Managing crew conflicts is one of the hardest challenges facing a company officer. Some are poorly prepared for the role, perhaps having focused more on the technical aspects of the officer’s job. Other officers may not understand how to balance their role as both a crew leader and team member, while others might be overwhelmed trying to mitigate conflicts that may have been years in the making.
So how can company officers approach conflict in a way that both meets members where they are and offers practical solutions?
3 types of conflict
It’s helpful to analyze conflict by type, recognizing that different types of conflict require different approaches. One Harvard University analysis separated conflict types into three categories: task conflicts, relationship conflicts and values conflicts.
1. Task conflicts
It’s important to maintain consistency and order when assigning and accomplishing tasks, especially on emergency scenes. However, on any given day, firefighters must accomplish dozens of tasks, and if one person takes a proprietary interest in how the grass is cut or how the dishwasher is loaded, this can cause disproportionate conflict among the crew. Even on emergency scenes, an officer should not strive to micromanage. You want to empower your crew to make good decisions on their own, since you, as the officer, cannot have your eyes and ears on everything at once.
An officer can intervene when one person is getting too picky and dictatorial about trivial matters. Humor can sometimes work well. But watch yourself in this regard also, both on and off the emergency scene. Be vigilant that you are not modeling behavior that you are critical of in others. Make sure that your crews are ready to perform without your intervention and show that you trust them through your actions and words.
2. Relationship conflicts
This can be a tough one for a company officer to manage. People have histories beyond your knowledge and may have bad blood that goes back many years. Keep in mind, the goal is not to resolve every disagreement coworkers might have. Getting involved with specific issues between crewmembers can be distracting and undermine leadership credibility. Instead, it’s useful to focus on the principle that getting along is part of the job – it’s a basic skill. So even when there are relationship disputes, and even when some of those have completely valid sources, it is important to understand that those things, in the context of working together as a fire crew, must never take precedence compared to the common mission.
3. Values conflicts
Focusing on the common mission is even more critical when dealing with values conflicts. People come on the job as the sum of all their personal experiences, beliefs and values. These things are always close to our hearts. We may not be able to explain them completely to someone else. But even when these beliefs may seem blatantly misguided to another person, it is never useful to tell someone their values are wrong. Doing so will have no positive effect and will in fact divide people further from one another. Instead, this is where focus on the unifying mission is absolutely essential. What does everyone have in common? That’s easy: responding to and mitigating crisis situations. Keeping one another safe through that response. Maintaining trust with the service community so that you and future firefighters can be effective in fulfilling that mission.
These different types of conflict are not mutually exclusive. Conflict situations will often include aspects of more than one type. Someone may lack flexibility when it comes to accomplishing tasks because of values or experiences from their past. Relationships may have been damaged because of actions or words based on divergent beliefs.
Train company officers for their full role
Fire departments should invest in preparing company officers to succeed in every aspect of the role, beyond just technical skills. When it comes to managing potentially destructive conflict among coworkers, company officers hold the most important position in the fire department; they are close enough to see conflict developing and, ideally, have strong individual relationships that make positive intervention possible.
A self-aware and well-prepared officer can be a role model for the crew in communication, teamwork and conflict management.
