NZ Catholic Education Convention 2018: Dealing with Conflict: Hammers of Harmony

Dealing with Conflict: Hammers of Harmony

Task Focussed conflict – leads to a better or improved performace

Relationship Focussed Conflict  – leads to reduced performance and needs to be dealt with
High-Stakes (Hammer) – needs to be dealt with firmly, and quickly
Low-stakes (harmony) – make most of window of opportunity that occurs straight after situatiom – and build practice.

Plan for conflict ahead of time

Conflict is:

1.      Part of life – inevitable

2.      Pervasive – can spread very quickly

3.      Potentially damaging

Neuroscience:

·        Limbic System (feelings) – lights up (fight / flight / freeze) - switches off the prefrontal Cortex (thinking)

·        Prefrontal cortex not fully developed until about 25

·        David Marx (Author of Whack a mole) – we have a tendancey to want to whack a mole when conflict comes along. May or may not be appropriate. 70-90% of the time, when things go wrong, leaders likely to whack the mole – look for someone to blame. 2-5% of the time the situation is really blameworthy. It might be:

o   It may be a systematic problem

o   The behavioural choices that people make within the system

Investigate, assess, judge

a)      Was the system at fault or inadequate?

b)     Or were the behavioural choices

a.      Human error

b.      Risky behaviour

c.      Reckless behaviour

·        Extra vigilence needed to be as unbiased as you can be

·        Diversity in the workplace – likely to lead to conflict, but diversity adds benefit to the workplace

·        Spectrum of Reasons (photo)

Cause	Error
Systems fault	fix
Human error	Console
Risky	Coach
reckless	Whack the mole

 See model of conflict management flowchart (photo)

Can do:

·        Invole the school’s guding principles (Christ is ever present, our mission is to..., our values...,

·        review for development document)

·        check policies, procedures, job descriptions, communications – that are known and understood by everyone

·        mediation

·        reconciliation – restore harmony, overcome bitterness, addressing painful questions, accepting, agreeing with the fears on both sides, apology – healing for both sides