Addressing Conflict in Teams: Part 4

Miranda Gonzalez | Rural Projects Coordinator at SVJI @MNCASA

Happy Wednesday everyone! We have spent the last three weeks discussing conflict. Today we will explore some strategies your team can use while navigating conflict within your SART team. These strategies originate from Turning Towards Each Other a Conflict Workbook by Jovid Ross and Weyam Ghadbian. This workbook contains a myriad of activities that are helpful whento teams while addressing conflict. Within this workbook are several activities SART teams can use while strategizing around conflict within the team.

Four Phases of Group Development

This activity explores how groups (Like SARTs!) form and where conflict can occur. This activity creates an opportunity to explore what phase teams are experiencing and reflect on how conflict appears in the that stage.

Mapping Group Conflict Pattern: Finding the Buried Treasure of Needs

This activity will encourage SARTs to assess the teams’ habits and surrounding conflict. It can also guide team in developing guidelines around discussion where conflict may occur.

Dominant Culture Check

Through this activity the team can address patterns of conflict that occur in culture and discuss other practices that cultivate mutuality. This can be especially helpful for teams who are looking to shift the teams’ method of address conflict to strategies to methods of interdependence and resilience. This activity encourages teams to find three skills based on mutuality to practice as conflict arises.

Our Decision Making

Sometimes it can be difficult to make decisions while working within a team! This activity may be especially helpful for teams that are challenged when making decisions. Teams can discuss different methods of making decisions within their SART. Teams can determine which method is the best to use while making decisions throughout their work.

Communicating What Matters

Teams that are challenged when providing and receiving feedback will find this activity helpful. This activity creates an opportunity to discuss how to provide helpful and constructive feedback. It also encourages members on how to receive constructive feedback.

Addressing Pain Points

Teams can use this as a guide for conversations that include conflict. This resource demonstrates how to set up a conversation between members who are in direct conflict.  Teams may want to consider including some of these techniques in their guidelines around discussion.

Here at SVJI we also recommend that site coordinators meet individually with team members on a semi-regular basis. This can be once a year to once a quarter depending on the team. This can also be a time where coordinators check in with individual team member around conflict and what skills may be needed when having uncomfortable conversations. When asked about conflict strategies, we at SVJI may want to have a more in-depth conversation about different strategies and which one is best for a specific moment with a team.  We would love to meet with you to learn about strategies that teams have used during times of conflict!

Reach out to us at svji@mncasa.org