Work Place Conflict: Actively And Visibly Pursuing Sources Of Conflict As A Manager

All conflict has a source and conflict in a workplace environment is no different. The manager of that environment will always find themselves having to resolve issues either between members of the same team or between staff and management. Conflict resolution is part of their job detail because it is a major threat to productivity.
The responsibility to handle conflict and make sure the workplace is free of this impediment lies squarely on the manager. It would be seen as a failure on his or her part, a lack of interpersonal man-management skill should things spill over and upper management get to hear of it. addressing the issue is therefore critical to the well being of the manager overseeing that workplace environment.
Is there a one size fits all solution to dealing with the issue of workplace conflict? In the perspective of the manager, there could be a one size fits all solution that he or she can adopt.

Proactive Pursuit of Sources of Conflict

Reacting to conflict after the have happened points to a problem of not anticipating the conflict and eliminating it at source. The proactive pursuit of sources of workplace conflicts is the panacea that will keep the manager ahead of issues that might come up and act as a negatively disruptive influence.
The office or workplace environment overseen by the manager is his or her domain. The manager has the responsibility of being aware of everything that is going on under his or her watch because he or she will be the one to answer for it if things go awry. Proactively pursuing the sources of conflict will at best prevent conflict from erupting and at worst nip it in the bud. How can the manager make this work?

Identifying General Sources of Conflict

General sources of conflict includes clash of personality, clash of values, performance related issues, clash of interests, conflict over resources and lack of proper communication. There may be other areas you will not see but the general sources of conflict usually cover almost every area in workplace conflicts.

Anticipation and Mapping Out Areas of Conflict

Proactively pursuing sources of conflict involves identifying and mapping out areas of conflict. The manager is in the best position to know areas within the workplace environment that can cause some kind of conflict. Speaking lightly, the photocopier could be an area of conflict when the number of people it is serving is more than the volume it can handle (this would naturally be placed under conflict over resources). Formulating a method of use so that every party can have a time to access it will kill the conflict before it starts. You can creatively add a Time Exchange where people trade their times of access to others based on need, deal making or plain bribery. This would add a fun factor that would nurture team spirit and workplace stress relieve.
Waiting till conflict erupts in that area is bad management. Identifying the area early and proactively putting measures in place to forestall conflict is excellent management. This in a nutshell explains mapping out the area of conflict. It involves both identification and adoption of evasive measures that would prevent conflict from erupting in that area.
The more areas the manager can identify and proactively put measures in place that will eliminate conflict, the fewer the conflicts that will erupt in his or her workplace environment.

Identifying, Mapping and Creating Areas of Bonding

The manager should not just be running about with a fire hose, he or she should also apply the same rule of anticipation and mapping out of areas of conflict to identify, map out and create areas of bonding. As the manager, you should be able to perceive areas where bonding and building of team spirit can take place and if you can find any, create one. Think out of the box.

Thinking Out of the Box

An example of thinking out of the box is adding a basketball hoop; at the entrance of the Staff Only area and making everyone that comes in the morning to make a free-throw. You can create special days in the office, like LA Lakers Day, a theme that would excite and spiff others.
The fact is, proactively pursing sources of conflict and instigating measures to kill it before it starts also involves creating the opposite effect of building up team spirit or healthy rivalry. This does not mean that you will see everything or workplace conflict will never take place. The fact that you have visibly pursued measures anticipating areas of conflict is strategic because it would work in dousing fires just for you sake. Hence actively pursuing sources of conflict will help in tampering whatever eventually rears its head because you would have done a lot in creating an environment that stifles conflict.