Conflicts are a part of life and a learning experience for teams. Some conflicts are visible upfront and seem to require immediate action while others are not noticed or addressed until it’s too late. Reflect on two conflicts in your past (relationship, task, or process)—one visible that you addressed and one you chose not to address or did not notice at the time. Consider the following questions for both conflicts:
What type of conflict were each, and why did each take place?
Describe the outcomes of the two conflicts. Explain what you learned from them.
Apply the Wageman and Donnenfelds’ conflict intervention model to the two conflicts. What would be the outcome of the application?
Compare the conflicts. How do they compare relative to the thought processes used in regard to them? What made you deal with one and not the other?
How would you have handled them differently if you had possessed your current knowledge base?