The typical day of a healthcare professional involves various responsibilities such as interacting, coordinating, solving problems, providing care, responding to emergencies, performing procedures, integrating information, and gathering data regarding diverse groups of people. Despite the different roles of professionals such as technician, physician, social worker, nurse, manager, or administrator, health care professionals may face bigger conflicts and greater complexities than most professions. For instance, the age of the different employees in the department spreads across four generations and there have been conflicts among them. The conflict between the employees is adversely affecting interdepartmental cooperation, performance, and shift scheduling. According to current estimates, healthcare managers spend between 25% and 40% of their time resolving conflicts ( Blais et al., 2015) . Therefore, the research paper will propose strategies for resolving the conflict and identify the necessary leadership that will minimize or resolve conflict while improving productivity.
Strategies of Managing Conflict
One of the steps of resolving conflict is accommodating or smoothing things. The objective of accommodation is preserving relationships and harmony at all costs. In some cases, it may involve ignoring some issues. However, ignoring problems may cause problems in the long term. The tactic is more effective when a particular group realizes that they are wrong and the issue is more significant to the other party than to the party in the wrong ( Cherry & Jacob, 2016) . It is also beneficial when one group attempts to build goodwill and exhibit that they are reasonable. However, most people believe that the style is fearful of change, is weak, and ineffective.
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The second strategy is compromising. It describes a bargaining process where each party makes concessions to come up with a less than ideal solution. The strategy is essential when coming up with temporary solutions to complex problems before developing a long-term solution. The strategy is effective when the affected by similar hierarchy or authority and are committed to coming up with a viable solution ( Blais et al., 2015) . However, the strategy may be ineffective in the long term because the employees may lose sight of the long-term solution because of the quick fix.
The third strategy is collaborating. The objective of collaborating is to find the best and mutual solution to the problem when all sets of interest regarding the employees are too critical to be compromised. The strategy requires high levels of cooperation and assertiveness because it involves merging different ideas and insights regarding the problem. Collaborating is the best technique for solving issues in the organization ( Gopee & Galloway, 2017) . However, its main pitfall is that employees may spend extensive amounts of time coming up with the best solution.
The next strategy involves avoiding. Although the tactic is not advised, it may create time or a delay that will allow the employees to relax, cool off, or gather information regarding the problem. Most researchers advise that organizations should only use avoidance when the problem is of little significance or when it cannot prevail against other powerful solutions or when the adverse effects of potential confrontation outweigh the advantages of confronting the solution ( Cherry & Jacob, 2016) . Healthcare leaders should never avoid conflict unless when necessary.
The other strategy for resolving conflict is competing. It is an ineffective strategy because the objective of competing is to win despite the impact of the win. It is often characterized by low cooperation and high assertiveness. For instance, the manager can use their position to force the employees to a resolution. Nevertheless, the tactic is beneficial when unpopular decisions must be implemented, when an emergency quick fix is necessary, or when decisive action is vital ( Gopee & Galloway, 2017) . However, if a manager frequently uses the technique, the organization may end with a team of employees who are highly likely to withhold feedback, are indecisive and are slow to act.
Leadership Qualities
There are five qualities of leaders that will be beneficial to the organization and can improve productivity. The first quality is listening. The technique allows the manager to seek the opinion of employees while retaining the essential decision making authority. It makes the employees feel engaged, heard, and appreciated while learning to value and respect the leader who values them. The second skill is vision. A good manager should manage the current problems while being able to retain the focus and step back to evaluate the overall objectives. The next quality is integrity; a good leader should stick tightly to the moral compass that initially attracted them to the profession ( Cherry & Jacob, 2016) . The fourth skill is empathy. Empathy is one of the fundamental human qualities. Managers should empathize not only with patients but also employees. The human quality allows the manager to build and manage strong relationships with both employees and patients. The other skill is optimism. Regardless of the condition, the manager should focus on the bright side.
Conclusion
The research paper proposes strategies for resolving the conflict and identifying the necessary leadership that will minimize or resolve conflict while improving productivity. Directive or autocratic styles of leadership are highly likely to be the least productive and least successful. Regardless of the emotional needs of their responsibilities, the need for balancing the competing differences, limited resources, different philosophies, and training backgrounds, all employees desire a resolution to the conflicts. Managers and employees should be trained in strategies for dispute resolution and conflict management ( Blais et al., 2015) . In most cases, healthcare professionals focus on handling the needs of patients and they may have limited time for conflict resolution. Ultimately, the manager should utilize the five strategies and five skills discussed in the research paper to manage the conflicts.
References
Blais, K., Hayes, J. S., Kozier, B., & Erb, G. L. (2015). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives (p. 530). NJ: Prentice Hall.
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2016). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management : Elsevier Health Sciences.
Gopee, N., & Galloway, J. (2017). Leadership and management in healthcare : Sage.
