When you’re faced with a specific situation, there are five things to do to assess the scenario at hand before taking action - understand your counterpart; identify the type of conflict you’re facing; consider your approach to conflict; determine your goal; and, finally, pick one of the four options you’ll take to deal with this particular situation.
The first time you analyze a conflict using these five steps it will take some time, but eventually the analysis will get easier. The goal is to be able to quickly do these steps in your head whenever a disagreement arises. Find out right the second step - Consider your approach to conflict.
How Your Styles Work Together
Now that you have a sense of your approach to conflict and have gleaned some insights into your counterpart’s preferences, how will your styles interact? If you’re both seekers, can you expect an all-out brawl? If you’re both avoiders, should you forget the idea of directly addressing the conflict? See table below to get a sense of what typically happens between each of the types and how you might manage it.
You might be interested: Step 1: Understand Your Counterpart
You might be interested: Step 3: Identify the Type of Conflict
You might be interested: Step 4: Determine Your Goal
You might be interested: Step 5: Pick Your Option