Introduction to Management & Leadership – Chapter 5 notes

Leadership –Leadership Qualities, Traits and Personalities, Leadership Skills,

Leadership Styles - Theories of Leadership – Trait Theory, Behavioural Theory,
Fiedler’s Contingency Models. Leaders as Change agent and Visionary,
Leadership & culture, Ethics and Conflicts.

Here are 15 personality traits that are key to effective leadership:

1. OPENNESS AND FRIENDLINESS

People appreciate and will react more positively when they feel they can
trust their leader, communicate in an open way, and not fear saying the
wrong thing. A strong leader is one that people feel comfortable
interacting with, knowing they will get an honest answer.

The humanistic leader is sociable, easy to talk, and relatable.

2. KINDNESS
All people respond well to others who are cheerful, nice, and seem to put
others first. Developing kindness, even with people who are harder to get
along with, makes a leader more effective.

The humanistic leader can be trusted.

3. THOUGHTFULNESS
People are able to enjoy their work more and, thus, are more productive
when their leader respects and incorporates their views. Thinking of others
and, often, putting their needs first helps a leader gain trust and loyalty.

The humanistic leader shows empathy and is able to put themselves into
the shoes of the people they lead.
4. EMOTIONAL STABILITY
Emotions at work shift throughout the day, yet people expect leaders to be
stable emotionally throughout the day. This, in turn, sparks emotional
stability with the team members, and work gets done more effectively.

The humanistic leader is emotionally resilient.

5. CREATIVITY
People require new ideas and insight from their leaders to thrive at work.
A creative mind that can think outside of the box is highly effective in the
workplace.

Humanistic leaders are capable of thinking from different perspectives,

systems thinkers, deep thinkers, and full of imagination and new
possibilities!
6. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATORS
People readily follow leaders who can clearly explain what they want and
expect through written, spoken, and non-verbal communication avenues.
Strong leaders are able to connect with people through clear and honest
communication.

The humanistic leader knows how to state their goals in a way people can
understand.
7. INTEGRITY
Being honest, reliable, and trustworthy are all critical to leaders because
people are more likely to follow those they feel they can fully trust. Being a
person of integrity means being someone who stands behind your word
and shows up when you say you will—this trait shows the people under
you that they can trust you not only professionally, but also personally.

The humanistic leader is truthful in every interaction with the people they
lead, and this builds trust within teams.
8. SELF-AWARENESS
To lead others, a leader must be aware of their own needs, strengths, and
shortfalls, and demonstrates this by taking measures to improve when
needed. Only through self-awareness will leaders be empowered to make
changes to become stronger leaders. Others respond well to those who are
aware of their own personality traits and how they affect others.

The humanistic leader is in touch with their own person, and they use that
self-awareness to better impact others around them.
9. EMPATHY
Being able to understand and respond to the emotions and experiences of
others creates a strong, personable leader. Empathy is vital to building
strong connections with team members, and those connections help the
leader accomplish more.

Humanistic leaders respond to the emotions and experiences of others with

empathetic understanding, and they use that empathy to make better
decisions that affect the team.
10. ENGAGED
An engaged leader is actively interacting with team members throughout
the day. This leader knows what is happening in their people’s lives, how
they are doing on their projects, and what could happen to make things
flow more freely throughout the day.

The humanistic leader is an active and engaged participant in the work

that is happening, and this leader is not afraid to get their hands dirty with
the daily work.

11. HUMOROUS
Being too serious can be detrimental when leading a team. Laughter raises
the spirits of people in an organization, even during stressful or challenging
times. Humor allows a leader to see the bright side of anything that
happens, even if something negative takes place. People respond well to
appropriate humor.

Humanistic leaders understand and embrace the power of laughter

through appropriate and timely humor, which can help lessen stress and
improve overall morale.
12. PASSIONATE
Leaders who are passionate about their mission are able to communicate a
clear vision to the people they lead. That passion can lead to a charismatic
approach that people respond well to. They are excellent at
communicating the purpose behind their actions, and that passion can
spread to others.

Humanistic leaders have a strong passion for what they do, and they can
convey that passion to the people they lead.
13. RESPECTABLE
Respect is earned, and the integrity and passion of a strong leader is
something that people will respect when it is delivered with openness and
empathy. By embracing these character traits, leaders will gain the
appreciation of those they lead. These leaders carry themselves in such a
way that they demand and command respect from those around them.

In every action and reaction, humanistic leaders live a respectable life.

