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314 PART 4: THE LEADER AS A RELATIONSHIP BUILDER
Causes of Conflict
Leaders can be aware of several factors that cause confl ict among individuals or
teams. Whenever teams compete for scarce resources, such as money, informa-
tion, or supplies, confl ict is almost inevitable. Confl icts also emerge
Action Memo
when task responsibilities are unclear. People might disagree about
who has responsibility for specifi c tasks or who has a claim on
resources, and leaders help members reach agreement. Another rea-
As a leader, you can adopt the best approach
son for confl ict is simply because individuals or teams are pursuing
for handling a team confl ict. Choose among
the competing, avoiding, compromising,
confl icting goals. For example, individual salespeople’s targets may
accommodating, or collaborating styles
put them in confl ict with one another and with the sales manager.
based on the degree of assertiveness and
Finally, it sometimes happens that two people simply do not get along
situation.
cooperativeness needed to manage the
with one another and will never see eye to eye on any issue. Personality
clashes are caused by basic differences in personality, values, and atti-
tudes, as described in Chapter 4, and can be particularly diffi cult to deal
with. Sometimes, the only solution is to separate the parties and reassign
them to other teams where they can be more productive.
Styles to Handle Conflict
Teams as well as individuals develop specific styles for dealing with confl ict, based

on the desire to satisfy their own concerns versus the other party’s concerns.
Exhibit 10.6 describes five styles of handling conflict. How an individual approaches

conflict is measured along two dimensions: assertiveness and cooperation. Effective

leaders and team members vary their style to fit a specific situation, as each style is

appropriate in certain cases. 82
1. The competing style, which reflects assertiveness to get one’s own way,
should be used when quick, decisive action is vital on important issues or
unpopular actions, such as during emergencies or urgent cost cutting.

Exhibit 10.6 A Model of Styles to Handle Conflict

Assertive
Competing Collaborating

Assertiveness
(Attempting to Compromising
satisfy one’s own
concerns)

Avoiding Accommodating
Unassertive
Uncooperative Cooperative

Cooperativeness
(Attempting to satisfy the other
party’s concerns)

Source: Adapted from Kenneth Thomas, “Conflict and Conflict Management,” in Handbook of Industrial and
Organizational Behavior, ed. M.D. Dunnette (New York: John Wiley, 1976), p. 900. Used by permission of
Marvin D. Dunnette.