Making Conflict Work

that it is appropriate in type and magnitude to the situation are key factors for wielding effective power.16 They will also directly impact the very foundations for conflict at work, your emotional r

mploy these distinctions to elaborate more thoroughly on the seven strategies for addressing power and conflict at work.

For now, the bottom line with power in conflict at work is simple: whenever possible, we want to maximize our use of effective power when in conflict. What do we mean by effective power? Simply the ability to make the things we want to happen, happen.

Having all the resources in the world and a sophisticated knowledge of influence strategies and control over defining the playing field does not necessarily translate to effective power. History is replete with powerful groups and individuals who hoarded, abused, or squandered their power to no meaningful effect. Exercising good judgment and e

t this point, you should have a working understanding of the pieces of our puzzle: the two types of conflict (constructive and destructive), the three levers for conflict management (intensity, structure, and transparency), the four approaches to power (power over, power with, power apart from, and power under), and the two sources (hard and soft) and levels of power (primary and secondary). Together, they provide us with a set of options that readies us for the constructive management of most work conflicts. In the chapters that follow, we w

tten extensively in the realm of U.S. foreign affairs and trade negotiations about the distinction between hard

Pragmatic benevolence

Cultivated support

Constructive dominance

Strategic appeasement

Selective autonomy

Cooperation

Competition

Effective ad

can afford to stop relating to the other party and reach my goals through other means. Describe:

I can afford to leave the team or the entire organization if I do not achieve my goal or a sufficient alternative. Describe:

11. Accordingly, which one (or combination) of these strategies is most likely to achieve the o

ait for a better opportunity; this is not urgent. Describe:

I have a creative alternative that might appeal to the other party’s interests and get me some of what I want. Describe:

I can achieve my goal through other means and other relationships or by myself. Describe h

f I cannot fully achieve my goal, what are sufficient or best alternatives to a negotiated agreement?

Settle for less.

voking conformity (influencing the other party in a disagreement by invoking group norms or organizational culture)

Knowing rules and policies (which you can sometimes use to resolve a conflict by invoking the other person’s power and legitima

Fostering reciprocity (doing things for others so that the natural human tendency to reciprocate is activated, even during a dispute)

Persuading rationally (without sounding like a know-it-all)

Building networks and coalitions (attracting supportive people within your organization who are willing to support and advocate for you when you need it)

Creating dependence (through expertise or niches that m