Conflict management begins with a decision regarding if and when to intervene.
Failure to intervene can allow the conflict to get out of hand, whereas early intervention may be detri- mental to those involved, causing them to lose confidence in themselves and reduce risk-taking behavior in the future.
Some conflicts are so minor, particularly if they are between only two people, that they do not require intervention and would be better handled by the two people involved. Allowing them to resolve their conflict might provide a developmental experience and improve their abilities to resolve conflict in the future.
Sometimes it is best to postpone intervention purposely to allow the conflict to escalate, because increased intensity can motivate participants to seek resolution. You could escalate the conflict even further by exposing participants to each other more frequently without the presence of others and without an easy means of escape. Participants are then forced to face the conflict between them.
Giving participants a shared task or shared goals not directly related to the conflict may help them understand each other better and increase their chances to resolve their conflicts by themselves. Using such a method is useful only if the conflict is not of high intensity, if the
166 PART 2 • LEARNING KEY SKILLS IN NURSING MANAGEMENT
participants are not highly anxious about it, and if the manager believes that the conflict will not decrease the efficiency of the unit in the meantime. When the conflict might result in consider- able harm, however, the nurse manager must intervene.
If you decide to intervene in a conflict between two or more parties, you can apply me- diation techniques, deciding when, where, and how the intervention should take place. Routine problems can be handled in either party’s office, but serious confrontations should take place in a neutral location unless the parties involved are of unequal power. In this case, the setting should favor the disadvantaged participant, thereby equalizing their power.
The place should be one where distractions will not interfere and adequate time is available. Because conflict management takes time, the manager must be prepared to allow sufficient time for all parties to explain their points of view and arrive at a mutually agreeable solution. A quick solution that inexperienced managers often resort to is to impose positional power and make a premature decision. This results in a win–lose outcome, which leads to feelings of elation and eventual complacency for the winners, and loss of morale for the losers.