Strategic Alliance Magazine Q3 2017 - 14

T H E A RT O F S PA R R I N G A N D C RO S S I N G S WO R D S

billion in paid hours or the equivalent of nearly 400 million
workdays.
The employee survey also found:
n

85% at all levels experienced conflict at
some point in their work experience

34% of conflict occurred among front-line
employees

29% experienced it almost constantly

27% witnessed it leading to personal
attacks

12% observed it frequently among the
senior team

9% observed it causing a project to fail

Worth noting is that the survey was published nearly 10
years ago well before multi-industry partnering became
such an emerging force. What's a manager to do, especially
when studies show that managers are generally averse to
dealing with conflict (see Figure 1)?

What is Conflict?
Arguing over an issue
Being upset with scheduling change
Working toward winning a
championship
Vying for the top market share

Figure 1
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MAGAZINE | Q3 * 2017

The Art of Confronting Conflict
"We did some polling questions on a webinar, and one
question was, What is your instinctive first response
to a conflict situation?" says Lynda McDermott, president of EquiPro International Ltd., referring to her
recent ASAP Netcast, "Why Does Great Alliance Collaboration Require Good Conflict?" "Some 53 percent
said it was to delay responding," she recalls.
"Avoiding conflict can be highly destructive," she observes. "My experience is if you avoid disagreements,
they escalate into personal conflict. There are task-focused and relationship-focused disagreements. Often
what happens is they start at task level, but if they go
unresolved or fester, it can have a negative impact on
the relationship and turn into a relationship conflict.
Then a lack of trust permeates the entire alliance. So
you are doing your company and alliances a disservice
if you don't raise and resolve issues constructively."
Task-oriented communications are neutral or positive
and focus on ideas and perspectives; relationship-oriented communications can be negative and focus on
emotions and people. The goal should be to stay rational with the task and start with basic foundational
questions such as "What is the task? Should it be done?
What are the experience levels of the people doing the
task?" she notes. The task should be objective and
rational. But sometimes it bleeds over into the relationship-oriented side, and the skills you need to move
it back to task-oriented require constructive responses and analysis to get you back on track, she says (see
Figure 2).
"Big Fortune companies typically have a difficult
time dealing with conflict," adds Candido Arreche,
global director of portfolio & partner management,
Xerox Worldwide Alliances. Known for his dynamic,
hands-on workshops, Arreche led his new six-hour
workshop, "How to Resolve Conflict in Your Alliance,"
at the recent ASAP Global Alliance Summit. The practical tool-building workshop provides attendees with a
six-step process to resolve conflicts of any size.
There are five widely accepted methods for resolving
conflict: collaborating, competing, compromising, accommodating, and avoiding, Arreche instructs. "Most
people think [conflict is] a negative and may want to

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Strategic Alliance Magazine Q3 2017