Conflict within a team is inevitable, but it doesn’t always have to be debilitating. In fact, handling conflict constructively can actually strengthen a team, fostering development and trust.

When problems arise, it's easy for people to display some less than desirable behaviors. As unpleasant as they may be, they are a natural reaction to dealing with stress. When trying to recognize conflict in the workplace, it is helpful to be aware of some of the most common stress behaviors. These include: 1) becoming uncomfortable and withdrawing from the situation, 2) rapidly trying to come up with a solution to fix the problem, even if it is not in the best interest of the team, 3) finding someone to blame. If these types of behaviors are left unchecked within a team for too long, it could eventually become damaging to productivity. 

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Trust is a must when it comes to team development. Without it, teams are apt to lack innovation, creative thinking, collaboration, and productivity. With it, team members feel safe and comfortable enough to open up and take the risks that can lead to exceptional results.

You can build trust within your team with these six top strategies. As you'll see, this blog post has a theme of leading by example—something that we aim for here at Birkman.

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Being part of a management team comes with a lineup of responsibilities, and one responsibility may include onboarding new hires to your team. No matter how obvious the tasks of the new hire's role may seem to you, you already know the ropes at your company. New hires are just getting started and being introduced to all aspects of the job and organizational culture for the very first time.

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