After completing the conflict resolution questionnaire I found out that my predominant approach was Style 5, which is based on honesty and openness. This style considers looking for solutions suitable for both sides without compromising the truth at the same time.  It partially matches with what I think about myself because I am a straightforward person with a high sense of justice. However when it comes to conflict, I tend to avoid being involved. 

Having read the descriptions of other styles and approaches to managing conflicts, I felt that Style 3 might be suitable for me because I value the relationships a lot and I give in easily in order not to escalate the conflict and maintain good relationships with others. I hardly ever have conflicts in my personal life and I have never had conflicts at a workplace. 

Since it was hard for me to remember any real examples of conflicts in my life, except those from my childhood, I tried to imagine how I would behave in a conflict situation. I think I would be good at negotiation, since I am a good listener. Being patient, I always consider the positive intent of my opponent. Nevertheless, Eunson (2011) claims that negotiation only works when the conflicts are simple and the involved opponents have equal power. In case of a conflict with a senior manager, I think I would try to use my interpersonal skills to listen, ask the right questions and make points based on evidence. 

Although I did not have many conflicts myself, I was sometimes involved in conflicts as a mediator. Mediator is a third party who does not show any preference to one of the conflicting sides, and tries to find a win-win situation for both parties (Eunson, 2011). I found it very hard to mediate a conflict, because I tried to avoid being judgemental or biased by looking at the situation from different viewpoints, but the conflicting parties tried their best to make me choose their side by proving their opponents wrong, instead of looking for a compromising solution. I think I need to develop better strategies to mediate conflicts. Being a teacher, I’m sometimes involved in mediating conflicts between students, for example, when I am on duty during recess time. This also requires being calm when listening to both sides and trying to suggest multiple solutions. 

Thinking of what I want to develop in terms of conflict management strategies, I would like to learn more about other cultures. As I work in a multicultural environment, I noticed that sometimes conflicts occur based on simple misunderstanding. Being open-minded and knowing how to behave with people of a certain culture helps to avoid conflicts. According to Boros et al. (2010) cooperation is better in those groups where members feel equal. I would also like to develop strategies to regulate emotions. Since I have a high sense of fairness, I get easily frustrated when I feel treated unfairly. The research showed that emotional comprehension can predict positive conflict resolution strategies (Cao et al. 2023).

References:

Eunson, B. (2011). Conflict management. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

Boros, S., Meslec, N., Curseu, P. L., & Emons, W. (2010). Struggles for cooperation: conflict resolution strategies in multicultural groups. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25(5), 539-554. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683941011048418

Cao, Y., Wang, H., Lv, Y., & Xie, D. (2023). The influence of children’s emotional comprehension on peer conflict resolution strategies. Frontiers in Psychology, 14(1142373). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1142373