1. The model organizes5conflictmanagement
stylesbasedontwodimensions:
assertivenessandcooperativeness.
5 ConflictManagement
Styles
Here are the five conflictmanagement
stylesaccordingtoThomas,K.W.,and R.H.
Kilmann:
1. Accommodating– Thisis whenyou
cooperate toa high-degree,anditmay
be at yourownexpense,andactually
workagainstyour owngoals,objectives,
and desiredoutcomes.Thisapproachis
effectivewhenthe otherpartyisthe
expertorhas a bettersolution.Itcan
alsobe effective forpreservingfuture
relationswiththe otherparty.
2. Avoiding–This iswhenyousimply
avoidthe issue.Youaren’thelpingthe
otherparty reach theirgoals,andyou
aren’tassertivelypursuingyourown.
Thisworkswhenthe issue istrivial or
whenyouhave no chance of winning.It
can alsobe effective whenthe issue
wouldbe verycostly.It’salsovery
2. effectivewhenthe atmosphere is
emotionallychargedandyouneedto
create some space.Sometimesissues
will resolvethemselves,but“hope isnot
a strategy”,and,in general,avoidingis
not a goodlongterm strategy.
3. Collaborating–This iswhere you
partneror pair up withthe otherparty to
achieve bothof yourgoals.Thisis how
youbreak free of the “win-lose”
paradigmand seekthe “win-win.”This
can be effective forcomplexscenarios
where youneedtofinda novel solution.
Thiscan alsomeanre-framingthe
challenge tocreate a biggerspace and
room foreverybody’sideas.The
downside isthatitrequiresahigh-degree
of trustand reachinga consensuscan
require alot of time and efforttoget
everybodyonboardandto synthesize all
the ideas.
4. Competing– Thisisthe “win-lose”
approach.You act ina veryassertive
wayto achieve yourgoals,without
seekingtocooperate withthe other
3. party,and it maybe at the expense of
the otherparty. Thisapproach maybe
appropriate foremergencieswhentime is
of the essence,orwhenyouneedquick,
decisive action,andpeople are aware of
and supportthe approach.
5. Compromising–Thisis the “lose-lose”
scenariowhere neitherpartyreally
achieveswhattheywant.Thisrequires
a moderate level of assertivenessand
cooperation.Itmaybe appropriate for
scenarioswhere youneedatemporary
solution,orwhere bothsideshave
equallyimportantgoals.The trapisto
fall intocompromisingasaneasyway
out,whencollaboratingwouldproduce a
bettersolution.
