Conflict Management Assessment When submitting your selfassessments you should consider the following questions as a summary of your learning experience: What do I understand better as a result of the learning experience? What do I need to do to improve on to be more effective? Based on the assigned readings from your textbook relating to a specific assessment (personality, conflict management, or Leadership), what additional insights might apply as you reflect on the assignment? Note: In addition to responding to the above reflection questions, submit the full profile or numerical scores associated with the assessment, or a summary of the report. SELF ASSESSMENT TEST FOR CONFLICT MANAGEMENT To what extent does each statement describe you? Indicate your level of agreement by circling the appropriate response on the right. Circle the number that indicates how well these statements describe you. 1. If someone disagrees with me, I vigorously defend my side of the issue... 2. I go along with suggestions from coworkers, even if I don't agree with them... 3. I give-and-take so that a compromise can be reached... 4. I keep my opinions to myself rather than openly disagree with people... 5. In disagreements or negotiations, I try to find the best possible solutions for both sides by sharing information... 6. I try to reach a middle ground in disputes with other people... 7. I accommodate the wishes of people who have different points of view than my own... 8. I avoid openly debating issues where there is disagreement ... 9. In negotiations, I hold on to my position rather than give in ... 10. I try to solve conflicts by finding solutions that benefit both me and the other person... 11. I let co-workers have their way rather than jeopardize our relationship... 12. I try to win my position in a discussion... 13. I like to investigate conflicts with coworkers so that we can discover solutions that benefit both of us... 14. I believe that it is not worth the time and trouble discussing my differences of opinion with other people... 15. To reach an agreement, I give up some things in exchange for others... Rarely Always 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Scoring key for Conflict management questionnaire: Write the scores circled for each item on the appropriate line below (statement numbers are in the brackets), and add up each scale. Higher scores indicate that you are stronger on that conflict management style. Competing Accommodating Compromising Avoiding Collaborating (1).......... + (9)........... + (12).......... =............ (2) .......... + (7) .......... + (11) .......... =............ (3) .......... + (6) .......... + (15) .......... =............ (4) .......... + (8) .......... + (14) .......... =............ (5) .......... + (10) .......... + (13) .......... =............ \"Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.\" Max Lucado Conflict happens. How you respond to and resolve conflict will limit or enable your success. Here is some tools to understand conflict, to learn your own conflict patterns, and empower you to make more effective choices when you are finding or facing conflict. EMBRACE CONFLICT AS A SOURCE OF GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION Conflict can come from a variety of sources: Goals. Conflict can happen as a result of conflicting goals or priorities. It can also happen when there is a lack of shared goals. Personality conflicts. Personality conflicts are a common cause of conflict. Sometimes there is no chemistry, or you haven't figured out an effective way to click with somebody. Scarce resources. Conflict can happen when you're competing over scarce resources. Styles. People have different styles. Your thinking style or communication style might conflict with somebody else's thinking style or their communication style. The good news is that conflicts in styles are easy to adapt to when you know how. Values. Sometimes you will find conflict in values. The challenge here is that values are core. Adapting with styles is one thing, but dealing with conflicting values is another. That's why a particular business, group, or culture may not be a good fit for you. It's also why bird's of a feather flock together and why opposites attract, but similarities bind. By embracing conflict as a part of life, you can make the most of each situation and use it as a learning opportunity or a leadership opportunity. You can also use it as an opportunity to transform the situation into something better. THOMAS-KILMANN CONFLICT MODE INSTRUMENT The Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument is a model for handling conflict: The model organizes five conflict management styles based on two dimensions: assertiveness and cooperativeness. FIVE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES Here are the five conflict management styles according to Thomas, K.W., and R.H. Kilmann: 1. Accommodating - This is when you cooperate to a high-degree, and it may be at your own expense, and actually work against your own goals, objectives, and desired outcomes. This approach is effective when the other party is the expert or has a better solution. It can also be effective for preserving future relations with the other party. 2. Avoiding - This is when you simply avoid the issue. You aren't helping the other party reach their goals, and you aren't assertively pursuing your own. This works when the issue is trivial or when you have no chance of winning. It can also be effective when the issue would be very costly. It's also very effective when the atmosphere is emotionally charged and you need to create some space. Sometimes issues will resolve themselves, but hope is not a strategy, and, in general, avoiding is not a good long term strategy. 3. Collaborating - This is where you partner or pair up with the other party to achieve both of your goals. This is how you break free of the win-lose paradigm and seek the win-win. This can be effective for complex scenarios where you need to find a novel solution. This can also mean re-framing the challenge to create a bigger space and room for everybody's ideas. The downside is that it requires a high-degree of trust and reaching a consensus can require a lot of time and effort to get everybody on board and to synthesize all the ideas. 4. Competing - This is the win-lose approach. You act in a very assertive way to achieve your goals, without seeking to cooperate with the other party, and it may be at the expense of the other party. This approach may be appropriate for emergencies when time is of the essence, or when you need quick, decisive action, and people are aware of and support the approach. 5. Compromising - This is the lose-lose scenario where neither party really achieves what they want. This requires a moderate level of assertiveness and cooperation. It may be appropriate for scenarios where you need a temporary solution, or where both sides have equally important goals. The trap is to fall into compromising as an easy way out, when collaborating would produce a better solution. By knowing your own default patterns you improve your self-awareness. Once you are aware of your own patterns, you can pay attention to whether they are working for you and you can explore alternatives. By using a scenario-based approach, you can choose more effective conflict management styles and test their effectiveness for you and your situations. References: J.D. Meier I need help with is assignment You did a good job on the previous assignment. Link to Leadership Style Assessment Leadership Style Assessment: Identifying your instinctive leadership style. Click http://www.yourleadershiplegacy.com/assessment.html link to open resource Leadership Style Assessment When submitting your selfassessments you should consider the following questions as a summary of your learning experience: 1 What do I understand better as a result of the learning experience? 2 What do I need to do to improve on to be more effective? 3 Based on the assigned readings from your textbook relating to a specific assessment (personality, conflict management, or Leadership), what additional insights might apply as you reflect on the assignment? Note: In addition to responding to the above reflection questions, submit the full profile or numerical scores associated with the assessment, or a summary of the report. I need help with is assignment You did a good job on the previous assignment. Link to Leadership Style Assessment Leadership Style Assessment: Identifying your instinctive leadership style. Click http://www.yourleadershiplegacy.com/assessment.html link to open resource Leadership Style Assessment When submitting your selfassessments you should consider the following questions as a summary of your learning experience: 1 What do I understand better as a result of the learning experience? 2 What do I need to do to improve on to be more effective? 3 Based on the assigned readings from your textbook relating to a specific assessment (personality, conflict management, or Leadership), what additional insights might apply as you reflect on the assignment? Note: In addition to responding to the above reflection questions, submit the full profile or numerical scores associated with the assessment, or a summary of the report