Early Warning Signs of a Conflict at Your Fire Crew and 9 Tips to Resolve It

One thing we are not always taught – identifying conflict in its early stages and taking proactive steps to resolve that conflict early and quickly. The results of our not doing so are low morale, loss of productivity, high absenteeism on the part of those involved in conflict, and, ultimately, a high turnover rate. Avoiding all of this requires that supervisors and managers “know” their people, interact with them daily, and develop a trusting relationship, so that conflict is reported. In the absence of reporting, it will be necessary to “see” it and take immediate steps. Here are 9 tips for doing just that.

Telltale Signs of Conflict

1.      Observe Interactions Between and Among Your Team Members

This requires that you be physically present, of course. You will need to learn the difference between normal disagreements that may occur during meetings and discussions, and the pervasive type of bad feeling that comes from real conflict between two people. You can identify conflict by observing that two people cannot have a “normal” and stable exchange, as well as their body language when they are engaged in any exchange. One member of the exchange may abruptly end it with a disparaging word – “whatever” is a prime example. The other party then takes offense, and the cycle has been established.

If you observe such an exchange, it is time to address the conflict, not ignore it, hoping that it will resolve itself. Rarely, do these conflicts resolve, and there may be attempts to draw others in as well. Then, you have a situation in which productivity is lost, morale is lower, and hostility grows.

2.      Watch for Higher than Normal Absenteeism and Transfer Requests/Turnover Increases

When members of a department or team are absent more than usual, and the illnesses are not severe or hospitalizations, then something is usually wrong and that “wrong” is generally conflict within the midst. As well, if there are more than normal requests for transfers to other departments that are lateral moves, interpersonal relationship issues are afoot.

3.      Loss of Enthusiasm, Motivation, and/or Work Ethic

When members of a team or department deal with conflict every day – even if they are not party to that conflict – the entire group suffers. The workplace is no longer pleasant; people stick to themselves more, do what is required, and go home. This damages productivity. They may become curt with one another, and, if they must interact with customers, they can be less friendly and accommodating. These are serious consequences of conflict. If you witness these things, it is almost a certainty that conflict has arisen somewhere.

Preventing/Resolving Conflicts Early

There are two categories of conflict resolution. The first, of course, is to have system in place to prevent it in the first place. The second is to get on it very early and find a resolution before an entire department or team is impacted. There are usually two causes for conflict:

• Failures of Leadership: When those in leadership positions do not set up clear structures, are inconsistent, do not communicate often and with empathy, do not show appreciation, and do not act as servants to their team members, there is lack of trust and feelings of being unappreciated. Conflicts between subordinates and their leaders can only be managed and resolved by someone higher up stepping in. That leader must receive more training, or, in cases where training will not affect change, removed from that leadership role.
• Qualities and personality traits of the individuals who have been employed to be a part of a team or department. Every organization, and every department within an organization, has a “culture.” When hiring decisions are made, it will be important to fully understand the “culture” of a group when adding a new member. Often, part of the hiring process involves a team or department conversations with applicants, and applicant spending a few hours in the department, etc. These proactive measures can help to prevent putting the “wrong” person into the group.

Resolving Those Conflicts Early

Leaders who ignore conflicts and avoid confronting them will come to regret that action. Conflict will won’t go away – it will only escalate. Here are some tips for getting in there early on and confronting the issue.

1.      Timing is Important

In education, these are called teachable moments. Catching the conflict in action is the best time to confront it. If you do not catch it in action, you can still confront what you do know about it. But confront it you must. Once others know conflict is occurring, they expect you to take action. When you don’t, they see you as ineffective and lacking the maturity to lead.

2.      Individual Exploration

Sometimes it makes sense to speak with each individual in a conflict in confidentially at first. They may say things to you that they will not to one another. And it is important for the leader to listen actively and see the conflict from the perspective of each individual involved. Repeating what each individual has to say will confirm that you have heard them correctly.

3.      Collaborative Discussion – Acknowledge the Problem

Once individual sessions are over, you should have a clearer understanding of what has caused and what continues the conflict. When you put the “combatants” together for a collaborative discussion, you must acknowledge that you understand their frustrations, their concerns, and their anger. While a conflict may seem petty to you, it is not to them.

4.      Avoid Coercion or Intimidation

Ineffective leaders will tend to come up with their own solutions and force it upon those in conflict. This never works. You may get a temporary cessation of the conflict but it continues to fester. And added to that is their anger with you for forcing or making threats. Now you have to problems to deal with later on.

5.      Always Focus on the Issue, Not the People

If you focus on the people rather than the conflict, you will alienate at least one party to the conflict. If jane is consistently late getting reports to Joe, and joe has come to see her as lazy and incompetent, the problem is not with Jane or Joe. The problem lies with the reports. Focus on resolving that issue. Jane may legitimately need more time, or she may truly struggle with poor writing skills.  How can you get help for her? Perhaps the reports need to be turned over to someone else or to an outside writing service, like supremedissertations or any other.  Joe’s demands for the reports may be too last-minute because he has pressure from somewhere else. What can you do to relieve some of that pressure?

6.      If a Person is the Problem, Deal with it

Sometimes, one party really is the problem. His or her personality is just “wrong” for the department or the team. If this is the case, you must become a coach and make the effort to change the way the individual approaches others. If you cannot affect a change, then you have to make the tough decision to let that person go. Good leadership means making tough decisions on some occasions.

7.      Meetings Must Have Guidelines

Conflict resolution meetings must remain calm and as unemotional as possible. Personal attacks are also forbidden. No interrupting. When one party makes a point, ask the other party to repeat that point. Then, you know that they are really listening to each other. The other guideline to verbalize at the onset is that, in a conflict, resolution comes from compromise, not “winning” or “losing.”

8.      Be Patient and Keep Communication Open

Conflicts are rarely resolved in a single meeting. Both parties need time to “chew” on what each other has said and what you have shared as well. At the end of the first meeting, however, it is always a good idea to ask each to find something good to say about the other. This tends to “soften” each party a bit.

9.      Act Decisively When Necessary

The ideal is that parties to the conflict will begin to appreciate the other’s perspective and frustrations. And, through discussion, they may see commonalities between them. If this does not happen, however, it is your time to step up to the plate and impose a decision. Leaving things in “limbo” leaves the impression that you are weak, don’t care, or both.

The Takeaway

Confronting conflict early and head-on resolves issues before they become tornadoes that impact the work of everyone. If they are not confronted, the best-case scenario (and it’s not a good one) is that everyone on a team or in a department suffers. Leaders are then in a mode of trying to “put out fires” all the time to try to keep every9one productive – it’s exhausting.

The worst-case scenario is that parties to unresolved and escalating conflict decide to take legal action against each other and the organization – this is more than a tornado – it’s a nightmare.

If you are a leader who has difficulty confronting and resolving conflict, understand this. You will get better at it over time, and it will become easier with practice.