Working in any group comes with a risk of conflict. Especially when it comes to projects with shared responsibilities. Everybody has an opinion that they will not be ready to compromise. Besides, you don’t really choose the people you’re working with. And you even might end up with a team, where not everybody shares values.
As a student leader, it’s quite a challenge to manage conflict among young and opinionated people. It’s important to stay objective here, listen to everybody and find ways to resolve the issue without hurting everybody. And as hard as it is, bringing everybody together is possible. If you apply these tips and strategies, you’ll be a master of negotiations in no time.
Don’t Let The Trail Go Cold
The most important thing here is to react to the situation immediately. The longer you wait the more it’s going to get out of hand. Same as with admission essays, you need to start early. And if you can still manage to get a great paper at the last minute, with an online essay writer, workplace conflict can only be resolved by a leader. In this case, a student leader is chosen by many to represent students’ needs.
Holding this much responsibility, you need to let your team know that you’re aware of the situation. You won’t be able to come up with the solution on the spot. But at this stage, your team is just waiting for your reaction to the issue. And if it’s among such sensitive social topics, you have to state your views as soon as possible. One of your major tasks as a student leader is to create a safe environment for everybody. And addressing the issue right away is a start.
Communication Is Key
It might be a cliche. But it works. Tons of workplace conflicts are based on misunderstanding and poor communication. Oftentimes it’s not even about a serious issue but someone getting the whole idea wrong. A lot of issues can be solved without blowing out of proportion at the very beginning.
All you need to do is get everybody talking about what is going on and what is the issue. As always, the first step to resolve a problem is recognizing it. So, get yourself acquainted with the problem by talking to every side.
Cover All Sides To The Story
At first, you wouldn’t be able to listen when everybody tries to talk to each other. Especially when it comes to online communication. It easily gets heated pretty fast. To stray the discussion in the right direction, get alone time with each side first.
It doesn’t really matter how you choose to do it. You can message, you can call, you can meet with them. The main point is to have a one-on-one conversation first. So, you can evaluate what happened from each point of view.
Get Everybody In One Room
Another step is to not let the conflict stay in a digital space. People can be much harsher in their WhatsApp messages than in face-to-face conversations. Get every side in one room to talk over the issue. Be a moderator of this meeting just as support team specialists at best paper writing services manage communication between writers and customers. It’s important to have an objective supervisor that makes sure everybody has equal time to speak.
As a leader, you have to be there to blow off the heat and encourage everyone to calm down if the discussion is getting out of hand. It could be hard not to take sides. But you’ll have to stay as a moderator there. Besides, it’s likely to come to a satisfactory resolution when people have a chance to speak heart to heart. So, use this opportunity to the fullest.
Find Points Of Agreement
Conflict resolution is based on finding the points where everybody agrees. That’s going to be your first and best solution. As much as it’s important to single out what the big disagreement is about, it’s vital to get people talking about what they are willing to agree upon.
For example, let’s say that one of your coworkers is always late to meetings. It disturbs others. Your task is to find the cause of why they are late all the time and find a solution that satisfies all. Maybe, others are willing to postpone the time of regular meetings a bit.
Come Up With A Decision Together
Another important thing is to include everybody in decision-making. The resolution is only possible when everybody is satisfied. Or at least heard. Of course, some conflicts cannot be resolved with everybody being happy in the end.
But they can be one hundred percent just if every side had an opportunity to explain themselves and propose solutions. And at the end of the day, that’s what the final decision should be about.
Stay Just Above All
Finally, as obvious as it is, staying just can be the biggest challenge of them all. Of course, you’re trying your best to be objective. But you’re not free of bias. You might not like some people in your team yourself. And it might affect how you feel about the conflict. But it shouldn’t affect your behavior and final decision. Being professional at all times is what makes a leader great.
So, whatever decision you have to make in the end, make sure that it’s not blinded by personal preferences. Weigh every argument and opinion. Make sure that you have an extensive explanation of why the problem has to be resolved this way. Otherwise, people will not take you seriously and you risk disrupting the whole routine of student collaboration. Do not let one conflict ruin your reputation and workplace relationship.
Wrapping Up
And that’s about it. To manage conflict as a student leader, catch up with the situation right away. Show that you’re aware of what’s going on. Remember that talking with your team is the first and most important strategy. Make sure to listen to every side of the story. And organize a meeting for everyone to participate. There you can find points everybody agrees on and come up with solutions together. But above all, stay true and just in any decision-making regarding the conflict.
