Leadership – Managing Team Conflict
… a short snippet!
I was recently asked for some words on leadership – in particular managing conflict within the team. I put pen to paper and decided to share my thoughts with you….
I have been very fortunate to work with some fantastic leaders during my career from a variety of backgrounds whether they be in the military, civilian roles or in personal life. I have used the mentorship they gave me to help carve out my own leadership style, which is one (I hope) of a strong but well-mannered leader that tries to lead by example and takes care to judge when to take stock and when to push on.
Teams are of course made up of all sorts of people, from all sorts of backgrounds, with all kinds of expertise and experience. There will always be the occasional difference of opinion within the team – it’s all part of the natural conflict between departments – each with their own world views and objectives… but how to manage these moments of internal conflict?
As a project or programme manager (or leader in any role really) it’s important to listen to the team – they are the experts after all – and it’s the team who will ultimately hold the key to the solution. However, it’s also important to remember that the PM sits across functions and is there to shepherd the team in the right direction for the good of the project or programme.
A good PM will handle these situations of project conflict with tact, drawing on their own experiences (and those of others) to come to a balanced decision that best supports both project and business objectives. In my experience, fundamental to executing this is being open with the team as to why the decision is being made as well as also acknowledging the validity of the other points of view.
The key is to be strong enough to defend what’s important to you but be respectful and well-mannered enough to understand that you can’t know everything!
Clearly, this barely touches the surface of what it is to be a good leader – hundreds, if not thousands of books have been written on the theme!… this piece serves to dip your toes into my personal philosophies of leadership and management. Let me know below if you’d like to hear more of these short snippets?…
Thanks for reading,
Rob
Robert Moses, Chartered Engineer and PMO specialist
