[2] Common Causes of Conflict

EXAMPLE: Unresolved Disagreement

Florence and Shirley were team members in the bakery department. Both had the responsibility to clean the display unit, but Florence felt that she was doing it much more often than Shirley. She mentioned this to Shirley, but Shirley felt that they were cleaning the unit on a fairly equal basis. There was a difference in perception that was unresolved.

To keep peace in the team, Florence didn't press the issue. As time went on, however, she began to resent the fact that Shirley still didn't do her share. Finally one day, while cleaning out the display, she stopped what she was doing and stormed into the other room to confront Shirley. This time she was very angry and emotional, which then caused Shirley to react the same way. Each took a position and locked into it. The argument continued until the team leader stopped it and moved them to another room. After talking through the situation, it was finally resolved.

The seeds of this conflict were planted when the issue was originally discussed but left unresolved...at least to Florence. Florence stuffed the emotions into her belly and didn't really deal with them. Eventually, her feelings grew in intensity and finally "blew" all at once.

Recommended Processes:
Why We Click with Some and Clank with Others – DISC Behavioral Profile Session
Resolving Conflict

Recommended Resources:
Leading Style Article
Everything DISC Series