In this week's Summit class, we discussed different forms of conflict management styles. The different styles were: collaborating owl, avoiding turtle, competing shark, accommodating teddy bear, and compromising fox. My highest scoring category was the accommodating teddy bear followed by the avoiding turtle. I thought my results were very fitting because teddy bears value relationships above their own goals. This can be a strength when there is a small/nearly insignificant conflict because a teddy bear will not be caught up in trying to be right and ruin a friendship because of it. On the other hand, being a teddy bear can be stressful because I avoid telling someone that I have a problem with them for fear of damaging our relationship. One thing that might help me become a better leader is remembering that solving conflicts can help strengthen a relationship. If there is something that is bothering me, getting it off of my chest instead of keeping it bottled up will show the other person that I trust them to come to me when they have a problem as well. One weakness of an avoiding turtle, my second highest conflict management style, is that we will allow someone to walk all over us before telling them that we have a problem. I think it would be safe to say that turtles are taken advantage of often because of their unwillingness to stand up for themselves.
The most important information I learned from this presentation was that the idea we have that conflict is always bad is wrong. There will always be conflicts between people and finding a solution to that conflict will help to strengthen relationships. Now that I have this information, I am going to strive to be more like a compromising fox so each person in the conflict gives a little to reach a happy medium that works for both parties. This presentation will help me to become a better leader in the future now that I am more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of my conflict managament style.
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