14. ACCOUNTABLE
Leaders who excel at what they do understand the importance of holding
themselves accountable for their actions. Either through others who are in
leadership over them or with accountability to their own teams, good
leaders will check in with others to ensure they are attaining their goals
well.

Humanistic leaders understand the value of accountability, and they hold

themselves, not just their teams, accountable for their own successes.
15. ETHICAL
Ethical leaders believe in the dignity and value of others and will push to
protect them throughout the work of the organization. Ethical behaviour
flows through every decision, and these leaders will push for actions that
protect the common good.

Humanistic leaders have strong ethical values and use those values to drive
their own decision-making.

LEADERSHIP PERSONALITY TRAITS: KEY TAKEAWAY

If you want to be an effective leader, you need to be kind, thoughtful,
creative, an effective communicator, self-aware, have integrity and
empathy, engaged, passionate, ethical, and accountable.

You may already possess some of these personality traits, but others may
require work to build these leadership traits so you can become a strong
humanistic leader.

HOW TO BUILD HUMANISTIC LEADERSHIP TRAITS

A humanistic leader is one who embraces the leadership traits that help
them relate more effectively to others. If you are in a position of
leadership and want to be successful, it is time to build these humanistic
leadership traits. Start with this list and identify those areas where you
need to improve. Then, take measures to improve each day, pushing for
more openness, integrity, passion, or any other area in your work. While it
may take time, by focusing on becoming a humanistic leader, you will
become more effective in leading the people around you.

Importance of Leadership:

 Initiating Action: Leadership starts from the very beginning, even

before the work actually starts. A leader is a person who
communicates the policies and plans to the subordinates to start the
work.
 Providing Motivation: A leader motivates the employees by giving
them financial and non-financial incentives and gets the work done
efficiently. Motivation is the driving force in an individual’s life.
 Providing guidance: A leader not only supervises the employees but
also guides them in their work. He instructs the subordinates on how
to perform their work effectively so that their efforts don’t get
wasted.
 Creating confidence: A leader acknowledges the efforts of the
employees, explains to them their role clearly and guides them to
achieve their goals. He also resolves the complaints and problems of
the employees, thereby building confidence in them regarding the
organization.
 Building work environment: A good leader should maintain personal
contacts with the employees and should hear their problems and
solve them. He always listens to the point of view of the employees
and in case of disagreement persuades them to agree with him by
giving suitable clarifications. In case of conflicts, he handles them
carefully and does not allow it to adversely affect the entity. A
positive and efficient work environment helps in stable growth of the
organization.
 Co-ordination: A leader reconciles the personal interests of the
employees with the organizational goals and achieves co-ordination
in the entity.
  Creating Successors: A leader trains his subordinates in such a
manner that they can succeed him in future easily in his absence. He
creates more leaders.
 Induces change: A leader persuades, clarifies and inspires employees
to accept any change in the organization without much resistance
and discontentment. He makes sure that employees don’t feel
insecure about the changes.
Often, the success of an organization is attributed to its leaders. But, one must
not forget that it’s the followers who make a leader successful by accepting
his leadership. Thus, leaders and followers collectively play a key role to make
leadership successful.

Leadership Styles

 Autocratic leadership style: It refers to a leadership style where the

leader takes all the decisions by himself.
 Democratic leadership style: It refers to a style where the leader
consults its subordinates before taking the final decision.
 Laissez-faire or Free-rein leadership style: It refers to a style where
the leader gives his subordinates complete freedom to take the
decisions.

"An agile leadership style may be the ultimate leadership style required for
leading today's talent"

There are 7 primary leadership styles and each has its place in a leader's
toolkit. Depending on the situation, wise leaders know how and when to flex
from one style to another.

On a continuum, leadership styles range from autocratic at one end, to laissez-

faire at the other, with a variety of styles in between.

Hopefully this list will help you differentiate between the different styles and
know when to apply them. Which style is your default? And which do you need
to practice?

The seven primary leadership styles are: (1) Autocratic, (2) Authoritative, (3)
Pace-Setting, (4) Democratic, (5) Coaching, (6) Affiliative, (7) Laissez-faire.
1. Autocratic Style

"Do as I say"

Generally, an autocratic leader believes that he or she knows more than

others. They make all the decisions with little input from team members.

This command-and-control approach is typical of the past and doesn't hold

much water with today's talent.

The style may still be appropriate in certain situations. For example, you can
dip into an autocratic leadership style when crucial decisions need to be made
on the spot, and you have the most knowledge about the situation. It also
works when you're dealing with inexperienced and new team members and
there's no time to wait for team members to gain familiarity with their role.

