- Your people all contribute different perspectives, values, and knowledge to your team. Sometimes this can stimulate healthy debate, but at other times it can lead to conflict, hurt feelings, and damaged relationships. When this happens, you need to know when to step in and how to deal with it. Often conflict starts with a minor disagreement that suddenly escalates. Making an inappropriate remark, for example. Or speaking over someone in a meeting. Be aware of people's body language, facial expressions, or tone of voice. Conflict doesn't necessarily involve shouting. Someone suddenly going quiet can also indicate that something's up. The better you know your team members, the more easily you'll pick up on any tension. If you spot conflict, don't ignore it or leave it to others to resolve. Act to show that you treat conflict seriously and won't condone potentially destructive behavior. Have a one-on-one with each team member involved. This way you can hear people's concerns in a safe, confidential setting. Avoid making assumptions. Reassure people and allow them to open up in their own time. Be fair and impartial. Ask each person the same set of questions. You need to address the issue as objectively as possible, so it's vital that everyone gets to state their case and that you listen carefully to what they have to say. Next, bring people together and act as a moderator. Encourage team members to listen without interruption and respect the other's point of view. Keep things calm. If the discussion becomes heated, take a break and reconvene when everyone's settled down. When a conflict affects the whole team, it can be helpful to ask for everyone's perspective, but only do this if the situation is not sensitive or confidential. Talking things out can allow the people involved to see how their behavior has impacted their colleagues. It can also help your team to explore different assumptions, beliefs, and values. Ask people to agree on actions for reconciliation and commit to them. It can even be helpful to draw up a timetable for these actions so that people can take ownership of them and stay accountable. Finally, follow up to make sure that issues have been properly resolved. Use one-on-ones to prevent old disagreements from resurfacing, or send out an anonymous team survey to get feedback and uncover any lingering frustrations. Some team conflict is natural. It can even stimulate interesting and healthy debate. But when conflict becomes hurtful or harmful, you need to be able to spot the signs and do what you can to resolve it so your team can continue to work in harmony. © Mind Tools Ltd