Thursday Short - Conflict & Concern

The past two weeks, we covered the first two C's of my conflict resolution model, which were communication and curiosity. Today, we'll cover the third C - Concern.

M. Afzalur Rahim theorized in 1983 that conflict management styles existed in a spectrum, and on one axis is a concern for self, while on the other is a concern for others.

Here are the five conflict management styles Rahim proposed, along with their levels of concern:
Avoiding: Low concern for self; low concern for others
Obliging: Low concern for self; high concern for others
Dominating: High concern for self; low concern for others
Compromising: Moderate concern for self; moderate concern for others
Integrating: High concern for self; high concern for others

If our goal is integrating, then we must have a high level of concern for ourselves and others. Here's our tips:
1 - Determine how important it is to come to a win-win conclusion
2 - Think about the long-term relational impact
3 - Think about the long-term organizational impact