2. Authoritative Style

"Visionary" - "Follow Me"

The authoritative leadership style is the mark of confident leaders who map
the way and set expectations, while engaging and energizing followers along
the way.

In a climate of uncertainty, these leaders lift the fog for people. They help
them see where the company is going and what's going to happen when they
get there.

Unlike autocratic leaders, authoritative leaders take the time to explain their
thinking: They don't just issue orders. Most of all, they allow people's input on
how to achieve common goals.

3. Pace-Setting Style

"Do as I do!"

This style describes a very driven leader who sets the pace as in racing.
Pacesetters set the bar high and push their team members to run hard and fast
to the finish line.
While this style is effective in getting things done and driving for results, it's a
style that can hurt team members. Even the most driven employees may
become stressed working under this style of leadership in the long run.

This style may still serve you well if for example you're an energetic
entrepreneur working with a like-minded team on developing and announcing
a new product or service. This is a short term style. A pace-setting leader needs
to let the air out of the tires once in a while to avoid causing team burnout.

4. Democratic Style

"What do you think?"

Democratic leaders share information with employees about anything that

affects their work responsibilities and also seek employees' opinions before
approving a final decision.

There are numerous benefits to this participative leadership style. It can

engender trust and promote team spirit and cooperation from employees. It
allows for creativity and helps employees grow and develop. A democratic
leadership style gets people to do what you want to be done but in a way
that they want to do it.

5. Coaching Style

"Consider this"

A leader who coaches views people as a reservoir of talent to be developed. A

coach approach seeks to unlock people's potential.

Leaders who use a coaching style open their hearts and doors for people. They
believe that everyone has power within themselves. A coaching leader gives
people a little direction to help them tap into their ability to achieve all that
they're capable of.

6. Affiliative Style

"People come first"

The affiliative leadership approach is one where the leader gets up close and
personal with people. A leader practicing this style pays attention to and
supports the emotional needs of team members. The leader strives to open up
a pipeline that connects him or her to the team.

This style is all about encouraging harmony and forming collaborative

relationships with teams. It's particularly useful, for example, in smoothing
conflicts among team members or reassuring people during times of stress.

7. Laissez-Faire Style

This leadership styles involves the least amount of oversight. On one end, the
autocratic style leader stands as firm as a rock on issues, while the laissez-faire
leader lets people swim with the current.

On the surface, a laissez-faire leader may appear to trust people to know what
to do, but taken to the extreme, an uninvolved leader may end up appearing
aloof. While it's beneficial to give people opportunities to spread their wings,
with a total lack of direction, people may unwittingly drift in the wrong
direction—away from the critical goals of the organization.

This style can work if you're leading highly skilled, experienced employees who
are self-starters and motivated. To be most effective with this style, it is
necessary to monitor team performance and provide regular feedback.

Choosing Leadership Styles

Knowing which of the leadership styles works best for you is part of being a
good leader. Developing a signature style with the ability to stretch into other
styles as the situation warrants may help enhance your leadership
effectiveness.

1. Understand the different styles.

Get familiar with the repertoire of leadership styles that can work best for a
given situation. What new skills do you need to develop?

2. Know yourself.

Start by raising your awareness of your dominant leadership style. You can do
this by asking trusted colleagues to describe the strengths of your leadership
style. You can also take a leadership style assessment.
3. Practice makes a leader.

Be genuine with any approach you use. Moving from a dominant leadership
style to a different one may be challenging at first. Practice the new behaviors
until they become natural. In other words, don't use a different leadership
style as a "point-and-click" approach. People can smell a fake leadership style a
mile away—authenticity rules.

4. Develop your leadership agility.

Traditional leadership styles are still relevant in today's workplace, but they
may need to be combined with new approaches in line with how leadership is
defined for the 21st century.

Today's business environments are fraught with challenges due to the

changing demographics and the employee expectations of a diverse workforce.
This may call for a new breed of leader who is an amalgam of most of the
leadership styles discussed here.

"An agile leadership style may be the ultimate leadership style required for
leading today's talent"

Key Leadership Theories

1. Great Man Theory

According to the Great Man Theory (which should perhaps be called the
Great Person Theory), leaders are born with just the right traits and abilities for
leading – charisma, intellect, confidence, communication skills, and social skills.

The theory suggests that the ability to lead is inherent – that the best leaders
are born, not made. It defines leaders as valiant, mythic, and ordained to rise
to leadership when the situation arises. The term “Great Man” was adopted at
the time because leadership was reserved for males, particularly in military
leadership.

