This past week I spent time researching best methods for working through team conflicts. And by a conflict I mean “an active disagreement, as between opposing opinions or needs,” (https:/www.dictinary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/conflict). The Cycle of Resolution developed by Stewart Levine stood out for me. What caught my attention first was the author’s description of the sources of conflict. He contends that most conflict is not intentional. Instead he explains that most conflicts are structural, the result of “different individual characteristics, needs, and outcomes… and the lack of clear, explicit agreements.” (p. 502, The Change Handbook, 2nd Ed., (2007) Peggy Holman, Tom Devane, and Steven Cady, San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler) He also notes that no matter how thorough and well-crafted an agreement, change happens, unforeseen events occur, and no agreement is ever ‘complete.’
What really caught my attention was Levine’s assertion that the main reason that conflict is difficult to resolve is that most people do not learn what to talk about to avoid a conflict, or how to collaborate effectively when there is a conflict. Most people are conflict-averse. Usually someone, a supervisor or manager, employs a band-aid approach. This rarely solves the conflict for long simply because the underlying issues have not been acknowledged or addressed. Unfortunately, when this happens, a conflict often grows, gaining new dimensions and a life of its own. The initially structural problem takes on the emotions of the personal issues of some of those affected. Now there is a more complicated issue to resolve. Better to catch the problem when it was merely structural, but how?
Levine proposes that we learn how to be what I call ‘conflict-savvy.’ First, accept that no matter what, conflict will arise simply because change happens as sure as today is Monday and tomorrow will be Tuesday. Levine says that we need to “normalize” (p. 502) conflict to prevent people from getting triggered or avoiding the issue. People need to learn that the emergence of a conflict or problem simply means that it’s time for a new agreement, or an adjustment to the old one.
After acknowledging that there is a problem, those involved need to be open to resolving the issue. Then, according to Levine, the skills and steps to tackle an emerging conflict are not extraordinary. They are basic listening skills, communication skills, and some emotional intelligence. Levine lays out a process for proceeding to a resolution.
And what about a more complicated, long-standing conflict? Things get prickly because some people feel hurt or angry, and there can be resistance to an intervention. Setting aside the requirement for people to be open to a resolution, I believe that the first step is listening to people’s stories. This needs to be done with careful framing of how the stories are told, and a respectful acceptance of them. Without this step, improvement of a conflict is difficult. If the full sharing of experiences is successful, then there may be more openness to choosing the next steps toward resolution.