Thomas-Kilmann Model defines five behavioral strategies that are based on the two primary styles of behavior.
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Avoidance. A strategy when a user avoids a conflict neither agreeing with others, nor infuseing their own views. Usually it’s caused by the fear of rejection. Sometimes the fear is so strong that the user cannot bring themselves to even try asking for what they need. It is a lose–lose scenario. The user loses because they do not have a feasible option to make any changes important to them. The community loses because the user will leave the site as soon as they feel that their needs are not met.
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Competition. A strategy wherein a user secures their needs without considering any option for cooperation, even if it happens at the expense of others. If they get a “no” or encounter resistance, they only intensify the pressure. This results in a win-lose scenario when the user wins but at the expense of others.
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Collaboration. A strategy when a user makes a dedicated effort to resolve an issue in the way that works for everyone involved. This represents a win-win situation.
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Accommodation. A strategy when, even though a user can formulate what they need and ask for it, they are ready to give up their interests when facing any even minimal resistance from the other side. This is a lose-win scenario, where the user ends up compromising their own interests.
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Compromising. A strategy when parties involved gradually give up on certain things they need until they arrive at some end that seemingly works for everyone. This is a win-lose-win-lose scenario.
When should one avoid, compete, collaborate, accommodate, or compromise?
Each strategy has its own pros and cons. Effective conflict management is about being able to choose the right strategy for a given situation and use it correctly.
- Avoid when emotions are heated and an immediate reaction can only make the situation worse.
- Compete when you have more experience and knowledge about the topic or in cases when a fast decision is needed.
- Accommodate when unity of the group and interpersonal relations are more important than a specific result or when you have less experience and knowledge about the topic.
- Compromise when you and the other party need a quick solution.
- Collaborate in all other situations. This is the most productive way to resolve a conflict.
This is a fragment of a draft of the book “Lessons Learned While Working On Stack Overflow”. Read the full book on kindle or the paperback version.