Managing Team Conflict Emotional Intelligence

Managing Team Conflict

Emotional intelligence and the fundamental concept of hermeneutics both consider a high concern for other's as well as self. According to (Godse), emotional intelligence is the ability to identify expressions, understand the transition of emotions, use emotions to facilitate thought, and manage emotions. Emotionally intelligent employers use more of the integrating style, in which there is a high concern towards self and others (Godse). The most fundamental concept of hermeneutics identified by (Liu, 2010) is consideration and understanding another's view before one's own. This shows that a high understanding of other's emotions is an important factor in managing conflict and determining appropriate conflict resolution methods. Where emotions play a big part of conflict, emotional intelligence gives the capability of reaching acceptable solutions and ability to regulate emotions for better resolutions.

Hermeneutics uses the interpretive circle, which 1) understands public opinion, 2) adds or modifies concepts and relationships of one's own knowledge based on collective knowledge of others, and 3) based on the change of knowledge, expresses an opinion where others can understand (Liu, 2010). Emotional intelligence plays a part of the interpretive circle in respects of understanding other's emotions, feelings, and their ways of thinking. Feedback from team members to manager and manager to team members is an important part of gaining emotional intelligence to understand each individual members of the team. Team members can also help in the identification of problems that need to be addressed and enable better decision making for the manager.

The most effective conflict resolution style depends on the particular situation (Godse). The sources of conflict include change, values, and behavior. Change, whether internal or external, can cause frustration that brings about emotional responses when team members do not understand the concepts of the change. A manager's leadership influence will depend on how well the manager perceives emotional intelligence of team members to determine an appropriate conflict resolution style. Overall individual and team values can play a part of conflict, especially where change is concerned, that may influence emotions and behavior of members. Culture plays a part of the value system of the individual members and needs to be understood by all team members, not just management. Observation as well as formal and informal communications help gain valuable feedback from members in gaining emotional intelligence. The conflict resolution style should be chosen based on identity, understanding, use, and emotional regulation of the situation (Godse).

Problems can arise from consequences of business rules that change due to external forces or a team member generates a new idea that creates a problem. This can create conflict with the values of the team members and overall team that can cause emotional behaviors to arise. The collective feedback from all team members helps build the knowledge of the manager. The combination of feedback from all team members and the manager's knowledge of the goals, assumptions, and experience helps enable the manager to express an opinion where all team members understand.

Openness, open to new experience, extraversion, outgoing and high spirited, and neuroticism, a general tendency to experience emotions, are correlated with emotional intelligence (Godse). If a manager is open to new experience, outgoing, and experiences their own emotions, emotional intelligence comes easier because it becomes a shared experience among team members. Openness allows the manager to learn about team member experiences in feedback that can generate ideas to consider in decision making. Being outgoing allows for better communications with team members to influence feedback. and, having experienced emotions, the manager gains higher emotional intelligence in understanding the emotions and behaviors of team members.