This may sound ironic but your decision to instruct your employees to follow the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument may lead to conflict within your organization. This conflict mode instrument is based on certain assumptions. Now, it is certainly possible that such assumptions may not be true or applicable in all instances of conflict between individuals.
In such a scenario, relying on this instrument may not provide the desired results. This is not to say that this method of resolution of conflicts is inferior or ineffective. There is no absolute and universal formula for conflict resolution. There is no silver bullet that will automatically remove conflicts once it has been fired.
So, the simplest and most effective way to minimize risk of conflicts is to transform your instruction into a suggestion. Instead of asking employees to follow this particular mode, just encourage them to consider this option along with other options offered by different exports.
Now, there is no denying that your employees may not agree upon the right instrument. If they are unable to resolve the difference of opinion, you can step in and ask them to use the different instruments to resolve the conflict on their own. Of course, you can always retain the option of imposing your choice on the team. However, it is best to retain this approach as the last resort.
If you can get your employees to resolve conflicts about choosing the right mode for conflict resolution by using those specific instruments, then you would have converted an ordinary decision into a fantastic conflict resolution exercise.
One significant advantage of this approach is that you need not worry about your employees’ commitment to the conflict resolution instrument. If the choices imposed from above, then your employees may simply obey you as a formality without really participating in the process. Needless to say, such an approach will mean conflicts will never really get resolved in your organization.
You will gain a lot by asking your employees to have a stake in the final decision because it will make it impossible for them to back out later. Resolving conflicts is not easy and requires persistence, especially when nothing seems to be going right.
Further, , encouraging a group discussion and even participating in it as an ordinary individual will help everybody understand that conflicts are an integral and essential part of human relationships.
Mere presence of a conflict does not mean the relationship is broken. As a boss, you should stop equating conflicts with doubts about respect for your authority. Your employees, through the discussion, may understand that there are many ways to resolve conflicts with superiors other than merely sulking and adopting a defeatist approach.
