“Our present challenge is to change the culture of conflict itself, within our workplaces, our communities, and our world. We must create a culture where even the most serious disputes are handled not on the basis of coercion or force, but from mutual respect and coexistence. Far from eliminating differences, our challenge is to make the world safe for differences.” – William Ury, author of Getting to Yes
From my last Blog Post (“To Conflict or Not to Conflict: Is that the Question?”), we noted the importance of conflict management skills to today’s leader. In fact, unresolved conflicts permeate our lives, our workplaces, our politics, and our community. I started this blog last October when I was sitting at home—one of the thousands of federal government employees on furlough. One of my first blog posts (“Building Coalitions” – 10/2/2013) focused on the leadership skill of “commons creating”—another way to resolve conflict.
Recently, I read an article from The Ken Blanchard Companies entitled “Challenging Conversations—Strategies for Turning Conflict into Creativity” that provided some good tips. To learn more, click here.