Negotiating Project Work

People handle conflict in different ways. Assume you are the project leader and two of your team members (who report to you) are trying to negotiate who will take the major share of the work on a new project. Both feel they are overwhelmed and overworked already and neither wants the additional responsibility. Assume one of the team members has a competing style and the other prefers a collaborative style of conflict resolution. What do you think the outcome of the negotiation will be?

Different people have different strategies for managing conflict. If you were the project leader and a couple of the members of your team are involved in a negotiation over who will take on the bigger portion of the work required for this new project. Both participants in this negotiation feel they are overworked as it is and are trying to avoid taking on extra tasks and responsibility. Say the first team member has adopted a competing style while the other prefers to take a collaborative style for this conflict resolution. What is your opinion on how this negotiation will end?