How can you use meetings to identify and address conflicts among team members?

The important thing here is ensure members are being heard. Equally, it’s to ensure the conversation doesn’t turn into a competition where it feels like some one/ certain parties need to “win”. To avoid disputes, it’s key to vocalise that parties should express their thoughts but also share potential resolutions or share how they wish the situation was tackled/ should be tackled in future. Looking ahead and putting preventative measures in place that makes all parties feel understood and heard is crucial - above all, everyone wants to ensure they feel respected and valued.

Begin team meetings with ground rules that foster respectful dialogue and productivity: Establish participative ground rules by asking members to suggest guidelines everyone can agree to. This promotes shared ownership. Useful examples include: Listen attentively without interrupting. This builds mutual understanding. Avoid personal attacks and blame. Critique ideas, not people. Focus on facts and behaviors, not emotions. Keep it objective. Express opinions respectfully. Allow disagreement. Seek first to understand, then be understood. This builds empathy. Commit to finding mutually acceptable solutions. Compromise when needed.

Encourage participants to put themselves in others' shoes, fostering a deeper understanding of different perspectives. This can be a powerful tool in conflict resolution, as it humanizes the discussion and promotes compassion!

From my experience, when things get tense, I tend to see that it's mostly to do with justice and fairness. One person feels unrecognised for achieving the same targets that someone else gets recognised for, just because the latter is more "visible". If I was a manager, for the sake our objectives, we'd have to come together to talk. I'd probably start with "I'd like to talk about something that's quite difficult with you guys". I think it's important to not take sides but listen to all perspectives objectively, one at a time, and always reiterating the reasons why we are (still) in this job, TOGETHER. Celebrating individual achievements are important, even if achievement come in different forms/metrics

Ok - who wants to deal with this? Maybe this is a bad idea…. This looks like a HR issue. If people can’t work together - move them. Or they need to move on/find a new company. We’re not babysitters. Team up or move on. Thanks - Sheila

When things get tense in a team, I’ve found it’s usually because folks aren’t feeling heard. So, as a leader, think of yourself as a mediator. Kick off a chat and ask everyone to share what’s on their mind. Listen closely and then repeat back what you’ve heard in your own words—this shows you’re genuinely paying attention. Everyone wants their feelings acknowledged, so make sure they know you get where they’re coming from. And remember, a little compliment or a light-hearted joke can do wonders to break the ice. At the end of the day, we’ve all had those moments of teamwork that made us proud. Remind your team of those times, and inspire them to get back there.

There is no one technique which can be used in all conflict handling situations. Styles can be different when dealing with people from one culture to another. One of the action which I personally found effective handling conflict is to meet with disputed parties ahead of the common meeting and understand both sides concerns and reasons of dispute. As a leader this will help you to plan that common meeting. In that meeting, you start with the positive contributions of both sides and what is already aligned. Then you focus on the disputed points. Keep fairness, integrity and openness throughout the meeting. Your goal is to have win win outcomes.

Eu gosto de colocar as pessoas frente a frente numa sala, pedir para que falem seus pontos de vista e incentivar para a construção de um start, stop e continue de atitudes de cada lado para que as coisas fluam melhor.

Leading a meeting isn't a tea party; it's a circus ringmaster act. Whip those participants into communication shape. Open-ended questions? More like verbal juggling balls—keep 'em in the air. Paraphrasing is your tightrope walk; one misstep, and you plunge into the abyss of miscommunication. Validate emotions; it's not therapy, but it's damn close. Positive feedback is your applause; let them bask in it. And humor? It's your lion-taming whip, cracking through tension. Lead with empathy, not a dictator's scepter. Facilitate like you're orchestrating a symphony of ideas—hit the right notes, and watch the harmony unfold. Cue the applause.

Introduce a structured problem-solving process, such as brainstorming potential solutions, evaluating each one objectively, and reaching a consensus on the best course of action.

If the conflict is escalating or becoming unproductive, step in as a mediator to facilitate the conversation. Help team members to reframe their arguments or find common ground. Mediate if necessary so that the discussion remains respectful and focused on resolving the conflict.

After participants have shared views, use creative exercises like brainstorming to generate potential solutions. Encourage everyone to contribute openly. Evaluate alternatives using criteria like feasibility, impact, and alignment with team goals. This drives objective analysis. Involve the team in ranking or voting to narrow down to one or two optimal solutions. This creates buy-in. Keep the tone positive by reminding members to build on each other's ideas. Prevent individual criticism. Arrive at mutually agreeable solutions by incorporating aspects from different proposals if needed. Inclusive, participative exploration of options tapped into the team's collective potential results in mutually satisfactory outcomes.

Alright, teamwork architects! Time to turn talk into action. Exploring options isn't a picnic; it's a strategy war room. Break out the brainstorming grenades, unleash the voting hounds, and rank those ideas like they're contestants on a talent show. Get everyone in the creative circus; it's not a solo act. Feasibility is your knight, effectiveness is your wizard, fairness is your Gandalf. Align with team goals like you're synchronizing dance moves. This isn't a tea party; it's a decision-making battlefield. So, strap on your brainstorming armor, wield your voting sword, and may the best solution slay!

The only way conflicts can be resolved is when new solutions other than the ones both parties have been circulating around, emerge. This requires discussion and exploration of what possible opportunities or possibilities exist to resolve the conflict at hand.

To define the next steps and not just talking about the theory is important to have the result we would like to have - a good working team.

Without the action plan, you can't even consider the conflict to be close to its resolution. However, monitoring its progress is important as well so a leader can take this role.

Conflict meetings left with open endings are problematic and a waste of time for the meeting that had just occured. To move past the conflict, both parties need to agree on an actionable action plan. This allows them to literally take the next steps beyond the point where they are stuck. Create clear action items with dates, roles and responsibilities as well as acknowledge from the people who are in-charge of each action items.