Home » Freebees » Team Building and Training Activities

RESOLVING CONFLICT AMONG TEAM MEMBERS

Objectives:

1. To learn various conflict resolution styles, including their advantages and disadvantages

2. To learn your conflict resolution style and how to optimize your personal effectiveness in resolving conflict with another team member.

Participants:

This exercise is designed for team leaders, team members and others who want to learn about conflict resolution in a team setting. The design can be adapted to address conflict among members of an intact team.

Time Limit:

Approximately two hours. Increase the time if you plan to use the optional discussions included the Process section.

Physical Setting:

Comfortable chairs placed around a large round or rectangular table in a small conference room.

Materials and Resources:

1. A copy of the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode for each person. Available from CPP, Inc. Go to www.cpp.com

2. A copy of the video, Dealing with Conflict. Available from CRM Learning. You will also need a projector. Go to www.crmlearning.com

3. A copy of the handout, Resolving Team Conflict, for each person.

Process:

1. Review the purpose of the session and the steps in the process.

2. Distribute a copy of the handout, Resolving Team Conflict. Ask each person to complete the first section, Getting Started. If time permits, form two-person sub-groups to share and discuss their responses.

3. Distribute the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode and ask each person to complete and score the survey. Provide an explanation of the results. Ask each person to score the results on page 6 of the booklet, complete the graph on page 8 and review the Interpretation on pages 9 and 10. Note: If you are unfamiliar with the instrument, it is very important that you prepare by completing the survey, reviewing the related material, previewing the video and, in general, familiarizing yourself with the concepts.

4. If time permits, ask each person to team up with one other person to discuss their results.

5. Show the video, Dealing with Conflict. Prior to the showing, ask everyone to look for examples of the five conflict modes

• Avoiding

• Accommodating

• Compromising

• Competing

• Collaborating

After the video, facilitate a brief discussion on the various examples and the impact of each style.

6. Ask the group to return to the handout and complete, Section 4, Recent Conflicts, Part 2. If time permits, ask each person to team up with another person to form a sub-group to discuss their responses.

7. Conclude the session by facilitating a discussion of “What I learned About Resolving a Conflict with a Team Member,” or “What I Plan to Do Differently in Trying to Resolve a Conflict with a Team Member.” Post the responses on a flip chart or computer connected to an LCD projector.

8. If time permits, you may ask the group to brainstorm team norms or ground rules for resolving conflict among team members.

Variation:

1. This exercise can be done for an intact team. In this variation, you may wish to ask team members to focus on a conflict they have had with another team member or stakeholder in the sections dealing with “Recent Conflicts.” Under certain conditions, you may ask team members who have had some disagreement to team up in sub-groups to discuss the conflict,

2. If the exercise is done for an intact team, you can ask the group to develop a list of norms or ground rules that are specific to their team.