THE ROLE OF EMPATHY IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

 A conflict is a serious disagreement or argument between two people. It is defined as a clash between two individuals arising out of a difference in a thought process, attitudes or understanding.

It is difficult to have a sensible conversation when an individual is plainly irritated or frustrated and not in a mood to listen or when any conflict is going on in their life. Then, the role of empathy is very crucial in solving problems of other people. Empathy refers to the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. While, Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly and efficiently. Empathy means stepping into the other person’s shoes and seeing their view of the conflict situation through their eyes, and not through your eyes. Showing empathy does not mean making the person feel even worse about their situation that they already do.  It involves accurately paraphrasing and reflecting back feelings, and then asking questions about how the current situation could be changed. It does not mean that you totally agree with the other person. It means, you attend all the information or listen his/her conflict without any judgement and solve the conflict with empathy.

Conflict is a fact of life and occurs for a variety of reasons, such as different perspectives, priorities or when you didn’t like the person. Many believe that “Misunderstanding is the cause of 90% of all conflict”. Actually, it is right conflict does stem from misunderstanding. The lack of communication is also one of the reasons of conflict. It is one of those things that no matter how hard you try, it’s unavoidable. Whether conflict is with a spouse, child, partner, co-workers etc. only empathy can bridge the gap which is the first step in conflict management.

According to the data, 10% of conflict is due to difference in opinion and 90% is due to wrong tone of voice or misunderstanding.. Data also proves there is conflict management but not conflict resolution.69% of all problems are not solvable!!We learn how to handle them.

Successful conflict management and negotiations begins with exercising your empathy muscle.

·       Focus on the problem, not the person.

·       Don’t let your emotions drive you.

·       Establish trust early.

·       You get what you give.

·       Respond don’t react.

·       Aware of your tone of voice.

 

"By Peace we mean the capacity to transform the conflicts with empathy, without violence, and creatively-a never ending process”.

(Johan Galtung)“

Thank you

Payal  maheshwari.