2. Trait Theory

The Trait Theory is very similar to the Great Man Theory. It is founded on the
characteristics of different leaders – both the successful and unsuccessful ones.
The theory is used to predict effective leadership. Usually, the identified
characteristics are compared to those of potential leaders to determine their
likelihood of leading effectively.
Scholars researching the trait theory try to identify leadership characteristics
from different perspectives. They focus on the physiological attributes such as
appearance, weight, and height; demographics such as age, education, and
familial background; and intelligence, which encompasses decisiveness,
judgment, and knowledge.

3. Contingency Theory

The Contingency Theory emphasizes different variables in a specific setting that

determine the style of leadership best suited for the said situation. It is
founded on the principle that no one leadership style is applicable to all
situations.

Renowned leadership researchers Hodgson and White believe that the best
form of leadership is one that finds the perfect balance between behaviours,
needs, and context. Good leaders not only possess the right qualities but
they’re also able to evaluate the needs of their followers and the situation at
hand. In summary, the contingency theory suggests that great leadership is a
combination of many key variables.

4. Situational Theory

The Situational Theory is similar to the Contingency Theory as it also proposes

that no one leadership style supersedes others. As its name suggests, the
theory implies that leadership depends on the situation at hand. Put simply,
leaders should always correspond their leadership to the respective situation
by assessing certain variables such as the type of task, nature of followers, and
more.

As proposed by US professor Paul Hersey and leadership guru Ken Blanchard,

the situational theory blends two key elements: the leadership style and the
followers’ maturity levels. Hersey and Blanchard classified maturity into four
different degrees:

 M1 – Team members do not possess the motivation or tactical skills to

complete necessary jobs.
 M2 – Team members are willing and ambitious to achieve something,
but they lack the necessary ability.
 M3 – Team members possess the skills and capacity to accomplish tasks,
but they’re not willing to take accountability.
  M4 – Team members possess all the right talents and are motivated to
complete projects.

According to situational theory, a leader exercises a particular form of

leadership based on the maturity level of his or her team.

5. Behavioural Theory

In Behavioural Theory, the focus is on the specific behaviours and actions of

leaders rather than their traits or characteristics. The theory suggests that
effective leadership is the result of many learned skills.

Individuals need three primary skills to lead their followers – technical, human,
and conceptual skills. Technical skills refer to a leader’s knowledge of the
process or technique; human skills means that one is able to interact with
other individuals; while conceptual skills enable the leader to come up with
ideas for running the organization or society smoothly.

Fiedler's Contingency Model

The Fiedler Contingency Model was created in the mid-1960s by Fred

Fiedler, a scientist who studied the personality and characteristics of
leaders.
The model states that there is no one best style of leadership. Instead, a
leader's effectiveness is based on the situation. This is the result of two
factors – "leadership style" and "situational favorableness" (later called
"situational control").

How to apply Fiedler’s Contingency Model to be a better leader

Now that we’ve established a basic understanding of Fiedler’s Contingency
Theory, you can determine what type of leader you are and start applying the
model.

The following section will walk you through how to determine your natural
leadership style and understand the situation at hand. According to Fiedler,
only then can you be an effective leader and make the best decision in each
situation—lead or delegate.

Step 1: Understand your leadership style

In order to identify your natural leadership style, we return to the LPC scale.
It’s time to bring to mind the person you least prefer working with. Copy the
chart below into a separate document and use it to mark the score that best
fits how you’d describe your least preferred co-worker.

Remember, understanding your leadership style is highly beneficial to you and

your team. While you may want to be generous with your answers, it’s
important to respond honestly for the most accurate understanding of your
leadership style.

Least preferred co-worker (LPC) scale

Negative Score Positive
Unpleasant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pleasant

Rejecting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Accepting

Tense 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Relaxed

Cold 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Warm

Boring 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Interesting

Backbiting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Loyal

Uncooperative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cooperative

Hostile 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Supportive

Guarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Open

Insincere 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sincere
Unkind 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kind

Inconsiderate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Considerate

Untrustworthy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Trustworthy

Gloomy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cheerful

Quarrelsome 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Harmonious

Determining your LPC score

Now that you’ve filled out the test, add up every number you marked to
calculate your LPC score. Interpret your score as follows:

 If you scored 73 and above (a high LPC score), you are a relationship-
oriented leader.
 If you scored 54 and below (a low LPC score), you are a task-oriented
leader.
 If you scored between 55 and 72, you have the qualities of both a
relationship-oriented and a task-oriented leader. Deciding which style
fits you better will take further exploration through other leadership
theories.

