Managing internal conflicts when no best solution is at hand

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Often it is not clear what the right answer is when you are facing a problem or making a strategic decision. Sometimes there are too many good answers, because your approach depends on what perspective you choose to look at. In this case, making the final decision is no easy task.

You need to achieve your quarterly goals while keeping long term goals in mind and investing accordingly. You need to ensure that standards are met and that everything your company or division does is consistent, while giving the customers what they ask for. Some managers prefer to just close their eyes and get the job done. However, unresolved issues are not going to disappear, they are just being put off and will come up again and again.

How can conflict arising from different tactics and options in your company or team be defused and resolved? Keep your company's higher purpose at the forefront in order to align everyone on what really matters to you all. Here are four steps recommended by the leadershipnow.com website.

How to find a common goal

1. Tell them there is a paradox – although both sides have different views, they really have a common goal. Everyone feels relieved once they admit that this is the problem.

2. Show you care, and spend some time listening to the others' views. You need to do that in order to defuse the conflict and make both sides more adaptable and attentive. People tend to be angry and become entrenched in their positions when they think that no one cares about what they think and want.

3. Arrange a meeting with a customer. When the customer tells them what needs haven't been met, everyone will be inclined to put his adverse issues aside. The grudge melts away when they realize that the end consumer's satisfaction is their joint goal.

4. Define what common ground you share, for example what direction you are aiming for. Once you have found a confirmation, you can use it as a starting point for crafting the final solution.

-jk-

Article source Leadership Now - web focuses on various aspects of leadership
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