Managers Diary

Leaders often have to ‘sort out’ situations which arise in their teams, one such issue is the resolution of conflicts between its members. I once led a team of local authority customer service officers (CSO’s); they provided an important service as they were the first point of contact to members of the public. They were a very busy team and due to the demands of the job they were often quite stressed.

The team were 11 strong, but spread across three sites. In one of the sites a dispute arose between three of the CSO’s. Two of the three felt that the third was not working in the same way as they were; they felt she was slower and less productive. Most of their work took place over the telephone – customers would call in with queries about access to services – so team members were aware of the rate of calls being taken by their colleagues. The two team members felt aggrieved about the ‘less productive’ team member.

As a Team Leader it is important understand and have the ability to analyze your team dynamics. It is important to recognise and ‘wipe out’ negative behaviour at the earliest opportunity. As a leader it is important to understand each group member and how their behaviour changes within the team, and how individual responses vary at different stages in the team’s development.

Teams generally go through 4 stages;

• Forming – members are uncertain about roles, rules and expectations.
• Storming – members come into conflict over goals and personalities.
• Norming – working styles are agreed and systems set up.
• Performing – where the team works positively, creatively, and productively together.

Conflicts generally but not exclusively, arise during the storming stages.

Whilst the CSO’s were not a totally new team, the newest member of the team had aligned herself to another more established colleague, they had formed a close friendship as they shared similar interests, and they were also closer in age. The third CSO was the longest serving team member, she was older and worked part time – She clearly had less in common than the younger two – A new team member can have an unsettling effect (positively or negatively) on the team as a whole where uncertainty about roles, rules and expectations can re-emerge.

Heller (1998) suggests that Leaders need to try to resolve any disputes between team members by replacing emotive approaches with rational, open-minded ones. Meeting informally as well as formally to discuss the issues is also suggested.

I initially met with the two complainants to hear their concerns. Once I’d given them a hearing, I made it clear that I was going to speak with the third CSO, give her a chance to respond to the complaint and would then convene a 4 way meeting so as to openly discuss and resolve the difficulties.

Heller (1998) suggests the use of dispassionate fact finding as being the best method of defusing conflict. Using this approach helps to put the responsibility for the complaint squarely with the complainants, and reduces the prospect of endless gossiping and scapegoating as the issue is faced directly. An environment of increased honesty is also created which is essential for effective team work.

Naturally the third CSO was upset to hear about the complaint and felt upset that her colleagues had not felt able to discuss their concerns with her directly, however she listened and was keen to meet in the 4 way session I had suggested.

Once I’d met with the third CSO I called her colleagues into my office for the 4 way. My role in the meeting was to facilitate discussion, maintain a level of dispassionate distance from the issues (not take sides), ensure everyone had an opportunity to say how they felt to then summarise and conclude the important points which related to working effectively as a team.

Several issues emerged from the 4way, namely that whilst the third CSO was slower, this was because she felt being thorough was more important than speed, she was also aware that as a part timer she had to finish all her work in a tight time frame, and couldn’t pick up unfinished pieces of work later when the volume of calls lessened as her day was shorter – full time staff on the other hand were able to do so as they had a longer day –

The meeting ended with all parties having a greater understanding of each others position. I felt satisfied that this issue didn’t blow out of all proportion as I’d not ‘jumped in’ and taken sides!

Sylvia Smith coaches managers and leaders of team’s, she is particularly interested in team dynamics.