This week, I’ve been posting about conflict in design. By conflict, I simply mean two people with different perspectives. What happens next, when they discover their differing views, depends on their level of assertiveness and their interest in the other person.
Yesterday, we met the competitive person. We all know the type (we may even be one ourselves): assertive in their own views and uninterested in the other person’s perspective.
Often, the “dance partner” of the competitive person is someone who is acceptant. An acceptant person shows a high degree of interest in the other person but is not assertive about their own view.
In this pairing, the acceptant person ultimately accepts the view of the competitive person.
There’s no judgment intended in these descriptions. What’s valuable is noticing which modes we—and others—are adopting, and whether that behavior is helpful in the context of the design process.
If, after considering the arguments, one person genuinely accepts the other’s view, that’s fine. But if one person is consistently forced into accepting the other’s perspective, that might be less fine.
In such cases, there might be work to do with the competitive party: encouraging them to show more interest and perhaps less assertion. Equally, there might be work to help the acceptant person become more assertive and, perhaps, less deferential.
More combinations to follow—stay tuned.