Individuals can rise high in organizations by adopting any of three major ways of relating to conflict. Some individuals may do well for themselves by minimizing conflict through compromise, accommodation, or avoidance of people or issues or positions that raise conflict. This comfortable approach, by leaving underlying issues unresolved, is not healthy for the organization. Others relish conflict, using confrontational tactics to dominate those who are less aggressive, verbally skilled, or disposed to battle. This approach engenders destructive conflict, reducing team and organizational performance and creativity. A third type of person prefers to engage in constructive conflict, separating personalities from issues, and tries to optimize the level of cognitive conflict for each decision making situation.
For leaders to avoid playing avoidance-attack games and to make conflict work to the advantage of themselves and their organizations, they need to understand the various forms in which conflict comes, how each type affects productivity and creativity, and how to engage not in conflict management or resolution, but in conflict transformation.
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