Coordinators , Team Building and Conflict
Recognizing conflict
 THE TEAM MEMBERS YOU ARE COORDINATING are
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different people with different social and psychological
realities. They see the world differently and want different
things as measured in:
Beliefs, values, interests and principles.
Frankly, you will be dealing with part time and full time
faculty and will be the main person on the line to represent
management to faculty.
The desire and willingness to work on a Team and to
understand how a team works will vary considerably.
So will teaching philosophies: attitudes towards students and
perceptions of common good in regard to your institutions.
What actually causes Conflict?
-Rubin, Pruitt and Kim in their text Social Conflict state
when underlying interests formulate into aspirations
that are incompatible with those of another, we have a
conflict.
- Differences alone do not create conflict where
differences are tolerated with respect but where one
opinion or set of interests seeks or needs to dominate
to the exclusion of another, you will have conflict to
work through.
As Coordinators think of:
- Forces operating in the college system due to current
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economic and educational needs, philosophies and values.
Consider examples of:
1) Situations where differing interests can coexist;
2) Situations where interests and values are actually
incompatible, or
3) Situations where they are simply perceived to be
incompatible but may in fact coexist..
-The act then of naming potential conflicts is crucial, to
bring them into awareness, to discuss risks and to begin
the search for mutually acceptable alternatives.
- The act of naming, claiming and blaming moves the conflict
to the level of a dispute
John Paul Lederach in his book, Preparing for
Peace, states we can:
 Understand conflict to be a natural, common
experience present in all relationships and cultures.
 Understand conflict to be a socially constructed event
which we create as part of our search for shared
meaning.
 As coordinators how do you find the limits of your
power, the extent of each team member’s cooperation,
the presence or absence of mutuality of direction in
the development of courses.
Lederach continues by saying:
 Understand that culture is rooted in the shared
knowledge, and schemes created and used by a set of
people for perceiving, interpreting, expressing, and
responding to social realities around them.
 Therefore understand as a coordinator that your
program, faculty or group represent just such a culture
and that the pursuit of shared meaning and joint
activity is going to be constant and-
 The conflict you experience is normal and
natural.
Responses to Conflict can be from:
- 1) Ignoring or yielding
- To
- 2) Contending:
 A) Through Power based approaches and
 B) Rights based approaches
- To
- 3) Cooperating through Interest based approaches .
- Consider your most common responses when conflict
arises within your team. What are the results?
Positions versus Interests
 Power and rights processes are based on perceived
strength against the other party-they are both
adversarial.
 A position is a fixed and rigid response to a conflict
which leads to a process of attack and defend and a
win/lose result.
 Interests are each parties legitimate needs, hopes,
aspirations, fears or concerns .
 If clarified and shared these can lead to win/win
solutions.
Getting to win/win
 Recognizing there are different types of conflicts and
that each of these require different interventions;
 Understanding process;
 Developing skills.
Different types of ConflictChris Moore
 1) Structural Conflicts:
 Unequal control, ownership, or distribution of
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resources
Unequal power and authority
Time constraints
Possible interventions:
Clearly define and change roles
Establish a fair and mutually acceptable decisionmaking process
Change negotiation process from positional to
interest-based bargaining
 Data Conflicts:
 Lack of information, misinformation
 Different views on what is relevant
 Different interpretations of data
 Possible interventions:
 Reach agreement on what data are important
 Agree on process to collect data
 Develop common criteria to assess data
 Interest Conflicts:
 Perceived or actual competition over substantive (content)
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interests; Procedural interests; Psychological interests.
Possible interventions:
Focus on interests, not positions
Look for objective criteria
Develop integrative solutions that address needs of all
parties
Search for ways to expand options or resources
Develop trade-offs to satisfy interests of different strengths
 Value Conflicts:
 Different ways of life, ideology, or religion
 Possible interventions:
 Avoid defining problem in terms of value
 Allow parties to agree and to disagree
 Create spheres of influence in which one set of values
dominates
 Search for super-ordinate goals that all parties share
 Relationship Conflicts:
 Misperceptions or stereotypes
 Poor communication or miscommunication
 Repetitive negative behaviour
 Possible interventions:
 Clarify perceptions and build positive perceptions
 Improve quality and quantity of communication
 Block negative repetitive behaviour by changing structure
 Encourage positive problem-solving attitudes
 In short, sometimes it is important to know what type
of conflict exists to know what may be an effective
means of intervention.
Understanding simple processColeman Raider
 T0 avoid going adversarial try:
 1) Setting out all initial positions flexibly and positively
and create clear goals from the beginning of a session;
 2) Seek and invite clarity of underlying interests
involved in the potential conflict - as opposed to
defending your position and attacking the others.
 3) With a complete list of clarified interests reframe
by asking the question “How can all interests be
included in the outcome?”
 4) Invite problem solving to seek most beneficial
win/win results.
Developing skills
 Create a Positive Approach- be optimistic and use some
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simple ground rules.
Create a Future Orientation, past orientation creates
blaming, future orientation creates possibilities for next
time.
Knowing and agreeing on goals from the outset.
Questioning
Listening
Reflecting
Reframing
Problem solving.
 Exercise
 In groups of four hold a session in which you come to an agreement on
strategies you will employ on your return to your respective schools.
 The issues you are considering should deal with:
 Gaining your group’s up front commitment to participating throughout the
year.
 Balancing and defining roles and expectations particularly in regard to full and
part time faculty.
 Establishing ground rules for ongoing use and reference with your team.
 Look at the kinds of conflict you are likely to confront
and come up with four strategies that could empower
you in holding your meetings and assignments next fall.
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