Conflict Handling Styles: Analysis of Personal Conflict Management

This essay explores the student's personal conflict management style within a team scenario, based on the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Questionnaire. The analysis reveals a preference for the avoiding style and a lower inclination towards competing, which the student recognizes as potential challenges for leadership. The essay provides examples of situations where these tendencies have influenced their actions, both positively and negatively. It discusses the importance of building relationships within a team setting and the need to balance assertiveness with cooperation. The student identifies the need to develop accommodating and collaborating skills to become a more effective leader, acknowledging the importance of adapting conflict handling styles to different situations. The essay concludes with a reflection on the importance of competitive skills in the current organizational environment while emphasizing the value of relationship-building capabilities for effective team management and customer relations.

Running head: CONFLICT HANDLING STYLES
CONFLICT HANDLING STYLES
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1CONFLICT HANDLING STYLES
The aim of this paper is to discuss the personal style of conflict management in a team
scenario. In this essay the test result of Thomas Kilmann conflict mode questionnaire will be
analyzed and the personal conflict handling style will be discussed. In the test there are thirty
pairs of statement. This details five major conflict management styles that include collaborating
style, competing style, avoiding style, accommodating style and compromising style. I have
scored highest for the Avoiding style and lowest score for competing style. To Saee (2008) these
two types of styles of conflict management has challenged my capability as a leader. This is due
to the fact that the avoiding style may prove me an escapist from the situation and being less
competitive can prove me incapable to achieve the targets. For example, I had once cam into a
situation where one of my peers had accused me to take his books and not returning in time
which I did not. I had an ample amount of evidences with which I could have proved his wrong
but in that particular situation I left the place and supported his accusation indirectly. This had
harmed my self-confidence for a long period of time.
In the similar manner I have faced issues due to focus upon the building of relationship
rather than being competitive. I have come across different critical situation when I needed to be
handle the conflict with competiveness. In the team setting in have found relation building and
management is more important as the competitiveness can harm the relation and the positive
atmosphere of the team scenario (Thuderoz 2017). In a situation when it came the individual
initiatives to be taken and both I and my team members had to choose a topic for a project and
both of us had selected the same topic. I would have taken a competitive drive and pressed upon
the factor that he must choose for the other topic but I did not intend to lose relationship hence
compromised. This led me take more time to think and finally complete the project.

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The test has revealed that I heave utilizing avoiding skill more and competitive style less.
This has pointed out the fact that I am an unassertive as well as uncooperative person and try to
avoid situations diplomatically. I withdraw myself in the critical and threatening situations. For
example when I see that my point of view is opposing with that of m coworker I simply
withdraw from the situation. I am using this particular style of conflict handling unknowingly
and finding negative effect in the process. My avoiding style can be also utilized in an effective
way if I use it in a different way. Avoiding various situation can be effective in the decision
making process. As I aim to become an effective leader, I will be use this avoiding skills to keep
things in place. This is due to the fact that avoiding some situations can give time to that problem
which ultimately get solved in the long run but if I do not avoid that situation and keep on
monitoring it constantly, the situation may not be cured.
However, the test reveals that I am the least competitive. This reveals the fact that I am
not an assertive person and not willing to pursue one’s own concerns at the other one’s expense.
I care about the relationship with the peers and the coworkers therefore cannot avoid their call
for help. I do not like to compete with the others for achieving the goals rather prefer to set my
own goals and achieve those effectively (Sebenius 2017). The outcome may vary and I may not
achieve those targets sometimes but do not like to press others or myself to harm others to win. It
is however important to discuss that the organistion in now a days require for employees with
competitive mentality so that they can perform both individual and team setting in a proper way
and gain extra leverage in a competitive market scenario. In this respect I feel that competitive
employees may be effective in leveraging the companies but this may not be effective in the long
run as they cannot develop personal relationships among themselves which can help them solve
many situations. However, I feel that this capability is an important factors that the companies in

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these days also need. Therefore I need to over utilize this relationship building capabilities. This
in not only effective in the building relation with the team embers but also the upper level
management along with the customers. This capabilities of mine will be helping me in the team
building, management and many other associates where the negotiation between two parties
come into force.
From the above discussion I have found for becoming an effective leader, I need to
develop certain skills such as accommodating skills and collaborating skills. This is due to the
fact that in the case of avoiding any type of conflict, this is mandatory that the leaders need to
have the collaborative mentality. According to Kim and Park (2017) this will satisfy everyone in
the team setting where the interest of all the team members will be served without avoiding any
one’s interest or perceptions. In addition to this, I need to be more accommodative. Without
escaping from the situations I need to be more able to take the advantage of the weak and cause
resentments. This is effective in the developing of the skills like self-compromising in many
times and giving opportunities to the others so that the team has a positive and growing
environment.

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References:
Kim, N. and Park, H.J., 2017. Making the Most of the First‐Offer Advantage: Pre‐Offer
Conversation and Negotiation Outcomes. Negotiation Journal, 33(2), pp.153-170.
Saee, J., 2008. Best practice in global negotiation strategies for leaders and managers in the 21st
century. Journal of Business Economics and Management, (4), pp.309-318.
Sebenius, J.K., 2017. BATNA s in Negotiation: Common Errors and Three Kinds of
“No”. Negotiation Journal, 33(2), pp.89-99.
Thuderoz, C., 2017. Why do we respond to a concession with another concession? Reciprocity
and compromise. Negotiation Journal, 33(1), pp.71-83.