Step 2: Assess the situation

In order to assess situational favorableness to determine leadership

effectiveness in a specific environment, Fiedler poses three questions.

On a scale of one to 10, with 10 representing the highest value…

 Are leader-member relations good and trustworthy (10) or poor and

untrustworthy (1)?
 Are the tasks at hand clear and structured (10) or confusing and
unstructured (1)?
  Is your authority and influence over your team strong (10) or weak (1)?
Don’t solely rely on your own judgment of the situation. Ask group members to
anonymously answer these same questions and calculate the average of all
answers to best understand the situation’s favorableness. Seeking your team’s
insight is a great way to empower them and improve team morale.

Step 3: Decide whether you’re the leader for the job

Now that you have a grasp on your leadership style and the favorableness of
the situation, you can determine whether you’re the right leader for the
situation.

 If you’re a task-oriented leader, you’re the best fit to tackle highly

favourable and highly unfavourable situations. The extremes are where
you’ll serve your team best.
 If you’re a relationship-oriented leader, your style is best suited to lead

in situations with moderate favourability.

The table below breaks down all of the different instances when each
leadership style is the best fit.

Now for the trickier situations. If you’re a task-oriented leader in a moderately

favourable situation or a relationship-oriented leader in a highly favourable or
unfavourable situation, your leadership style likely isn’t the right fit for the
situation. If this is the case, don’t panic—there are ways to make sure that
your team is still set up for success.
Step 4: Consider delegating to the right leader

According to Fiedler, leadership style is fixed and cannot be changed. This

means that if a leader’s style isn’t right for a situation, that leader may need to
delegate leadership to the right person.

While it can be challenging to admit that your skillset isn’t right for a situation,
there’s no shame in delegating leadership to someone else. In fact, delegation
is necessary for effective leadership. If you’re a manager, consider promoting
someone on your team with the opposite leadership style to supervise the
team wherever needed. Alternatively, if you’re overseeing a cross-functional
project, see if one of the cross-functional team members is a better fit for the
situation.

Step 5: Try changing the situation

Another way to ensure that your team is set up for success if your leadership
style doesn’t fit the situation at hand is to try to change the situation. Here are
a few ways to align situational favorableness with your skillset:

 Improve leader-member relations. If it would help the situation to

improve leader-member relations, try focusing on your transparency
with the team or entrusting team members with new
responsibilities. 60% of leaders worry about how their team perceives
transparency. By improving it wherever possible, leaders can feel
confident that their team members will trust them, which in turn
improves leader-member relations.
 Level up task clarity. Are tasks unclear simply because that’s the nature
of the job, or are there processes that can be cleaned up a bit? Try
outlining tasks to make them easier for your team to accomplish.
 Increase your authority. If more power and influence could help you lead
better, try formulating an argument to present to upper management.
You may come out of it with a promotion to a more senior role.
Advantages
Advantages of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory include:

 It provides a simple way to determine when a leader’s skills are most

and least impactful.
 It encourages leaders to practice self-awareness, an essential quality for
making decisions for a team.
 It takes the situation into account, branching beyond many leadership
theories that solely focus on the leader themself.
 It’s straightforward—LPC and situational favorableness are both
relatively easy to calculate.

Disadvantages
Criticisms of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory include:

 It’s far too rigid. If you can’t change the situation at hand, the theory
states that the only option you have is to give up leadership.
 It’s unclear what leaders who fall in the middle range of the LPC test
should do. The theory essentially just says to “figure it out.”
 Self-assessment isn’t always reliable. Even when we try to be self-aware
when completing the LPC test, our egos and biases have a way of
interfering, even subconsciously.
 The theory may discourage leaders who are doing a fine job, especially if
they perceive their leadership style and situation to be at odds when
they actually aren’t.

Leaders working as Change Agents, Responsibilities of Change Agents

Key activities that a change agent performs include:

 Communicating how change is beneficial for both the organization and

employees
  Listening to the involved team members and employees to gain
feedback and incorporate it in the implementation process
 Understanding employees’ reactions to change and reducing resistance
to change
 Actively engaging with employees by conducting change management
exercises.
 Encouraging and supporting employees to become change champions
and promote it
 Identifying and leading other change agents and change consultants to
success
 Providing feedback on challenges facing the change management lead

Company culture is a critical part of every organization. A strong culture can

give employees purpose, attract new talent, provide guidance on how to act
and communicate the ways to be successful. And one feature of successful
cultures is ethics.
Ethical leadership means that individuals behave according to a set of
principles and values that are recognized by the majority as a sound basis for
the common good. These include integrity, respect, trust, fairness,
transparency, and honesty.

