The Importance of Effective Conflict Resolution Skills

Conflict is a fact of life and conflict is inevitable. Conflict is not the same thing as fighting or arguing. It is simply a disagreement of opinions and a chance to grow. Someone with effective conflict management skills can turn a disagreement or a difference of opinion into something positive, while someone with poor conflict resolution skills is likely to be difficult to get along with an often involved in antagonistic relationships, both personally and professionally.

Not everyone is born with good conflict resolution skills, and not everyone learns these important skills over the course of their early lives. Poor conflict management skills can take several different forms, including being overly aggressive or overly passive. In either situation, being unable to effectively resolve conflict can be a major hindrance on your life:

• People who are overly aggressive may be more inclined to fight until they get things their way, and are likely to antagonize and upset others. They may be seen as bossy or domineering and they may have a hard time maintaining positive relationships or advancing in their careers as they could be seen as bullies.
• People who are overly passive, on the other hand, may simply give in and end up never getting what they want. This can stall career success and breed resentment in relationships. They may be viewed as pushovers or simply overlooked. They may also continually feel frustrated and never have their needs met.
• People who avoid conflict entirely can also have problems as they may allow little issues to fester into major ones, or may avoid voicing their needs and again be overlooked or begin to feel resentful.

In any situation, not being equipped with the skills to resolve conflict can clearly have an adverse impact on your life. It is very important to take the right steps to better yourself, solve your conflict resolution problems, and learn how to handle conflict in a health manner if you want to overcome these issues.

Learning Conflict Resolution Skills

Although you may not have great conflict resolution skills right now, there are some steps you can take in order to learn these important skills. One option, of course, is to try to learn conflict resolution skills on your own using self-help books or other information available online. This is usually not the best way to learn these important skills. After all, it helps to get feedback and to interact with other people, both to learn the skills more effectively and to have the motivation necessary to stay the course.

Another, and far better option, is to attend seminars, workshops and courses. With help from professionals and other participants, you can get to the root of your issues with resolving conflict. You can learn more about how you react in certain situations - and why - and you can turn negative behaviors into positive ones.

Investing in yourself is one of the best ways to spend your time and your money, and taking a course in conflict resolution is one of the single best ways to invest in yourself and to change your life for the better. Give it a try today and you will see the improvement the very next time a conflict arises.

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