QUESTION:
My community group has a really tough time handling conflict. We keep quiet until an explosion happens. Are there any ways to make it more acceptable for group members to disagree on a proposed action?

Milan Wall
Co-Director

One technique is to establish some time on the agenda for "discussion" and structure the conversation in pros and cons. That way the critics of the action and the supporters can list comments in a more balanced manner.

Leon Sharpe
Program Associate

I know that at the Jackson Hole training programs, participants find information on conflict styles really useful. Helping a group to accept that different members react to conflict in different ways can be an important step in group development.

Stephanie Luther
Research Associate

Probably the best approach to conflict available to groups is analysis of the real issue. In other words, finding out what's really the basis of the disagreement. This can involve some research, past history, or even more often, expectations of the impact of the action that might not be very accurate.

Vicki Luther
Co-Director

The facilitator or group leader has a huge influence on how disagreement is handled. Sometimes a vote (which is win-lose) is necessary, but true consensus means that everyone in the group can live with the decision. Remember, consensus isn't unanimous acceptance, but rather tolerance of the decision. It means, "This is OK and I won't work against the action, even if it's not my own first choice."

Reggi Carlson
Development Specialist

People disagree a lot about resources - so that a might be a good place to start a discussion. You can ask each person for a question that they want answered and use that to structure the conversation. Questions can be more useful than just eliciting comments. Questions open things up for the group.