Last weeks posts focussed on the causes of conflict, and introduced the Thomas Kilman (TKI) Conflict Management Model. The TKI approach encourages us to consider how we deal with/respond to conflict. Yet before we can do that, we first have to understand our preferences in relation to the five modes. Where do you think you sit?
All five modes have their pros and cons, and this week I will be exploring each mode in a bit more detail. Todays focus is the competing mode. A highly assertive and uncooperative approach that aims to satisfy your own concerns at the other persons expense. Sound harsh? In some cases it might be, but there are absolutely situations where this is very much the right approach to employ.
Situations such as:-
When you need to standup for your own interests and ideas, to ensure that they are taken seriously.
When quick, decisive action is vital, eg, in an emergency, such as evacuating a building in case of fire.
Where the issues are important and an unpopular course of action is required. I am sure that you can think of a few Covid-19 business decisions that will fall into this category.
When you need to articulate your thinking to test yours, and others assumptions before making a difficult decision.
So as you can see there is absolutely a right time to adopt a competing approach, but as you will see with all of these approaches there are some downsides to overuse. For instance, if competing is your go-to approach for every situation, you might very well find yourself surrounded by “yes” people. People who are afraid to challenge, offer different thinking, or just admit that they don’t know. The consequences of which, are that you create environments where you might never hear “the better idea” or the flaws with your own.
It’s important to consider when this mode will best serve us and when it won’t. Underuse or avoiding use of this mode may find us powerless in terms of being able to influence outcomes. We may find ourselves perceived as an individual unwilling to take a stand, express a view, and find ourselves over-looked in the future.
Tomorrow I will be exploring the benefits of, and the challenges associated with the collaborative approach.
Best for now.
Meryl
