Discover 7 Advantages of Compromising Style: Intermediate Assertiveness and Cooperativeness

Synched Harmony: Peaceful Existence Together, the purpose of this blog is to encourage people to work together in synch while respecting each other’s boundaries, fostering a peaceful and harmonious relationship in life. Articulating this purpose is easy but implementing it in real life is more challenging. Understanding people’s perspectives and mindsets is crucial, but it’s even more important to shape your perspective by actively listening to their thoughts and thinking multi-dimensionally.

I have explained the concepts of perspective, mindset, and the relationship dynamics between the two in separate blog posts but today, I will focus on discussing an important principle of synched harmony that acts as the foundation for maintaining peace and harmony in a relationship. Adopting this principle appropriately can help keep the relationship equilibrium balanced, fostering love and care for each other. Let’s talk about the Compromising style of conflict resolution which is also characterized by moderate on both assertiveness and cooperativeness.

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Which Conflict Management Style is Intermediate Assertiveness and Cooperativeness?

As per Thomas Kilmann Two Dimensional Model of Conflict Resolution, when you possess an equal balance between assertiveness and cooperativeness your behavior is characterized by a Compromising style of conflict resolution. A compromising behavior reflects intermediate assertiveness and cooperativeness which means that a person adopting this style during a conflict is neither highly assertive and cooperative nor very low on assertiveness and cooperativeness.

Intermediate Assertiveness means that you can confidently express your thoughts and opinions in front of others while also respecting and listening to the viewpoints of others. While your thoughts and opinions matter to you, at the same time you are willing to compromise and let go of some of your desires and preferences if they can help restore normalcy and peace. Expressing your thoughts while allowing others to express their feelings and emotions and genuinely trying to understand their concerns is essential to being moderately assertive. It promotes effective communication and can lead to mutually satisfactory solutions during conflicts.

Intermediate Cooperativeness means the willingness to cooperate with others when they are willing to cooperate with you as well during a conflict. It’s about finding a middle ground and working together to resolve issues in a way that benefits both parties. If the other party is not willing to cooperate, you may not want to cooperate with them either. It can be effective in finding a mutually agreeable solution when the other party is adopting a collaborative or accommodating approach.

Similarly, when the other party is highly competitive or using an avoiding technique during a conflict, adopting a compromising style can help in gaining their trust and faith. Your willingness to listen to others and consider their perspectives can eventually lead to a more constructive resolution, even if the initial approach differs.

Having a balanced level of both assertiveness and cooperativeness is crucial in the Compromising style because it inherently involves adjustments and sacrifices. The peacefulness and harmonious nature of a relationship are determined by the level of adjustment and sacrifice people involved in a relationship can make for each other, and that’s the reason adjustment and sacrifice are defined as two important pillars of compromising behavior.

Adjustment in simple terms means adapting to the change to improve the outcome of a situation. When we talk about the comfort zone, it is that environment where you feel at ease. You feel having complete control over your surroundings, and things are happening the way you want them to, but what happens when you try to step out of your comfort zone? You undergo a change, and this change is something you try to resist because it forces you to do something different from your usual life.

So instead of adapting to it, people start resisting. You cannot stay in your comfort zone for your entire life, and many times life progresses at the end of your comfort zone, so it’s better to move out of your comfort zone and adapt to the situation rather than resist it.

Compromises are made when you are willing to adjust and adapt yourself to the circumstances and work accordingly for the betterment of the situation. It is as easy to say as it sounds, but actually putting it into practice can be quite difficult as sometimes you may have to adjust to things that completely go against your values. If you want to compromise, you have to adapt it even if you don’t want to and this can only happen when you respect others, value relationships, and want to maintain them going forward.

Sacrifice is the act of giving up something valuable or important for the sake of others or for a cause you believe in. In this article’s context, Compromise and Sacrifice play significant roles and are sometimes used interchangeably. In many situations, the best way to peacefully resolve a conflict is by making sacrifices to your own desires or preferences. It may require you to give up your desires, but it’s a good way to foster trust and build a rapport.

Making a sacrifice is not an easy task as it demands a strong mindset and a positive attribute where your thinking aligns with empathizing with others’ concerns and being willing to sacrifice your own.

