Conflict arises suddenly and comes from any place in our work, our families, our churches, and any other organization. As I wrote in the last blog, conflict can at times be positive.
Consider some of the ways that conflict can have positive results. It can cause teams or families to address disagreements in a healthy way. It can shake people from lethargy. Conflict can cause people to pursue dreams or alternatives that they may have otherwise avoided.
Unfortunately, conflict does not always end positively. It can divert attention and energy needed to confront problems. Priorities turn from addressing needs to winning. These and so many other descriptions show the negative effects of conflict.
In this and next week’s blog I will address two questions. This week’s blog will seek an answer to the source of conflicts. Gaining an understanding of the “why” of conflict will enable leaders to gain insight for the “what next?” of conflict.
Conflict can arise from five sources.
The first three sources of conflict were defined in a “Managing Conflict” podcast by Dr. Gail Fann Thomas on the Myers-Briggs Company Podcast. She defined the following sources of conflict:
- “Task” refers to what people, teams, and organizations need to do.
I would add, people can disagree with priorities. Differing goals and visions divide people’s attention and loyalty.
Dr. Thomas said,
“Task conflict is influenced by the role a person holds within an organization. The amount of responsibility, influence, and authority a person has shapes the type of tasks that concern them. It shapes the timeframe, too. Different roles have different priorities.”
- “Process” refers to how people do the task.
This is a simple enough conflict to address. One person’s methods may differ from another. Policies and procedures can divide. It is incumbent on the leader to help teams determine which process to follow. Most people respond best if they understand the why instead of merely quoting procedure.
- “Interpersonal” refers to the relations between the people doing the task.
This type of conflict is the most difficult to manage.
Again, quoting Dr. Thomas:
High performing teams have a higher awareness of the people on the team—their strengths and values, for example—and make best use of them.
The two most prominent reasons for conflict in the study mentioned are poor communication and lack of role clarity. Both are interpersonal conflicts that must be addressed.
- Value Conflict
Value conflict arises from fundamental differences in identities and values. This could include differences in politics, religion, ethics, norms, and more. While political and religious discussions are not usually encouraged in organizations, value conflict can come up around work decisions or policy decisions.
The closer a value is to the core of one’s beliefs and identities the less likely they are to compromise. It is beneficial for each party to define their fundamental values. Once clearly defined parties in conflict can seek sources of agreement.
- Conflict Arising from Within Us
The Biblical book of James identifies a fifth type of conflict.
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. [1]
We do well to consider the fact that many of our conflicts do arise from our misplaced motives. Engage Coaching and Consulting does derive its values from the spiritual realm. While I do identify these values easily and clearly it is not imperative that all my readers adopt those values.
Regardless of your spiritual values, we can see that the selfish motives identified by James impact many of the other sources of conflict. We seek the tasks, processes, and values that we desire and often without consulting God’s will or wisdom.
Next week’s blog will feature some strategies for dealing with conflict. I encourage you to check out the Elevate through MBTI and Everything DiSC pages on our website. Both offer tools that can be done in large groups, small groups, or even families.
[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jas 4:1–3.
