5 Ways To Avoid Team Conflicts

Define Clear Role and Responsibilities

Defining clear role and responsibility is fundamental to building healthy teams. RACI Matrix is a good way to identify responsibilities, accountability, consulting and informational roles.

Define Clear Reporting Structure

Once the role and responsibilities are defined the next logical step is to define a clear reporting structure. Each team member should understand the chain of command and follow the same. Avoid creating dotted line reporting which brings ambiguity in the reporting hierarchy. Be clear and very specific.

Effective Communication

Team conflicts arise mostly due to unclear role and responsibilities and unclear reporting structure. What makes things worse is absence of crisp and clear communication channel path. This adds to confusion and creates chaos. Defining right mode, frequency, channel/ path are very crucial in managing global teams. This helps the project manager to be in control and in general be on top of things.

Set Right Expectations

Once you have defined clear role and responsibilities, reporting structure and effective communication channels then the next logical step is to set right expectations. It is key to avoiding team members from overstepping beyond their role and responsibilities. It also helps to avoid under performance.

Share Feedback

Be open in sharing feedback. Both positive and critical feedback should be shared openly with all team members. This is the only way all team members will understand their areas of improvement. If two or more team members don't get along then one on one discussions and targeted group discussions should be used as tools to share real time feedback. This will help build healthy relationships within the team members.

Six Sins Of Communication

Most people wonder what are the secrets of being a good speaker. What do they need to do to become a confident speaker? There are a lot of things that one can learn from attending spoken English or spoken language classes but in general when it comes to self learning my advise is to shift focus from speaking to Listening.

Forget about speaking, concentrate on listening. Listen carefully. Observe people who speak well. Go to Ted videos. Listen. The more you listen the more you prepare. Now, copy the best practices of those great speakers: Tone of voice, pitch, pauses, volume, speed etc. It will not happen in a day, it may take several days, but day by day you will improve. Have faith and trust yourself.

Another important thing regarding verbal communications is

* Avoid saying the first thing that comes to your mind.

* Even avoid the second thing that comes to your mind.

* SAY THE THIRD.

This simple tip will immensely help you in all facets of your life, be it career, relationships, business. The first thing you say is often on impulse and reflexive based on preconceptions, hatreds, ignorance, and whatever. The second thing is often a reverse of the first, and may be equally suspect but in the opposite direction. The third thing will be more balanced, perhaps more creative, certainly far more thoughtful. Blurting is one of the most damaging traits in almost any setting. If it requires a few extra seconds for you to do the Third Thing, so be comfortable doing it. Take a pause and be comfortable with silence. People with discernment will notice, understand, and admire you for it. Having said that here are the six sins of communication which you should try to avoid:

 

Gossip

Never Gossip. This is the first sin of communication. Gossiping results into nothing. You will waste time, energy and efforts by talking about people, things and situations which you cannot change or influence.

Negativity 

Never Condemn, Criticize or Complain. Spreading negativity will get you nowhere. Concentrate on creating a positive environment. Talk about how a problem can be solved or accept the fact and move on. Don't let the negativity linger around you for long.

Excuses

Don't make excuses. Take ownership when required. Hiding behind excuses will escalate the original issue and it will become worse than before. Be open to discuss the issues, face it with a brave heart and open mind. Have an attitude of problem solving.

Lying

Never lie. You will need to lie a thousand times to hid one lie. Eventually someone smart will catch your lie, you will be embarrassed and ashamed. It takes courage to be truthful. Be courageous.

Dogmatism

Don't let success go into your head. Arrogance will lead to your downfall. Have an attitude of gratitude. Share your knowledge and success. Stay away from unnecessary strictness and inflexibility.


Read another article of interest on How Much Money Can One Save In USA

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Another blog of interest: How To Make Money Online?