BRIDGES , NOT BATTLES: TURNING CONFLICT INTO CONNECTION

Conlflict isn't the enemy , avoidance , pride and poor communication are. True strenght is seen in how calmly we face tension and how wisely we choose peace over ego.

Conflict is like fire that breaks out in the kitchen if you notice it early you can calmly reach for a fire extinguisher, put it out and clean up the mess . if you ignore it or throw the wrong things on it loke heat,blame or silence , it spreads fast burining everything in its paths.

Recently I was able to attaend a work workshop on one sessision by Prof Hellen Mberia from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology where she tackled on conflict managment . Her being an expert in startegic communication ,  she emphasised the importance of conflict management at workplace envieling that unresolved conflict leads to 67% lower performance, increased abseentism and 50% higher turnpover.

Workplace conflict in this matter isn't just interpersonal but it's a strategic business risk , however early intervention or resolution , training isn't optional it's essential. When managed well ,conflict fosters innovation, connection and stronger teams.

However the journey to conflict management commneces when we first understand and be aware of how as individual  we handle conflict only then can we foster it's management. she briefly and clearly ellaborate various types of people a kinning each person to a specific animal and its reaction or behavior to conflict, which diversely opened my understanding  and  how intriguring   humans are so similar to animals giving me an opportunity to understand how else and how better I can adjust during conflict. 

Below are the four animals she shared and how each represents various people and conflict management.

• Sharks 

In every organization there sharks , commonly sharks are known to be the apex predators in the foodchain and researchers concludes, if the sharks are withdrawn from the ecosystem  this can trigger a trophic cascade , leading to significant imbalances in the food web and potentially cause a decline or even collapse of other species and habitats.

This is also true for sharks in the corporate systems, persons with sharks personality in workplaces are charactised by aggression and dominance which leads to conflict and hinder teamwork but also potentially drive performance in some extended. The Sharks in the workplace places ; tend to  put their needs and goals as highly important and the needs of others are of low priority, they dont hestitate to use aggressive behaviour to reslove conflict,they also assume that coflicts are settled by one person winning and one person losing and they want to be the winner , and when it comes to conflict they try to win by attacking. there nature of conflict management hinder team work leading to employee  high turnover. 

• Fox

Fox are known to be cunning, clever, strategic thinkers, adpatable and emotional animals. They are clever deceivers who  overcome their enemies or even the most experienced hunters. These fox characteriestics are no far different from fox personality traits in the work place their traits can be beneficial in navigatingg complex situations , however their self interest and potential for manipulation can lead to conflict.

In conflict, they are always willing to sacrifice some of their goals while persuading others to give up part of their own, they are also concerned with both goals &relatiosnhips, however even relation is maintained during conflicts , their compromise may result in a less pleasant situation in which a middle ground is created between two extreme positions. Lastly, their compromise is assertive and cooperative leading to a win-win or lose-lose situation.

• Turtle

Turtles are docile creatures and not agressive at all, some are risk takers and some are more timid.  in conflict management they are characterized by avaoidance and withdrawal  rather than facing it, they tend to abadon their own goals and relationships and display passive behaviour , while they might avoid escalating minor disagreement and preserve realtionships this tendancy negatively impact team performance.

• Teddy Bear

Teddy bears pictures  peaceloving, conflict avoidant, and go with flow individuals. They are soft and dependeable , always ready to listen and support, they do  what they are asked and show little personal initiative and rarely question authority.

In conflict management teddy bears smooth over the conflict  out of fear of harming the relationship, their unassertive and cooperative behaviour creates a win-lose situation and the teddy bear is the loser, lastly, the teddy bear uses an accomadating conflict management style with empahsis on human relationships.

All this styles and conflict management traits are found in each and every person in an organizational setting, some may think they have a bit of each character from each animal but the truth is there is only one that dominates your conflict management, however there is no good or bad conflict management trait. However, we have to learn what traits represents us and how we can adjust to something different to management conflict effectively.

In this case, a shark conflict trait can eaisly adapt  a fox trait , while the fox conflict trait  can adjust to  sharks conflict trait  easily  on the other hand a turtle conflict  trait  can adjust to a teddy bear trait  while the  teddy bear can adjust  to turtle traits.

Understanding what conflict traits you have will enable us to manage conflict in our various work places without stepping on or manipulating  others and abonding our goals to resolve conflict. having a good conflict management systems in our work places and personal lives we will foster healthy emotions, productivity and perfomance.