how to avoid conflicts in development and save the team
Let me start with a contradictory statement. Conflict is good. But this is only good if all parties to the conflict strive to resolve it, taking into account the interests of each participant. And, I hasten to please you, most types of conflicts are quite solvable, the main thing is to figure it out and find a compromise.
And first I propose to define what conflict is? Let's keep it simple. A conflict is a clash of interests, goals, opinions or views. And that's okay. Man is a social being. And unless you're on a desert island (which you aren't), you have to interact with other members of your species. Sooner or later, even in the most conformist group, a scythe will still find a stone.
In this article, I would like to narrow the topic of conflicts to conflicts at work, namely in development. And if you are a developer, you most likely have to butt heads with colleagues in the work process quite often. Programmers and testers, managers and customers are, one might say, archetypal models.
In general, we have figured out what the conflict is, and in what context we will now consider it. Let's get specific now.
Here are seven types of conflicts. You can even call them levels, because from the first to the last point the intensity increases:
Conflict of concepts
Conflict of perception of reality
Conflict of roles and functions
Functional Style Conflict
Conflict between democracy and dictatorship
Goal Conflict
Conflict of values
This list is not my personal invention. This gradation is proposed by Isaac Adizes, a famous writer and business consultant, whose help has been resorted to by large foreign and Russian companies and even governments (you can read more on Wikipedia).
Let's now find out what the essence of each of these points is using examples from the development field, and figure out how to resolve such conflicts.
Conflict of concepts
Everything here is quite simple: the parties to the conflict each mean their own by the same concept. Such misunderstandings can occur due to completely different reasons: lack of awareness, life experience, and even just the mood or thoughts that occupy your head at the moment.
Example
An ordinary developer wants to become a lead. A laudable aspiration, isn't it? There is just one “but”. In the understanding of this particular developer, becoming a lead means scattering tasks around the team and spitting at the ceiling until the deadline arrives. Only in the understanding of management or the customer this is not how it works. In their understanding, being a lead means being responsible for the work of each employee of your team, always keeping your finger on the pulse, monitoring the process of completing tasks, resolving disagreements that arise, helping if difficulties arise in writing code, and many other things. And if the lead doesn’t give a damn before the deadline, it’s more likely that nothing will be ready on time. And now the newly minted lead is in shock and prostration, the project is in… bad condition, the customer is furious. Pain, decay and hopelessness.
How to fix
Decide on the shore: what is expected from the employee as a lead, and how he himself sees his new role. If the puzzle has formed correctly, you can move on to the next stage. Let's call it a probationary period. During this period, the new lead begins his immediate responsibilities, but is also under control with periodic reports on how things are progressing in his team. In this case, you will be able to understand that something is going wrong before it is too late.
General conclusion
When agreeing on something, make sure that both parties have the same understanding. It’s better to spend a little time and ask a couple of clarifying questions before than to waste a lot more time and, most likely, lose financially, sorting out the consequences of misunderstandings after.
Conflict of perception of reality
It is extremely difficult to be objective. Most of our judgments are subjective. We perceive reality through the prism of our life experience, so we interpret the same facts in different ways, often adding an emotional component to our interpretation. Not surprisingly, this is fertile ground for conflict to arise.
Example
One developer came up with a long-awaited feature for the project, uploaded it where needed, and with a calm soul switched to the next task. His mood now is one of “I’m doing great.” But instead of the expected praise, he receives a reprimand from a colleague: “You broke everything with your commit! Nothing works because of you!”
How to fix
Well, firstly, it would be good to coordinate your tasks so that they do not break other people's code. Of course, this is not always possible. Therefore, for those cases when it was not possible to prevent this, we follow a simple rule: we separate the event from the personal interpretation (event – the functionality is broken, interpretation – everything is ruined).
Did a colleague break your code? First things first, exhale. Once again. And further. Have you calmed down? Now we are trying to formulate our thoughts constructively and calmly. Your colleague most likely did not do this on purpose and will correct everything as soon as you inform him of the problem. Then the conflict will be settled before it flares up. If you let your hot emotions go free and attack him with accusations, the conflict will drag on and perhaps even flare up even more. Don't escalate unnecessarily. The same applies to the other side of the alleged conflict: even if they come to you “with a sword,” first try to invite your opponent to the negotiating table in a calm manner. Most likely, this will cool his ardor, and then you will discuss everything quite calmly.
General conclusion
Focus on the facts. Personal interpretation, especially one based on emotions, is more likely to cause harm in work. There is no need to get personal to convey the essence of the problem to your colleague. This will not solve the issue, but will ruin the relationship almost completely.
Conflict of roles and functions
It would seem that the global goal of the company you work for is known and understood by all employees. But priorities on the way to it in different departments may be set differently. The sales department wants it faster, the testers want better quality. Usually one contradicts the other. It is not easy to satisfy the demands of all parties at once. So much for role conflict. More often, of course, this is a “disease” of young companies where processes have not yet been streamlined.
Example
You work as a tester in a young but ambitious company. And now, in the next update for the project, you find three truckloads of serious bugs. The release is just around the corner; no matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to fix it by this date. But the manager insisted: no one is going to reschedule.
How to fix
Of course, you need a bug ranking system. In this case, you can simply concentrate on the critical moments and leave the rest for later. In the above example, it is worth notifying the manager in detail about the problems and consequences, and if he still continues to persist, responsibility for this decision will be entirely his. If necessary, you can also inform someone else from management about your warnings, just to be on the safe side.
