Even if you have the best intentions, you may disagree with others.
Conflict style inventories include the Thomas Kilmann Understanding Human Development Martin, Judith and Nakayama, Thomas.
Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 143-155.
Despite our best efforts, we find ourselves in disagreements with other people in all aspects of our lives: at work, in our relationships, in our volunteer activities.
How we respond to provocation can determine if conflict moves in a beneficial or a harmful direction.
The good news is that we can learn skills, strategies and processes to manage conflict.
The goal of conflict management is to manage yourself and others so as to bring about the best possible resolution of a conflict situation in terms of the issue at hand, the relationship.
It is important to note that Smoothing is considered to be a short-term solution and may have to be revisited at a later time.
Smoothing is often used by project managers when it is important to provide temporary relief from the conflict or buy time until you are in a better position to respond and/or push back against the conflicting party.
Thomas-Kilmann model suggests five principles that guide individuals via the conflict process.