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FOCUS Crisis Negotiations I Managing Confict Within A Tactical Team p Just like the people you lead, you have to quickly recognize which side confict is on and make an immediate decision. source. On a tactical team, there may be some competition for a limited number of the newest weapons or equipment being issued. I have personally seen this type of confict escalate to the point where a team member quit due to this becoming a severe intrapersonal confict. Role conficts involve disagreements in the role expectations between two people. Tis is something that can be taken literally in a tactical team since each and every person on the team has a specifc role or two on any given mission. While roles and assignments may be specifc, the problem with tactical operations is there are usually many diferent ways to effectively complete a mission. Operators are taught early on there is no ���one��� way to do something. If there was one right answer for every situation, there would simply be a tabbed book with all of the solutions in it. Until such a book of complete SWAT answers exists, there will be times when each person must be given a specifc job to complete with a little discretion on how to do it. Tis type of specifc direction may eliminate some types of conficts at a command or team level and get the team working together by putting the issue to rest. Te issue of there being no one right answer is the very root of the most commonly encountered confict on a tactical team, task-focused confict. Nelson & Quick defne task-focused confict as confict that occurs when team members cannot agree on ideas, opinions and decisions about group goal achievement. Tis 34 Tactical Response Mar-Apr 2013 is where the leadership must work together to keep this type of confict from becoming destructive. Task-focused confict, like confict in general, is not necessarily negative, especially in a business that routinely preaches there is more than one right answer. Tis type of confict can actually be constructive in that it may provide for a better way of accomplishing a given task. Tat is how a team evolves and becomes better, by constantly evaluating its tactics to see what can be improved on. Ensuring this confict is constructive requires the leadership be open to dialogue from each operator and they can agree, as a group, to support and employ the new idea or plan. One of the fastest ways to divide and weaken a team is to have division among the leadership. If the commander, team leaders and assistant team leaders are not on board with a particular idea or plan, then there is certain to be division among the line members of the team. Tis can prove fatal in a life or death situation that is rapidly evolving with each step that is taken deeper into a building. If the leadership does not 100 percent support something, how can one expect the actual operator to literally stick his/her neck out for it? Tis type of problem causes doubt in the minds of the people who do not have the luxury of being able to do so. Being open to suggestions at all times is the other key component to managing this confict. As a leader, you must be able to admit you do not know everything and you do not have all of the answers. Doing so is the frst step to ensuring a safe environment for everyone on the team. It is from here where a leader becomes open to suggestions and the various questions that routinely come up during training. Given the proper environment, team members will likely pose some interesting questions or ask about a certain tactic. Some newer members may pose the same questions that have been asked many times before them and will learn from your explanation of why their suggestion is not a good one. Tere are times when a team member will make a suggestion or ask a question that has never been asked. Tis suggestion or question could very well change the way the team operates from that day on. Again, teams must constantly evolve to stay alive. Tis type of confict can actually be what perpetuates this evolution, proving what has already been stated, that confict can be good and constructive. Confict in any business where people are employed is a constant. Managing this confict is the key to being a good leader and a way to shape confict into a constructive force. Managing confict in the high-risk business of SWAT means you are doing so in one of the most volatile and dangerous environments that can be encountered. Many a SWAT ofcer has been told ���if it was easy, everybody would do it.��� Te same holds true for the leaders. Tis is not a job you can just be given or have passed down by attrition. You must be ready to battle confict head-on. Confict will come at you as friend or foe and it probably will not wait until you are ready. Just like the people you lead, you have to quickly recognize which side it is on and make an immediate decision. Does this confict pose a threat or is it harmless? Tis rapid assessment followed with an appropriate action can make the impending confict a good experience for the team���a constructive experience that can beneft the entire team as well as you as their leader. Barry Touart is a narcotics detective with the Pinellas Park, Fla. Police Department and a police academy instructor. Det. Touart holds an MBA in HR Management and held various roles on the SWAT team, including entry team leader. Post your comments on this story by visiting www.trmagonline.com