General conclusion
Companies need a well-structured system of interaction between employees. We need mechanisms that will regulate the adoption of certain decisions in development. If there are no such mechanisms, try to build them at least in your area of responsibility directly with the colleagues with whom you interact.
Functional Style Conflict
Do you think you are a tactician or a strategist? The fact is that the approach to solving problems in these two styles is completely different. If only the prospect is important to a strategist, without the specifics of achieving it, then every step, every step is important to a tactician. According to the tactician, the strategist is a dreamer cut off from life, but strategists do not understand why focus on “nonsense”, because it is much more important to see the big picture. That is why it can be extremely difficult for them to find a common language.
Example
The team for the project was assembled, the leader announced the main goal and general tasks. Half of the team is already coding something at their own discretion, the other half is blinking their eyes in anticipation of specifics that are not there.
How to fix
Study your colleagues. Find out which of them is closer to which style of work, and build on that. Some people need a map with a detailed route, while others just need to indicate the direction.
General conclusion
Learn to negotiate. Of course, it is most convenient to work with those who are similar to you. There is a minimum of stress, everyone understands each other almost perfectly. Otherwise, the interaction may become unbearable. On the other hand, it is people of a different style who are able to look at a problem differently and find a solution that has eluded you.
Conflict between democracy and dictatorship
If there was no democracy (discussion between the parties involved) during decision-making, and dictatorship (control and reporting) during execution, this conflict arises. The management has made a certain decision, but the employees do not implement it.
Example
Forced remote work ended, but the company left employees the opportunity to freely visit the office. Which, in fact, the majority uses, forgetting about it completely. And so the manager voices his idea to his colleagues: it would be nice if you still worked from the office a couple of times a week. It’s just that only a few people continue to come to the office, who did this even before the recommendations of their superiors.
How to fix
To begin with, it would be a good idea for the manager to analyze his idea: why is this necessary? What problem is the innovation intended to solve? Now let's be a democrat. Invite your colleagues to a meeting where you will voice both the problem that needs to be solved and your vision of this very solution. Discuss the pros and cons with them. Perhaps there is another option that suits everyone to a greater extent. And at the end of this meeting, voice the collectively made decision. Employees will carry it out much more willingly because they took part in its adoption. Well, at the second step it’s time to become a dictator, integrate the decision made into the workflow and monitor its implementation.
General conclusion
Give people a voice. Perhaps your solution is not ideal and together you will find another way that suits everyone. If a decision is made, responsibility for its implementation, first of all, lies with you as a leader. Finding leverage is your immediate task.
Goal Conflict
Everything is obvious here. The goals of the parties to the conflict diverge, and on this basis tension arises. This is a rather serious conflict, and a lot of effort will have to be made to resolve it.
Example
You have been working on the project for three years, you are tired of it worse than a bitter radish, but you are more than satisfied with everything else in the company. The trouble is that the manager does not want to let you go to another project – here you are practically irreplaceable.
How to fix
First, accept as a fact that every person has the right to defend their point of view. For the company, you are most useful exactly where you are now. Well, this undoubtedly flatters you, but this does not mean at all that you need to push your aspirations to hell. It’s better to discuss with your manager: how to release you from the project without losses for both parties? Perhaps the company will be able to hire a new employee, whom you will train in everything within a specified period, and only then, having transferred the burden of responsibility for the project to him, you will be able to join the new one with a clear conscience. Or even simpler: probably one of your colleagues, after proper training under your strict guidance, will, of course, cope with this role. Yes, both options will require time and effort. But the result will suit everyone.
General conclusion
Respect each other's goals. Learn to listen and hear your interlocutor in order to together find a solution that will suit everyone in the future. This is difficult, but in most cases it is still quite feasible.
Conflict of values
This is the most difficult conflict. And the most noticeable. What is fundamentally important for one is categorically unacceptable for another. The catch is that values don't change that easily. They were formed in everyone throughout their entire life and are extremely weakly influenced.
Example
You came to work for a new company as a developer and are determined to write perfect, beautiful code. But it turns out that this is not held in high esteem here and the main thing is speed. They are constantly pushing you, pressing deadlines, and generally do not share your views about the beauty of what is “under the hood.” It works – and that's fine.
How to fix
Well, if this position is shared by the majority of employees and even management, the most you can do is voice your position as clearly as possible and give arguments in favor. There is a small chance that you will be listened to. But most likely not. Therefore, there are only two options left: adapt to the environment or look for a new job. The first option is unlikely to lead you to something good, because you will have to go against your values, and therefore burnout, dissatisfaction with yourself, irritation and even more conflicts. So the second option in this case will be the most correct.
General conclusion
Common values are incredibly important for the well-being of the team as a whole and for each employee in particular. Look for a company you like, one where the company’s views on development are consonant with your personal ones, then the likelihood that you will encounter a person in the work process who does not share your values will be minimal. And even if such a colleague crosses your path, he is unlikely to stay at this place of work for a long time, because in this case he will be in the minority.
That's all. In conclusion, I would like to remind you that conflicts are not something that should be avoided at all costs. You need to learn to manage them, and then instead of a hopeless situation, you will get new ideas and a powerful impetus in developing yourself as a professional. As they say, truth is born in dispute.
Thank you for your attention!
