Relationship & Conflict Management Coaching Strategies

Organizations are groups of people working together on a common mission or goal, so building an organization and developing its culture is fundamentally about relationships (person-to-person, person-to-organization). It’s helpful to have a conflict management strategy and to build your team’s muscle to lean into conflict and come out of it as a stronger, more cohesive group.

USE THIS IN ORDER TO…

  • Support a diverse team in effectively working together in a way that values different perspectives and emphasizes collaboration.

  • Create space for addressing interpersonal dynamics.

  • Strengthen relationships even in the midst of conflict.


KEY COMPONENTS

  1. Identify or create conflict management strategies that are aligned with your organization’s culture and well-suited for the types of conflict you anticipate or are working to address.

  2. Gather feedback from folks across your organization and decide which conflict management strategy you will utilize for now. You can always adjust your strategy in the future.

  3. Consider how you’ll integrate this strategy into how your organization operates (e.g., when you expect teammates to use the strategy, what spaces you have available for practice, whether this will become an expectation or competency for your team).

  4. Provide multiple opportunities for your team to practice applying the strategy. Reflect on moments of conflict and consider how the team handled them.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR REMOTE IMPLEMENTATION

  1. Use a video communications platform. Due to the personal nature of the content, it’s important to use a video platform (e.g., Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype) so that you can see facial expressions and other nonverbal cues. Each participant should have a camera and turn on their video if possible.

  2. Consider your meeting format. It can be helpful to have a few hours to grapple with your strategy and practice it. This could be a helpful exercise to initially launch at an in-person team retreat. If that is not an option, block out two to three hours for your team to come together virtually and build in a spacious break following the discussion to let your team have the mental and spiritual space to shift their focus.


ARTIFACTS & RESOURCES

“DEI work is ultimately about recognizing each other’s humanity. But so much can get in the way – oppression and conflict seem situated in our identities. Having strategies for resolving conflict can help us get back to seeing and valuing each other’s humanity and help our organizations get the benefit of diverse perspectives.”

– Lavada Berger, Transcend