Interpersonal conflict occurs with practically everyone who interacts with on a sustained basis. They can be your family, friends or even among your colleagues. In this new paradigm, interpersonal conflict is natural and inevitable. Although conflicts can take a negative emotional toll such as the guilt or anger we may feel after blowing up at someone, it provides an opportunity for personal growth, if conflicts are handled well with sensitivity and assertiveness.
Taking the described scenario, a group of four students (Tim, John, Viona and Tricia) were working on their presentation for their project which they had spent a few months on it. The presentation was due two weeks following their end of experiment on the project. Tim was the leader of the group and thus the rest of them expected him to hold the most responsibility for the quality of work. Tim and Tricia received a task which was quite time-consuming and tough. It included some research and tabulating of results etc while John and Viona were just setting and collecting of survey forms from participants. Prior to each meeting, they would specify the task to be completed. However, Tim, being the leader, was always late for at least half an hour. This slowly created some unhappiness among the rest of the teammates because his unpunctuality caused the delay in meeting. Tim explained that he had been working part-time for the past few days that he barely had time to work on his part and he apologised for that.
Everyone had completed what they had been assigned to but it was only left with Tim’s part before they could make a conclusion to their project. They were pressing for time as the presentation was just a few days later. The three of them, instead of helping him out, chided him for not contributing enough on time. Tim tried to defend himself by explaining that he had to work and they were expecting too much from him as a leader. Eventually, this argument resulted in some resentment among the other teammates and him.
The above situation could be avoided if Tim had voiced out earlier that he had to work and discuss with Tricia on the workload between the two of them. John and Viona could offer help as well so that the task can be completed on time. On top of that, they should not put too much expectation on Tim for the quality of the project because individuals have a part to play in the type of work they produce. This might lessen the stress that is placed on Tim which may allow him to be more efficient on his work assigned. They should also pay attention to each other's verbal and non-verbal signals like signs of frustration or even level of stress to avoid arguments.
If you’re in the position of Tim, what will you do so that the task assignment to everyone can be completed on time and done fairly?