The meaning of sacrifice is not about compromising on everything that goes against your values. If you keep on sacrificing everything that holds importance to you, people will start taking advantage of your compromising behavior. Sacrifices should be made for those things that may not have a significant impact on your emotional and mental well-being. If you are sacrificing something important and something that doesn’t make you happy, you won’t be able to continue it for a longer period, and the relationship you’re trying to keep by compromising today might deteriorate severely in the future in terms of love and respect.

That’s why making adjustments and sacrifices is essential to achieve synched harmony. A little bit of adjustment and a bit of compromise can help people work together in sync while respecting each other’s boundaries and emotions. They will live together peacefully thus fostering a harmonious relationship with each other.

Compromising conflict style Pros and Cons

Advantages of Compromising Conflict Style

  • Helps in easing the situation.
  • Maintains relationship harmony.
  • Restores normalcy and peace.
  • Avoids escalation of the argument.
  • Demonstrates mature behavior.
  • Builds trust and rapport.
  • Helps adapt and change as per circumstances.
  • Helps value the concerns of others.
  • Earns respect in front of others.
  • Promotes positivity and long-term resolution.

Disadvantages of Compromising Conflict Style

  • This may lead to frustration in the future.
  • The root cause of the problem may not be addressed.
  • Loss of self-respect.
  • Devaluing concerns for self.
  • It can lead to the sacrifice of important things.
  • People can take you for granted.
  • Expectations may not be met.
  • Both parties may not be satisfied.
  • This can result in a Win-Lose situation.
  • It can discourage Collaboration and problem-solving.

What is the difference between collaboration compromising and accommodating?

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Collaborating vs Compromising vs Accommodating

How does compromising resolve conflict and contribute to harmonious relationship?

Compromising style contributes to a harmonious relationship and can help resolve conflict in the following ways:
  • Earns Respect: When you compromise and understand others’ emotions, they start respecting you on their own, recognizing your empathy with them.
  • Helps in Adapting and Change: Compromise teaches you to adapt to a situation and implement changes for its betterment.
  • Helps Understand the Concerns of Others: It helps in understanding the concerns of others and empathizing with them. You realize the importance of their emotions and feelings and work to make them happy.
  • Value Relationships: Compromise is done when someone values a relationship, and for them, the relationship matters more than a conflict. It is done to preserve relationship harmony.
  • De-escalate a situation: At times, compromise is also made to bring circumstances under control. It’s better to make slight adjustments and sacrifices before a situation gets worse than necessary.
  • Fosters Positivity: It can help foster positivity, where you become an inspiration and a role model for others in balancing the relationship equilibrium and maintaining harmony and peace.
  • Built Trust and Rapport: It helps in building trust and rapport with others when they realize your compromising and generous attitude towards others. Earning trust can become a huge factor in resolving relationship issues peacefully.

What is the weakness of compromising conflict style?

Even though the Compromising conflict style is very effective in resolving a conflict, there are also some weaknesses of it:
  • Loss of Self-Respect: If you are in the habit of Compromising repeatedly, then people might start taking you for granted and it can result in loss of self-respect.
  • Root Cause may not be addressed: Compromising might lead to a situation getting addressed peacefully, but the underlying issues may remain unaddressed. This can increase the possibility of the issue resurfacing tomorrow with even higher intensity.
  • Own concerns get devalued: When the root cause isn’t addressed, your own concerns can become devalued, causing them to go unnoticed, and this may lead to inner frustration and resentment.
  • Build Frustration and Guilt: When you have to adjust and sacrifice against your will, it’s natural to feel inner frustration or guilt, and this can gradually intensify over time.
  • Can Discourage Collaboration: Compromising can discourage collaboration, where you sit together to solve problems and reach a common ground through agreement. Compromise is often an easy-win situation for the other party.

Conclusion

To Conclude, Intermediate Assertiveness and Cooperativeness define the Compromising style of conflict resolution which relies on willingness to adjust and sacrifice in a relationship. Characterized by moderate assertiveness and cooperativeness, this resolution style has long-term conflict resolution benefits and advantages over other conflict resolution styles. We looked into a detailed comparison between Collaboration, Accommodating, and Compromising styles and also highlighted the pros and cons of compromising behavior.

I hope this article has helped you understand this principle of synched harmony in a better way and if you have any questions on this topic or want to share an insightful experience, feel free to drop a comment below so that we can happily listen to your feedback and address your query.

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