Over the past few months I have had the opportunity to partner in several situations where there has been a need to resolve conflict. As mentioned previously, in each of these matters I have been in an objective third-party role, and not directly involved in the conflict.
Based on these experiences I began two weeks ago writing in this email and blog on the topic of conflict resolution, indicating that those who are willing to face and resolve conflict are “Peace-Makers;” whereas those who avoid it and side-step the difficulty of working through the conflict could be categorized as “peace-keepers” - because they would rather keep the virtual “peace” which is in contrast to actually resolving the underlying issues that created the conflict.
Well…I should have known that if I wrote on the topic in this distributed email, more challenges would come my way. And so one did. And it was a cluster - not at all unlike the game of “pick-up-sticks” I played with my daughter when she was younger. At least, once again, I have been in an objective third-party role, and not directly involved in the conflict. But still…Yowza!
That said, following a couple of days of careful analysis, constructive navigation, and honest communication by those involved, we are now on the path to resolution.
Thankfully.
Back to the topic…In the ongoing discussion of conflict resolution, we have already described the core conflict categories so that when dealing with difficult situations we can “begin at the beginning.” I indicated last week that we must therefore begin by diagnosing the nature of the conflict: whether it is a conflict of emotion, a conflict of ideas, or a conflict of values. Each of these was defined in the previous blog.
Because I was completely absorbed in the new situation just referenced above, I am going to pick up the discussion of each of the three conflict types and provide a few ideas on how to approach each of them beginning again next week.
The lesion for me this week? Be careful what I write about …it may come back to roost!
In the meantime, as you join with me in reflecting on this topic, I have identified three types of conflict. Are there any additional “central” categories I have missed? Let me know your thoughts…