Introduction

In these challengingtimes, it is understandable that conflicts can occur more frequently than under normal circumstances. I was involved in a conflict recently. I contacted someone seeking help regarding a matter. The person had no idea what I was talking about and stated he might acquire additional information from someone else. I was then given completely irrelevant advice during same conversation. In this article, I will discuss my chosen method of resolution and tips on how readers can attempt to resolve conflicts.

Blake’s Conflict Resolution Method

After I determined that a conflict existed, I had a choice. I could A. do nothing, B. retaliate or C. take proactive action. I determined that choice A would be pointless and choice B would have made the situation worse. I chose the final option: taking proactive action. When identifying a method for conflict resolution, I consider it important to think through what the desired outcome is and what can be conveyed in an effort to achieve the goal. I will now share tips from online sources about this subject.

Conflict Resolution Resources

There are a variety of online resources regarding conflict resolution. For example,

this guide to conflict resolution, from the University of Kansas,

discusses the importance of negotiation. My goal in taking proactive action regarding the conflict discussed above was to negotiate by identifying and suggesting a mutually beneficial resolution. The guide linked to above also provides 7 conflict-resolution steps. It is worth noting that all 7 steps are not necessarily warranted for resolving every conflict. For some situations, only a few of the steps may be required. Different resources can have different conflict-resolution ideas. For example, this article from a business perspective entitled

“The Five Steps to Conflict Resolution”

has a different number of recommended steps. Additionally, it  has an agreement step which was not evident to me in the first resource referenced above. I encourage readers to learn more about this topic, ideally by consulting more than one source of information.

Question for readers

When you have experienced a conflict, what steps did you take to resolve it? I will return next week with another article.