Project Conflict Management

Conflict is inevitable in a team environment. Project teams bring together a variety of personality and skills, each perceiving tasks and actions is in different ways. This diversity is what gives the team depth and broad range of skills required to successfully achieve the project objectives. Yet, this diversity will inevitably bring conflicts ranging from simple disagreements on task details to fundamental personality clashes.

A project manager's job is to bring a team together to accomplish a defined goal. In the course of persuing the goal, conflict is inevitable. Conflict is the discrepancy between what is the perceived reality of the situation and what the is seen as the ideal.

The key for good Project Management is to recognize that conflicts will occur between:

Team members
Team members and the Project Manager
Project Manager and the project sponsor
Project sponsors and the team members

A great deal of this conflict is actually healthy and will allow participants to expand their understanding of issues and tasks. By encouraging consensus, Project Managers can increase buy-in from the client and team members.

Project Managers must consider two aspects of any conflict to successfully mange conflict:

The affect of conflict on the personal relationship between participants
The affect conflict will have on the tasks being performed on the project

In order to foster strong relationships between participants and promote the continued progress toward project objectives, Project Managers will need to employ a variety of conflict resolution styles. Managers will also need to recognize the type of style other project participants are employing in order to identify the common ground between individuals involved in a conflict. Each style has its time and place, but in most cases the ultimate goal is to achieve a consensus on issues.

About the Author

Mark Hazleton has been active in Information Services delivery for over 14 years. Reach Mark at mark.hazleton@projectmechanics.com