The new skill you'll need if you want to progress into a management position

By Sarah Caden

According to recent research from Gartner's Future of Work Trends for 2024, "57% of managers say they are fully responsible for resolving their direct reports' conflicts."

Clearly, there's more to leadership in today's workplace than just getting the job done. Success involves making sure that discord, disagreement, or even difference of opinion in opinionated times, do not get in the way of a productive work environment.

Clear the air and everyone achieves clearer focus.

Successful leaders share certain traits that go beyond on-paper qualifications and achievements. In the workplace now and into the future, where career expectations and aspirations are constantly shifting, one of the most useful leadership skills is conflict resolution.

All too easily, we can be too dismissive of soft management skills, but to read soft as a weakness is to miss out on developing a personal and interpersonal strength.

It's too much for managers to expect that all soft leadership skills come naturally. Even natural emotional intelligence benefits from being tested, trained and continually assessed.

For many leaders, the ability to recognise, react to and resolve conflict is a practice rather than a personality trait and even for those to whom it comes naturally, there is always scope to improve.

All successful leaders can learn and grow their ability for satisfactory conflict resolution in the workplace and there are some common key steps to success.

Anticipate problems before they arise
Take steps to deal with disagreement before tension escalates into dispute. A simmering disagreement won't necessarily go away if ignored and having an issue recognised is sometimes as valuable as being right.

Learn to listen effectively
Significantly, those who "manage rather than silence" make a disproportionately positive impact on their workplace. This approach benefits everyone, as the more you understand the dynamics of your team, the better you can lead them.

Acknowledge peoples' differences
When DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) is treated as a set-apart policy, rather than stitched into every element of an organization, disillusionment and dissatisfaction set in. Differing positions and opinions are a normal part of life and, therefore, the workplace. Acknowledge rather than ignore. 

Don't forget to ask for help
A good manager knows their strengths, abilities and limitations. Some conflicts will need the expertise and input of others. Feel able to ask for advice. You can't know everything and by acknowledging this you lead by example.

Reflect productively. Whatever the outcome of a conflict resolution, take time to reflect on how it started, progressed and played out, with focus on your actions as a leader and how they could be improved. Everything changes all the time, and a forward-thinking leader has the ability to adapt.

There's every chance that you possess and practice these skills already as a manager. Or it could be that you possess and practice these skills as a de facto manager without the official title.

In today's rapidly changing workplace, adding these skills to your portfolio reaps rewards.

For roles that value collaboration, communication and conflict-resolution skills, see the Financial Planning Job Board.

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