Manage Conflicts: Sources and Context

In physics, friction is an unavoidable byproduct of interacting moving parts. You cannot engineer a complex mechanical system without accounting for the heat generated where surfaces meet. The exact same principle applies to human systems and project environments. According to PMI, conflict in projects is inevitable. As a project leader, your goal is not to eliminate this friction—a frictionless system has no traction—but to engineer where and how it occurs.

At a microscopic level, physical friction occurs when irregular surfaces interact. Similarly, organizational conflict arises when different project components and human factors "rub together."
At a microscopic level, physical friction occurs when irregular surfaces interact. Similarly, organizational conflict arises when different project components and human factors "rub together."

Understanding conflict requires us to break it down into two fundamental dimensions: the source (what is actually rubbing together) and the context (the environment in which the friction occurs). Only by analyzing both can you determine how to intervene effectively.