Conflict Management in the workplace - aim to be 'conflict-competent'

Most individuals and organisations aim to avoid conflict, on the presumption that if there is no conflict, then all is well. That is a misconception and is most likely a sign of apathy, rather than an indication of harmony.

Over the years and in the course of advising management, chairing grievances or enquiries, mediating workplace disputes, conducting training and the like, one of the main problems that we have picked up, running like a golden thread through all of those, has been the inability of people to face or deal with conflict. This in turn leads to all sorts of other issues, such as poor communication and a lack of transparency.

I believe that the reason for this is two-pronged:

(1) People do not like conflict. It is easier to avoid it and pretend that nothing is wrong, living in hope that the problem will resolve itself if they wait long enough, or that someone else will deal with it. Sometimes, they avoid necessary conversations because do not want to come across as mean or arrogant towards colleagues who may also be friends. So – denial, avoidance, or sometimes the use of power, to deal with it.

(2) People may also not have the skills or knowledge to deal with conflict appropriately, especially managers: not knowing what they can / should say, what is legally permitted, or simply lacking the soft skills to approach and resolve a conflict effectively. Also, some types of conflict situations cannot be coached or mentored – more drastic action is required. This is also why line managers tend to think that employment relations is an ‘HR-issue’ and that workplace conflicts should be passed on to the personnel department to deal with.

The bottom line is that employment relations is always a ‘Team’-issue first. If small, day-to-day issues are dealt with promptly and efficiently in a timely manner, chances are that they will not evolve into those bigger conflicts.

"Productive relationships between workers and management, and others in the organisation, do not depend on eliminating conflict but on developing cooperative goals and interaction to manage conflict successfully."

[Swanepoel et al. (2005) - The Management of Employment Relations: Conceptual and Contextual Perspectives.]

Enters the concept of ‘conflict-competence’.

[Prof Barney Jordaan – LinkedIn, Aug 2025 – read the full article here]

“Conflict competent organisations are those whose leadership accepts and welcomes conflict as an inevitable, integral part of organisational life. They realise that if conflict is handled poorly, it could pose major risks to the organisation, yet if handled well, it can deliver positive outcomes.

On an individual level, this means the ability to develop and use cognitive, emotional, and behavioural skills that enhance productive outcomes of conflict while reducing the likelihood of escalation or harm.

At the level of the team, conflict competence involves a commitment to cooperative goals and a team culture that encourages open, honest discussion and open-mindedness to the ideas and aspirations of others.”

So – how does an organisation (and individual employees and managers) become ‘conflict-competent’? The starting point is fostering a positive perception of conflict internally, viewing it as constructive and as something that can be leveraged for better outcomes. Prof. Jordaan provides some excellent practical pointers for creating organisational conflict competence in his article – definitely worthwhile to read and consider.

I would like to focus on the aspect of training:

• Advancing ‘conflict-literacy’ – that is, helping employees to understand their own conflict styles, and how to employ self-help techniques. This can also contribute to better mental health, which is becoming an important issue in the modern workplace. It also goes back to learning from leadership examples: the better your manager or mentor is at conflict management, the better you are likely to be at it when moving onwards and upwards.

• Equipping management with the knowledge and skills to facilitate and manage conflicts (including how to have difficult conversations, performance management, chairing grievances). Effective conflict leaders don’t try to control conflict but rather the responses to conflict behaviours. However, training in this regard should go further than just teaching conflict-handling skills - it should also include practical knowledge and tips of how to handle various conflict situations in the workplace within the parameters of the law and policy considerations. This will provide confidence to managers and enable them to handle difficult situations as efficiently as possible, and in line with the law and company protocols.

We have had the opportunity to be involved in this type of management-development and training for a large corporate company over the past few years, and it has been an immensely positive experience. The feedback indicated that managers are becoming much more confident about dealing with difficult scenarios, and have been excited to share what they learned with their teams and to implement recommended strategies in practice. (I have had senior managers coming in on day 2 of a training workshop, telling me how they had already shared feedback with their team leaders the previous evening after completing this first day of training.)

Conclusion

Sometimes, dealing with workplace conflicts may seem like an insurmountable hurdle. It need not be. Take the first step, decide how you want to capacitate your people, and just….. start! It need not happen overnight, but you will be thankful once you see the changes filtering through.

© Judith Griessel