others, participation -Awareness of styles can help members adapt understanding and minimize misunderstandings

Decentralized communication

-More balanced in terms of who speaks and how often -Members actively engage in advocacy and inquiry -More appropriate for complex group tasks

Centralized communication

-One or two members do most of the talking -Most of the member comments are directed to those same one or two people -More appropriate for simple group tasks

Communication skills for team meetings

1. Ask Questions -Open ended and follow up 2. Listen Actively -Paraphrasing 3.Give Constructive Feedback -Focus on future, specific behaviors, learning and problem solving 4. Manage Feelings -Stay neutral -Understand feelings rather than evaluating them -Process feelings in the group

Facilitating Team Meetings

5 main communication activities of the facilitator: Start up: -Review agenda: purpose and desired outcomes -warm-up activity Facilitate meeting: -Maintain an open and collaborative climate -Manage disruptive behaviors -Manage differences -make decisions Wrap up: -Summarize important decisions -check results against desired outcome -Evaluate the group process

Communication styles

Assertive- I win, you win Passive-aggressive- I lose, you lose aggressive- I win, you lose Passive- I lose, you win

Impact of conflict

Benefits of conflict: -new approaches and ideas -motivates understanding -better decisions -more creativity -enhanced organizational commitment -determined by emotional intensity of the conflict Problems with conflict: -negative emotion and stress -interference with communication -diverting attention from task -damaging cohesion -winners/losers -relationship conflicts -determined by the emotional intensity of the conflict

Social Styles

Task oriented vs relationship oriented asking vs telling, emotive vs controlled Analytic- asking controlled Driver- telling controlled Amiable- asking emotive Expressive- telling emotive

Integrative agreement

a negotiated resolution to a conflict in which all parties obtain outcomes that are superior to what they would have obtained from an equal division of the contested resources Focus discussion away from positions and toward underlying interests

Communication skills

active listening (inquiry) assertiveness (advocacy)

bypassing

assuming everone has the same meaning for a word -source of misunderstanding and conflict

nonverbal communication

communication is prone to distortion and misunderstanding. Non verbal can replace, emphasize, contradict verbal communication. the less info we have, the more we fill in the gaps. the meaning of someone's message is based on words (7%), vocal cues (38%), and facial expressions (55%). generally non-verbal is 65% of communication and verbal is 35% of communication

Driver (Strengths and Weaknesses)

objective, determined, efficient, independent, pragmatic, decisive, action oriented, strong need for results improve listening skills and use more probing questions and paraphrasing to draw out others opinions

Transmission medium

oral, written, non-verbal, or electronic

Communication within teams

poor communication can lead to conflict effective communication fosters trust, establishes norms, and develops collaborative, creative climate

Process of Communication

sender encodes information in transmission, receiver decodes transmission and sends response

Transactional communication

senders and recipients reciprical influence communication is a dynamic changing process team communication can influence team functioning

Effective communication

•Balanced participation from all members. •Members feel free to express themselves. •Members "suspend" their assumptions and stay open to new ideas. •Members work hard to understand others' perspectives. •Dialog is respectful yet spirited at times.

Team conflicts

•Be aware of it and own it •Reflect on why you feel so strongly •Get some feedback from a trusted source •Resolve it -Work through it and resolve it within yourself -Go directly to the other person and resolve it Tips: •Never talk badly about a teammate, leader, or other team •Don't jump the chain of command to complain •Be quick to ask for and give forgiveness

Conflict in work teams

•Conflict in Work Teams -Relationship conflict •Negative impact on team performance and cohesion regardless of task -Process conflict •Detrimental to team performance -Task conflict •Hurts functioning on routine task •Improves functioning on non-routine task -Task conflict can lead to relationship conflict unless there is trust.

Building Trust

•Consider initial or periodic F2F meetings •Post pictures and bio's of members •Publish team roles and responsibilities •Address conflict and underlying tension

Type of verbal statements

•Dependency statements •Counterdependency statements •Fight statements •Flight statements •Pairing statements •Counterpairing statements •Work statements

Challenges of Virtual Teams

•Difficult to develop trust -Harder to build relationships •Lack of commitment to a shared vision •Miscommunication and misunderstandings -Be careful of multitasking -Be explicit for deadlines •Increased diversity -Different cultural norms

Interpersonal conflict

•Disagreement between two or more group members -Rivalry or personality clash -Affective or emotional component -Hidden agendas •Difficult to manage and not useful to group -40% of conflict rooted in conflict between individuals unrelated to group goals (Morrill, 1995) -People often respond to conflict by blaming other's personal qualities

Task Conflict

•Disagreement over issues that are relevant to the group's goals and outcomes. •Groups can use this conflict to increase creativity, make better decisions, and solve problems. -Stimulates growth -Creates shared vision and commitment

Flow of a teams communications

•Dysfunctional Information Processing -Discussing information already shared •Focus on common rather than unique information -Biases •Confirmation Bias -Combat with Devil's Advocate •False Dichotomies -Question absolute statements -Use language of provisionalism

Facilitating conflicts

•Facilitating Conflicts -Requires developing trust -Outside mediators helpful when issues become too emotional •Ensure courtesy and respect •Acknowledge all perspectives

Emotional Intelligence

•Four Components -Self-awareness -Empathy -Emotional regulation -Relationship management - •Team emotional intelligence -Enhances trust, cohesion, ability to work under stressful situations -High EI teams have fewer and less intense conflicts •Improving Team Emotional Intelligence -Team leaders model appropriate behavior -Teams can develop behavioral norms -Use experiential group activities

Norms

•Norms are implicit and explicit rules and expectations for member behavior •Norms provide predictability, structure, and efficiency •Sources of norms and values •Initial group patterns •Explicit behavior or statements •Critical events •Past group experiences

Nonverbal components

•Physical appearance •Facial expression •Eye contact •Body movements •Vocal qualities •Physical proximity

Preparing for conflicts

•Preparing for Conflicts -Develop approaches to identify conflicts early on -Support constructive controversy -Psychologically safe environment for disagreements and conflict -Develop cooperation and trust-building -Develop team contracts -Develop norms

Creating a shared Vision

•Recruit self-motivated team members •Define the group's goal and purpose •Build consensus on major decisions •Get members' commitment •"Are we all agreed that this is our purpose?" •"Can everyone commit to this goal?"

Sources of conflict

•Scarce Resources •Personality Clashes •Role Differences •Communication Challenges •Value Differences •Demographic Differences •Power and Control Issues •Competition

Virtual Team Conflict

•Virtual Team Conflicts -More likely to occur because of miscommunications -Harder to resolve -To manage: •Stop using electronic messages to advocate opinions or express emotions •Leader intervention •Face-to-face meeting

Negotiating conflicts

•Win-lose •Incompatible interests •Win-win •Satisfying both sides is possible •Improves ongoing relationships •Develop integrative agreements