Managing conflict: Third-party interventions for managers

Managers are frequently called upon to intervene as third parties in organizational conflicts within their work units but often feel ill at ease and poorly equipped to do so. The purpose of this article is to provide answers to some common questions managers have concerning such third-party interventions. The article begins by presenting a conceptual framework. It indicates the steps for the manager to follow in making the relevant decisions concerning intervention and outlines different approaches for third-party intervention. It identifies the key variables to consider for each step of the decision process concerning intervention and presents guidelines for making the relevant choices. It suggests helpful ways of intervening in order to help the parties deal with their own conflict and describes a variety of pitfalls that the manager must beware of when making third-party interventions. The article identifies some of the competencies managers need when intervening as third parties. It concludes by indicating under what conditions the manager is not the appropriate person to intervene and suggests ways of making use of an independent resource person.