Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Having Hard Conversations

"The quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have conflicts, but on how we respond to them."  ~Thomas Crumm

Conflict is inevitable. Home, work, in the community, it happens and everyone responds to it differently. Some handle conflict positively, some avoid it, some are able to face it head on, and some become emotional about it.  I'm pretty sure there are very few people that actually enjoy it! However, conflict can result in positive outcomes, it can improve our lives, and cause reflection and change for the better.

In our day to day roles, we need to be the best for our students, which means we have to interact, collaborate, communicate, and partner with parents, teachers, staff members, and administrators. How we view and respond to conflict can have a direct impact on our ability to be our best and do what is right in the interest of our students! In addition, unresolved conflict increases stress, anxiety, and overall job satisfaction. It's not good for our health!

So, today I'm sharing an article "Working with Angry Adults: Ideas to Manage Conflict and Still Achieve Good Outcomes" with some tips and strategies that can be used to achieve win/win or more positive outcomes when faced with conflict.  I paid particular attention to how to separate the "problems from the people" and "focus on interests and not solutions or positions".  There is an example in the article that explains what this might look like in action. It definitely made me think about how I will approach future conflicts.

No matter if your conflict is with your direct supervisor, a parent or a colleague, I am encouraging you to address it.  Try some of the strategies mentioned in the article and I believe the outcomes will result in a better you, which will in turn be better for our students!

In conclusion, I leave you with a message reminding us of our "why" from Starr students this week!

 






No comments:

Post a Comment

Leadership-Difined by a 5th Grader

An elementary principal recently shared the insights to leadership from the lens of a 5th-grade student. This was the outcome of a writing...