5 Reasons Why Your Team May Be Experiencing Conflict

We often speak to directors and managers who are frustrated with unresolved conflict in their teams. It's normal to ask:

Why is this conflict happening in my team?

Of course you understand that conflict is normal at times and that team members won't always agree.... but sometimes it seems nearly impossible to break the cycle and get on with what's really important.

And more than anything you really want to develop the sort of positive, professional culture described in the National Quality Standard:

Professionalism | Management, educators and staff are collaborative, respectful and ethical. (NQS 4.2)

Professional collaboration | Management, educators and staff work with mutual respect and collaboratively, and challenge and learn from each other, recognising each other's strengths and skills. (NQS Element 4.2.1)

There are some common reasons why conflict occurs in early childhood education settings (and other workplaces too!!). 

Of course every team and service is different but here are 5 reasons and some accompanying questions to reflect on - perhaps this is what is happening at your service or perhaps this will spark insight into other issues....

There's a quote that's been around for many years - perhaps you've heard of it? It provides some clues about this reason for conflict:

There was an important job to be done. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

• Does everyone know what there role is?
• Do they know what their tasks and responsibilities are?
• Do they have position descriptions that you've discussed with them?
• Do team members have a general understanding of other people's roles and responsibilities?
• Have you checked in staff meetings or one to one discussions that educators and other staff really understand what they are responsible for?

Your team will come from varying backgrounds, diverse life and work experiences and different skill and knowledge levels.  

Some people will have more developed skills in communication, active listening, building professional relationships, holding difficult conversations and resolving conflict.

(And we're not just saying this because we provide professional development in this area!)

• Have you observed discussions where team members are not really listening to the other person's point of view?
• Are people talking behind each other's backs instead of addressing tensions directly with the team members involved?
• Is your team communicating clearly and checking that the other person is receiving the message in the way it was intended?
• Are you observing behaviours or communication patterns in your team that not contributing to a positive team environment?
• Do you have team members that are not talking to each other?
• Does your team seem stuck when it comes to resolving the conflict and moving forward?

• When tensions, strained feelings or differences of opinion between people arise, is it discussed?
• Are challenging or difficult conversations happening when required?
• Are assumptions being made that conflict only needs to be addressed when it gets "serious"?

• Are their staff members (individual or groups) not talking to each other?
• Are you constantly receiving complaints from particular team members about the same people?
• Is anyone being excluded from professional or outside of work activities?
• Have noticed that some team members are not being helpful or supportive to other team members? Overtly or passively?
• Is there openly hostile or aggressive interactions between team members?

• Is it ok at your service to discuss differences of opinion and tensions?
• Would you describe the relationships between management, educators and staff as respectful and collaborative?
• Does your team learn from each other?
• Do professional standards guide practice, interactions and relationships (see NQS Element 4.2.2)?
• How would your team describe your service's culture to other colleagues, friends and family?

It can be difficult to work through these questions and to form a strategy to work through them.

The important thing is to be realistic, don't ignore the issues, form a plan and get others to help you.

Building a professional team environment is possible and skills can be developed by everyone at your service to contribute to this. 

Talk to your team and reflect together about how you are working as a group. What would people like to improve? What do they want to learn? What do they think are the reasons for conflict?

Below you'll find some resources that may assist: