Conflict resolution, or conflict management, is the practice of addressing and settling disagreements among people or groups. For engineering managers, prompt and thoughtful intervention prevents disagreements from escalating while protecting collaboration and trust. section 2.5.5 section 1.1
Use a progressively more involved process:
- Observe first and give team members time to resolve the issue themselves. section 3.1.3
- Open conversations to understand perspectives, then meet individually with the conflicting parties to uncover the underlying problem. section 3.1.3
- Bring the parties together, use evidence to guide decisions, and ensure every opinion is heard even when full agreement is impossible. section 2.5.5 section 3.1.3
- Invite a neutral third party when needed, break deadlocks with a clear path forward, and apply Disagree and Commit when consensus cannot be reached. section 3.1.3
- Act promptly, facilitate rather than dictate, and strengthen your ability to handle difficult conversations. section 2.5.5
Choosing a new engineering tool
An engineer advocating for a new tool reconsidered after the team examined its infrastructure costs and other trade-offs. Transparent prioritization helped the group converge on a solution, strengthening collaboration and trust. section 3.1.3
Figure 3.1 Bring a neutral party to help build alignment in times of conflict.
Use a neutral party to help conflicting people build alignment when direct discussion does not resolve the disagreement. section 3.1.3
