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WHAT'S NEW
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Correct a problem conflict style
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To fight fair and get the results you need, take a few lessons from the birds.
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By Karyn Wilson
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Your boss repeatedly ignores your concerns over a coworker's disruptive behaviour at work and, at home, your husband cowers every time you bring up the credit card bills. When you try to be assertive, you end up overpowering a situation, but being a wallflower gets you nowhere. (Read about 6 strategies for successful negotiation.)
Whether the thought of going one-on-one with someone makes you queasy or giddy with anticipation for a knockout fight, your conflict style could be sabotaging your relationships and keeping you from getting the results you need. Understanding how people disagree and using your intuition in different situations can help you to handle disagreements like a pro.
In their inspiring book Conflict is for the Birds: Understanding Your Conflict Management Style (CCR International Publishing Inc., 2006), authors Gayle Wiebe Oudeh and Nabil Oudeh pinpoint five distinct conflict styles they liken to different types of birds. "There are so many parallels [of bird behaviour] to human behaviour," says Gayle.
Are you an owl or an ostrich?
The Oudehs' distinct conflict-management styles are:
1. Woodpecker -- a tenacious person who tends to hammer at issues
2. Parakeet -- a friendly person who excels at conversation and aims to please
3. Owl -- a slow-moving decision-maker who is perceptive and needs all the facts
4. Ostrich -- prefers to work undetected and avoid hostility but has a nasty bite when cornered
5. Hummingbird -- this energetic character is quick to make a decision and shift positions
Be a balance of the birds
Gayle stresses that the key to managing disaccord is to not "fly off the handle," but rather to understand different conflict styles and prepare for a variety of situations. "You don't want conflict to catch you unguarded," she says. "In the end, you want to incorporate all conflict styles. We shouldn't be stuck on one -- we should adapt to the situation or person."
Some of these styles work best at the office, while others fly a straighter path at home. To determine which bird to emulate, ask yourself which is more important: the task at hand or the relationship with this other person? Taking an aggressive, straight-to-the-point stance may work well with your boss when you're tackling a major project, but that same approach may be too intense when you're engaged in a delicate conversation with friends and family.
What's your conflict style? Find out by taking our quiz!
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