Guest post by Judy Glick-Smith.
On Wednesday, 24 February at 1:00 PM EST (GMT-5), I will present a webinar on Managing Conflict On a Global Team. We all encounter conflict in our lives on a daily basis. Conflict occurs within us and in our relationships. How we respond to conflict makes all the difference in the world as to its resolution. Each of us, no matter where or how we grew up, has developed a style that helps us cope with conflict. In the midst of conflict this is our fall-back or predominant conflict style. No one style is better than another. However, some styles are better suited for circumstance-specific conflict.
Many studies have been done to identify and codify conflict styles, but the most often referred to modality is the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, which is universal in its application no matter where one is in the world. The styles identified in the Thomas-Kilmann are competitive, collaborative, compromising, accommodating, and avoidant. These are based on one’s penchant for having a high or low concern for others and a high or low concern for self. The webinar will cover these styles more thoroughly.
We will also cover the idea of high- vs. low-context cultures, which make the issue of conflict management even more complex. For example, Asian cultures tend to be high-context cultures. That is, much of communication goes unspoken; it is implicit and can be based on body language, choice of words, circumstances, etc., all of which may have multiple meanings. On the other hand, Western cultures tend to be low-context cultures because they are more heterogeneous; therefore, communication must be more explicit.
In addition, high-context and low-context cultures can exist in subcultures within an over-arching culture. For example, the U.S. military is a very high-context culture functioning within a low-context Western culture. In other words, each member on your team—even if he or she is sitting in the adjacent cubicle—may be a member of a high-context culture of which you are not a part. He or she may unknowingly react to circumstances and communication in a way that works in one culture, but doesn’t work within your team culture.
Conflict occurs out of misunderstanding and miscommunication. In Management Challenges for the 21st Century, Peter Drucker tells us that each of us must take responsibility for the communication in both directions. To do this we must be personally aware of our own conflict style and the styles of others and be willing to make adjustments accordingly. This webinar will provide you with examples and tools to increase your awareness about conflict management within your own environment.
Click here to sign up for the webinar. You can contact me with questions as well. My phone number is +1 (770) 633-5582 and my email address is judy@mentorfactorinc.com. My website is http://www.mentorfactorinc.com/. My Ning site is MentorFactor: Conversations about Transformation.
Judy Glick-Smith is a Fellow and Past President of STC. She has a Master’s of Science in Conflict Management and is currently working on a PhD in Transformative Studies with an emphasis in Positive Psychology. She is a technical communicator, business developer, and consultant for Clifford Sells, LLC. She also does executive and life coaching, motivational speaking, and life planning workshops through her company, MentorFactor, Inc.