BUILDING STRONG
ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH
PRODUCTIVE CONFLICT
J. KEVIN BARGE
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
ENGAGING CONFLICT
CONVERSATIONS (15 MINUTES)
• Pair up with someone
• Determine roles
• Who wants to provide an example?
• Who wants to ask questions and record the example?
• Interview
• Focus on a conversation where the conflict was not
managed well (self or other person)
• Record the detail of the conversation like a movie script
REFLECTING ON THE CONVERSATION
(10 MINUTES)
• What stories could the two participants tell about
the conflict?
• What are the positions of the participants?
• What are the interests of the participants?
• Where are the places in the conversation that you
could say something different to turn the
conversation into a more productive direction?
CONFLICT CAN BE MANAGED
THROUGH DIALOGUE
• Ignoring the conflict may facilitate the conflict working itself
out over time but may also cause the conflict to resurface
later in a more dramatic way.
• Acquiescing to the other disputant’s wishes may smooth over
the conflict and permit collaboration but also may be
frustrating as our voice does not get heard.
• Strongly advocating your view may permit quick efficient
decisions but may frustrate other’s participation in the process.
• Creating an open dialogue between disputants may lead to
long lasting solutions but may take more time than is feasible.
CONFLICT CAN BE MANAGED
APPRECIATIVELY
• Appreciate affirmative life-giving forces. Focus on
the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of the
disputants. Problems are simply frustrated dreams.
• Appreciate the multiple voices and perspectives
that comprise a conflict.
• Appreciate people’s unique sense of coherence—
how they make sense of situations.
CONFLICT CAN BE MANAGED BY
PAYING ATTENTION TO
CONVERSATIONAL DETAILS
• Connect with the stories people tell and live.
• Ask questions about preferred futures.
• Build agreements on shared interests, not positions.
• Notice bifurcation points, openings for intervention.
• Be hard on the problem, not the person.
THANK YOU!!!!
• Questions?
• Comments?
• Reflections?