Communication and Conflict

Recently in my workplace there has been a lot of disagreement amongst my colleauges in regards to learning how to implement old policies with an entirely new team. Our division has grown substantially and many existing employees have transfered to new positions at our college, so we are all learning each others personalities and experiencing growing pains. Two strategies we have developed to address these issues have first of all been to develop weekly meetings. The goal is to allow each individual the opportunity to share specific concerns and work as a team to approach these concerns to resolve and address them. This creates a collaboration effort that is respectful and reciprocal. Additionally, it addresses NVC as the object is to be empathetic to one another's needs and work together for resolution without trying to strong arm a view point from someone. The second strategy has been to develop a group forum online so that daily tasks can be addressed by the group as needed. The purpose for this was to address issues as soon as they arrive, otherwise little issues can become much bigger when not addressed in a timely manner. Once again this creates a collaborative effort. This is a little more challenging as empathy is harder to address in an online format and non verbal cues are missed, but on the reverse side of this the team is able to work together respectfully to collaborate and address the needs of one another. This had encouraged a team effort by allowing each individual to feel valued for their contribution, but also to feel supported when they are facing a challenge.