Why is it essential to be an ethical leader?

There are many good reasons to be an ethical leader.

From a collective perspective, leaders can inspire those around them to

behave ethically. By setting an example and giving the direction for ethical
behaviour, others will observe and act similarly. In this way, ethical leaders
can positively influence many others, presenting them with a set of actions
that they can adopt for the greater good.

On a personal level, being an ethical leader is essential for credibility and

reputation. If one aims to be a leader, it is a long game. Behaving
unethically can automatically take a leader out of the A-league and may
heavily damage their personal or company brand. Moreover, unethical
behaviours often deteriorate one's self-esteem, leading to a suboptimal
outcome and a missed opportunity to express one’s full potential.

6 elements that define ethical leadership

Ethical leadership encompasses many things but ultimately boils down to
these six main elements.

1. Honesty. Honesty makes ethical leaders worthy of the trust others

place in them. It means leaders commit to presenting facts as they
are, playing fair with competitors, and communicating honestly with
others.
2. Justice. To be fair means to treat everyone equally, offer
opportunities with no favouritism, and condemn improper behaviours
and manipulations, as well as any other actions that could harm
someone.
3. Respect. Ethical leaders respect others around them, regardless of
their position or identifying characteristics. This means they listen to
each stakeholder, foster inclusion, and value diversity.
4. Integrity. Integrity is shown when values, words, and actions are
aligned and consistent. It is not enough to talk the talk; one has to
walk the walk to demonstrate integrity.
5. Responsibility. Responsibility means accepting to be in charge,
embracing the power and duties that come with it, and always
responding and being present in challenging situations.
6. Transparency. Transparency concerns mainly the communication
with all stakeholders. It means keeping an open dialogue, accepting
feedback, and disclosing the information others need to deliver their
work.
Conflict Management

Conflicts are inevitable when a number of people will be working together.

Conflict is defined as a “difference in opinion or some kind of disagreement
between two or more parties”. Conflicts need to be resolved effectively. It is
not only important to resolve the conflict, but also is equally important to
ensure that the parties involved in conflict do not unnecessarily end up being
in any kind of emotional stress during the resolution process of the conflict.
Striking a balance between resolving the conflict to find the decision and
maintaining the emotional well-being of the people involved will be critical to
successful conflict management.

Some of the conflict resolution techniques are as follows:

1. Problem Solving / Collaboration / Confronting

In this method, people involved in the conflict or having a difference in

opinion, come forward to discuss the problem at hand with a very open mind.
They focus on resolving the conflict and finding the best alternative/solution
for the team. They discuss rising above personal emotions with the sole
intention to finding what is best for the team. This leads to a win-win kind of
outcome. Here everyone collaborates.

2. Compromising/Reconciling

Sometimes for certain conflicts, there will be a need for the involved parties to
think of a middle path wherein both parties decide to give up something and
identify a resolution. This kind of solution will be temporary for that moment
and are not a long-lasting solution. This leads to a lose-lose kind of outcome as
both parties may feel they have lost something.

3. Withdrawing/Avoiding

In some situations, one of the parties in the conflict may decide to retract from
the discussion and allows going with the other person’s opinion. Or some
situations, one of the parties may decide to completely avoid the conflict by
maintaining silence. This works well in situations where one of the parties in
the conflict is emotionally charged up or is angry. Hence avoiding any conflict
resolution provides a “cooling off” period for the people involved so that they
can later come back for meaningful resolution.

4. Forcing/Competing

In some situations, a person with authority and power can force his/her
opinion and resolves the conflict without giving any chance to the other
party/person. This leads to a win-lose kind of outcome. Someone may end up
feeling like a loser while the other person with authority may feel as a winner.
This technique can be used if we see that conflicts are unnecessary and
destructive for the team.
5. Smoothing/Accommodating

This is a technique that is used when the atmosphere seems to be filled with
apprehension/distrust among the parties involved. And no one is coming
forward for resolving the conflict. In these kinds of scenarios, one of the parties
can take charge and tries to smooth the surrounding by using nice words and
by emphasizing the points of agreement, and playing down the points of
disagreement. This can work as a catalyst to break the discomfort between the
involved parties by creating a feeling of trust and encouraging them to come
forward and resolve the conflict.