We’ve talked about how to keep your cool when dealing with client conflicts, but what about when the conflict is within your own team? Sparks are flying, tempers are high, and you know that the work is not going to get done well. So how do you make sure that everyone walks away feeling better about the situation? Try these 4 handy tips!

Avoid blame

Usually when there’s conflict, each person thinks the other one is to blame. When you’re handling team disagreements, make sure you keep it all above board and don’t take sides. Let each person have their say, and even if you think one may be in the wrong more than the other, make sure you deal with that separately and don’t put all of the blame on one person..

Make sure you understand the situation

Before you rush in and take control, make sure you really understand what happened. Of course each person in the situation is going to remember events from their own perspective, so it’s important to chat to anyone else in your team who might have seen what happened and can give you an objective view. The last thing you want is to reprimand the wrong person – that only builds resentment and they probably won’t stick around long!

Don’t abuse your power

You need to remember that even though they might be acting childish, your team members are not kids, and shouldn’t be treated that way. They are adults and deserve your respect and understanding. You can make it clear that their behaviour is unacceptable if things are getting out of hand, but first and foremost, you need to understand where they’re coming from and handle the situation, adult to adult.

Ask them for a solution

When things are heated and you ask the people involved what solution they’d like to see, it’s probably not going to go well. It’s important you involve them in the resolution process, but make sure that they’ve cooled down a bit first. You know how you would like things to be resolved, but it needs to work for your team as well, otherwise these flare ups will keep happening. Take their needs and ideas into account, and implement what works for you and for them.