Business conflict management is often complicated by organizational leaders’ resistance to formal dispute resolution processes. But those who embrace the principles of dispute system design are likely to find that they can resolve internal conflicts quickly and cheaply.

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Transcript: Have you ever noticed that people like to do certain things when they work in teams? For example, there’s always someone who wants to jump up and write notes on the whiteboard. And also there will be things that people really don’t want to do - like volunteer to type up the minutes of the meeting. If you haven’t observed this, then I suggest that you take a look at this phenomenon the next time your team meets. Because it is important. Effective teams use the skills and preferences of their members to fulfil different functions. Jo Owen in his leadership skills handbook observes that a football team of 11 great goalkeepers is unlikely to do well. He means that teams need a good balance. Not everyone can do the same thing nor, fortunately,do they want to. To ensure that you do get a good balance you firstly need a good understanding of the types of personal traits and attributes that contribute to teamwork. This allows you to recognise the potential team member contributions to the project. Secondly you need a good understanding of how to best utilise these attributes in order for the team to meet its potential and the project outcomes to be achieved on time, on budget and to the client’s expectations. Achieving all three is important. There are many models of the various roles within teams and here we’re not talking about your title such as ‘Business Manager’ or even the specialist knowledge that you bring to the team such as business analysis. We’re talking about the generic skills that teams need no matter what their shared goals or area of expertise. Let’s return to the idea of observing teams and to a man named Meredith Belbin, who did just that. He observed and studied numerous teams at the Henley Management College in the UK in the 1970s and created what is now known as the Belbin Team Inventory. His first inventory recognised eight roles necessary for successful teamwork. It was published in a book but is protected by copyright and cannot be reproduced in any form. But for our purposes that doesn’t matter. We’re coming at it in a different way by getting you to think about the Belbin team role types and to show you how they can be helpful for seeing off conflict and helping you and your team successfully reach your goals. A couple of things though - and I can’t emphasise these enough - is that, first, you are working with self-perception and so you might need to consciously observe yourself to get it right and second you can actually do any role. Thinking about the roles and deciding your preference isn’t meant to stereotype you - you will change over time and depending on your team’s composition and abilities. It’s about recognising those roles and how your team members fit with them. If your team identifies a gap in an area you may have to fill it and, similarly, if someone fills the role you prefer you might drop back to your second preference.

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