Leadership Style in Conflicting Situations - University Report

This report delves into the application of leadership styles in resolving various conflict scenarios. It identifies the situational leadership model as the most appropriate for addressing team-based conflicts arising from differing work processes, identity-based conflicts stemming from discrimination, and internet-based conflicts caused by communication issues. The report provides practical solutions, such as dividing tasks, involving HR to address discrimination, and implementing communication protocols to prevent future conflicts. Furthermore, it emphasizes how the situational leadership style facilitates effective decision-making by prioritizing outcomes and adapting to specific circumstances. The report references key studies to support the analysis and provides a comprehensive understanding of leadership in conflict management.

Running head: LEADERSHIP STYLE IN CONFLICTING SITUATIONS
LEADERSHIP STYLE IN CONFLICTING SITUATIONS
Name of the student:
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1LEADERSHIP STYLE IN CONFLICTING SITUATIONS
Table of Contents
1. Preferable Leadership Model.................................................................................................2
2. Situational Examples of Conflicts..........................................................................................2
3. Solution to the Conflicts.........................................................................................................2
4. Impact of Leadership Style on Decisions...............................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................4

2LEADERSHIP STYLE IN CONFLICTING SITUATIONS
1. Preferable Leadership Model
Situational Leadership model is the one that I mostly identify with because it
primarily focuses on the need of the situation and the actions are taken based on it
(Richardson, 2018). The leaders who follow situational leadership style possess the
characteristic of self-awareness and relates to the situation to resolve any kind of conflict.
2. Situational Examples of Conflicts
Team-Based Conflict: Ronald is proficient in his work and can complete tasks even in the
last minute, whereas, Meg finds it difficult with the work process of Ronald as she believes
organizing the tasks and completing them in advance. Hence, Meg misses out tasks while
collaborating with Ronald as a team.
Identity-Based Conflict: No matter how Clarke tries to increase his production, his boss
Richard fails to identify his effort and applies favouritism on other employees in his presence
(Halevy, Kreps & De Dreu, 2019). Richard discriminates Clarke from other employees
because of the difference in cultural background as Clarke belongs from Africa unlike other
employees.
Internet-Based Conflict: John being the general manager send the documents of risk register
to the project manager, via email. However, the project lead did not receive the mail and
proceeded with the task with the previous specifications. Hence, he had to change the whole
procedure due to the Internet-based conflict that occurred due to unavailability of the mail.
3. Solution to the Conflicts
In the first scenario, the conflict was due to difference in the work processes followed
by Meg and Ronald. Hence, they should be called at one place and time to discuss their
methods and perspectives towards the work they do. The best possible solution is to divide

3LEADERSHIP STYLE IN CONFLICTING SITUATIONS
the tasks in such a way so that they do not have to depend on each other’s outcome. If they
work independently, they will be able to give the desired results without inviting conflict
between them.
In the second scenario, the discrimination created by Richard is against the policies of
any organization worldwide (Haruna et al., 2019). Hence, Clarke can talk out his concern to
the human resources department about the favouritism of Richard and seek help from them.
The HR in turn should bring both the parties to a common meeting and provide a firm
warning to the boss regarding his actions. The HR should influence Clarke to continue his
hard work and assure him to attend if any similar issue occurs henceforth.
In the third scenario, since there was a problem with the connectivity of Internet,
neither the general manager nor the project lead was at fault. Hence, to avoid such conflicts in
upcoming situations, the general manager should instruct other employees to send him a reply
mail on receiving the orders about the project. In this way, the employees can acknowledge
the instructions from their end and assure the manager about their awareness of their change
in roles. If anybody fails to receive message due to error in connectivity, the general manager
can send him the orders via other mediums depending upon the urgency of the task.
4. Impact of Leadership Style on Decisions
The situational leadership style will be the apt chosen style for the conflicting
situations provided in the above sections. This style of leadership will help me to realise that
the outcome of work is more important than deciding on the methods of work for the first
scenario (Lacey, 2019). Furthermore, it will help me to deal the boss strictly in the specialised
scenario of Clarke and take verified measures of sending messages for the third case.

4LEADERSHIP STYLE IN CONFLICTING SITUATIONS
References
Halevy, N., Kreps, T. A., & De Dreu, C. K. (2019). Psychological situations illuminate the
meaning of human behavior: Recent advances and application to social influence
processes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13(3), e12437.
Haruna, K., Ismail, M. A., Suyanto, M., Gabralla, L. A., Bichi, A. B., Danjuma, S., ... &
Herawan, T. (2019). A Soft Set Approach for Handling Conflict Situation on Movie
Selection. IEEE Access, 7, 116179-116194.
Lacey, J. M. (2019). Student Development and Studio Management in Applied Music
Teaching through Implementation of the Situational Leadership Model.
Richardson, M. (2018). Stepping Up: Applying Situational Leadership Concepts to Public
Library Work With Teens. OLA Quarterly, 24(2), 15-18.