Individual Conflict

Simple Steps

There is no quick fix to unwarranted, personally driven conflict but the following may help stabilise the situation whilst you develop a longer term approach to ensuring it is resolved and doesn’t reoccur.

1. The cost of conflict

Ask both parties to list out the actual and potential direct costs of being in conflict with another person. This is likely to include the following:

• Inertia – we can’t agree on how to move forward
• Lack of enthusiasm for work, resulting in disengagement
• Poor collaboration, making everything harder to achieve
• De-motivating to the team around
• All the time we are in conflict or disengaged, competitors are closing in
• Clinical mistakes, arising through lack of communication
• Disciplinary proceedings and even suspension

When each party has defined the true costs to themselves, the team and the organisation, ask them if they are prepared to accept those costs? Assuming the answer is ‘no’ then elicit a commitment to resolve the conflict.

2. The other’s point of view

Much conflict arises out of not understanding or not even taking the trouble to understand the other’s perspective. In common with Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; “Seek first to understand, then to be understood”

• Ask yourself what need are you serving by your stance and position e.g. the ‘position’ of wanting a 15 minute consultation time may well be driven by the need to conduct a comprehensive investigation designed not to miss something i.e. safety
• Ask the same question of your colleague i.e. “What is important to you about that suggestion? What does it ‘do’ for you?”
• Take time to really understand your colleague’s position, what’s important to them, which bits are the most important and which bits are the least important etc
• Re-frame the original question or problem to encompass the most important elements of each person’s needs e.g. “What is the right approach to consultations so that we never compromise safety and yet always meet our new patient targets?”
• With clarity on both ‘sides’ of the equation, you can now use this as a platform to evaluate options, innovate and generate win-win solutions

Resolving Individual Conflict

The development of individually-driven conflict is down to a combination of factors including:

• Not understanding the drivers of behaviour and their emotional counterparts
• Insufficient self-awareness of one’s own drivers and their impact on others
• Lack of appreciation of difference

Resolution depends on whether we are considering conflict between two individuals or whether it is simply rife between individuals or groups within a team or department.

Individual Level

If you are looking to resolve conflict between two individuals, then the following are appropriate approaches:

• Send them on the Medicology People, Relationships & Conflict - Improving Interpersonal Effectiveness open course
• Engage each in a short series of one-to-one coaching (see conflict coaching)
• Conduction of 360 degree feedback to examine the impact of self on others
• Conduction of psychological profiling tools coupled to proper feedback – Medicology can assist with:
• Medicology Behavioural Drivers Questionnaire (BDQ)
• Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
• Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI)
• FIRO-B

Team Level

Where you want to deal with conflict throughout a team, the following are appropriate strategies, depending on the nature of the conflict:

• Bring in-house the Medicology People, Relationships & Conflict - Improving Interpersonal Effectiveness course
• Bring in-house the Medicology Assertiveness without Aggression course
• Group coaching (see conflict coaching)
• Re-direct the group onto a common, shared challenge (used as a platform to develop team collaboration skills too) such as development of strategic direction using the Medicology Insights Day - Understanding the Evolving Healthcare Landscape

The Medicology team will be able to advise you on the best overall approach. In the first instance, contact Sara Watkin, Medical Director, on 07855 312529 or

Longer term prevention

The best cure for conflict arising out of the difference between people, their beliefs, values, drivers, communication styles etc is prevention by creating the conditions in which productivity, innovation, creativity and harmony can all flourish. This can include:

• Team Development Programme – carefully constructed and tailored to each individual team and the challenges they face, including appropriate use of psychological tools
• STEP – Self-directed Team Effectiveness Programme – designed to allow teams to take forward their own future performance enhancement - Article and more information

The Medicology team will be able to advise you on the best overall approach. In the first instance, contact Sara Watkin, Medical Director, on 07855 312529 or

Cautionary Note

It is imperative that the root of conflict is established before deciding upon an intervention. In individually driven conflict, there are many causes and many drivers. For instance, someone who is experienced as ‘angry’ may well be sent for anger management or an assertiveness without aggression course when in fact the root cause is a loss of significance through either home or work circumstances. Not only is the intervention likely to have reduced impact but in certain circumstances may exacerbate the situation. Medicology are very experienced at identifying the true underlying causes and in the first instance it is often best to have an exploratory conversation with us. In the first instance, contact Sara Watkin, Medical Director, on 07855 312529 or