Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Working well in a team is a quality that is cherished upon in workplaces and schools alike. If you were to ask me, I would say that working with people is like making a coffee. You need to know that too much of sugar will make the coffee too sweet and too much of water will dilute the coffee. Similarly, being too understanding or outspoken might not work in your favour when working in a team. Just remember that working with people is not just about you, it is about a collective team effort. And when a team comes together, many things can go wrong. In the end, it is not the conflict that counts, it is the ability to resolve the conflict that is pertinent.

Speaking of conflicts reminds me of a group project I had in the first semester in Year 3. Everything was fine until one member of my team started taking the rest of us for granted. Let's just name this team member Y. Y was a good team member in the initial stages of the project but as our project progressed, Y stopped turning up for meetings. The rest of us, we sat down one day to talk about it and we reached a conclusion that it was time that we sent Y reminders of meetings. Although this idea was the best for the team in that situation, it didn't exactly work in my favour. As the assistant leader of the team, I was tasked with calling Y to remind him of meetings .This turned bad cause whenever I called Y, it appeared like I was nagging at him and picking on him. Our relationship got strained and the team started ostracizing Y and functioning without him.

Soon, Y realised that we were cold towards him and he proposed a meeting in person.  He said that he had a lot of activities outside of school and that he didn't have time for meetings. He promised to make time in the future. After that meeting, our group worked together. There were still instances when we felt that Y was not working hard but we got used to taking turns to remind him to do work. In my team's case, it was quite evident that communication was a problem. The lack of communication changed the team dynamics and it resulted in conflicts.With communication, we understood each other's schedules and differences. We got to working as a team, where we took turns to remind Y of meetings.In the end, my team got an award for best design presentation. I got my coffee, not perfect, but definitely one that was worth it. After all, a perfect coffee can only be achieved with practice.

Although the conflict was resolved amicably, things might have turned out different if we had decided otherwise in the initial stages of the project. What might have happened if we never resolved the conflict with Y?