Dealing with conflict gets a little more challenging working remotely. This unit considers five effective ways to deal with conflict and negotiation.

1. Dr Tim Baker
tim@winnersatwork.com.au
www.winnersatwork.com.au
Dealing with Conflict &
Negotiation

2. Unit 1—Managing
Performance Remotely
Unit 2—Coaching from a
Distance
Unit 3—Giving Feedback
Remotely
Unit 4—Building
Motivation & Morale
Unit 5—Dealing with
Conflict & Negotiation
Unit 6—Influencing from a
Distance

3. Political awareness
The model
When to use the different styles
Case studies

4. Wise
Clever
Inept Innocent
Politically
Aware
Politically
Unaware
Game
Player
Act
with
Integrity
Baddeley (1987)
Political Skills for Team Leaders

5. Conflict &
Negotiation
Options

6. Competing
• When speed & decisiveness are
necessary
• When parties refuse to cooperate &
are trying to take advantage of you
• When an unpopular decision needs
to be made then a competitive
decision may be necessary.

7. Accommodating
• When the relationship is more
important than the issue
• When there is no hope of having
your wishes met
• When it is not very important

8. Avoiding
• When diplomacy can help smooth a
situation
• Putting off a decision until a better time or
when people have calmed down
• When neither the relationship or the issue is
important to you
• When you need to know more before you
take action

9. Collaborating
• In situations where both the issue & the
relationship are important
• Where an outcome that satisfies both
parties is sought
• When all parties need to be committed to a
solution
• When a creative solution needs to be found

10. Compromising
• Useful when time is running out & decisions
need to be made
• Sometimes can be used when collaboration
or competing has failed
• Can be a temporary, short term solution to
conflict while collaborative efforts continue
• Sometimes compromise is the only way

11. Organisational Change & Leadership Development

12. Situation 1
A customer calls and wants
you to handle an order for
him. You no longer work in
that team, and it would create
a major problem internally if
you crossed departments.
However, the customer who
orders a moderate amount of
product has been very
insistent with you.

13. Situation 2
You’ve had your car in for
repair and although the claim
it's fixed you have the same
problem. It is not a regular
fault and is obvious. You paid
your bill when you collected
the car and are not prepared
to pay more. They are the
only dealer that is at all
convenient for you. You want
your car fixed properly NOW!

14. Situation 3
You are the Manager of a
team that currently has a
manual recording system, and
your analysis shows greater
productivity if it's automated.
Susan Jones runs the same
kind of operation in another
team. She disagrees with your
proposition citing customer
concerns and employee
resistance plus technical
problems with the system you
are proposing.
Your Manager has told you to
resolve the situation with
Susan because you must both
run the same way.

15. Situation 4
Your boss has a personal
dislike of one of your team-
and is insisting you fire that
person. Whilst you recognise
some occasional problems,
you can manage that quite
easily and that person is in
fact, important to the team
output.

16. Situation 5
As Manager, you want to
design a new system in a way
that suits you. Your approach
at the Managers’ meeting is to
raise it with the other
Managers who are all affected
by the proposed new system.
One of the other Managers
says it’s too costly that way
and that each Manager should
simply offer their approach
and the General Manager
make the decision.

17. Key Messages …
be flexible
don’t overuse your
preferred style
If plan A doesn’t
work …

18. Your homework Practice using all five
styles

19. Unit 1—Managing
Performance Remotely
Unit 2—Coaching from a
Distance
Unit 3—Giving Feedback
Remotely
Unit 4—Building
Motivation & Morale
Unit 5—Dealing with
Conflict & Negotiation
Unit 6—Influencing from a
Distance