I conducted a poll on social media recently, asking people which emotion they found the most challenging to deal with in conflict, and about half the respondents said it was anger. When we think about conflict, one of the main emotions that springs to mind is anger. Anger may lead to conflict arising. It may […]
When we think about the kinds of emotions people experience in conflict, we usually think of negative ones like anger or frustration, and how to minimise the harm that these emotions can have on engagement and resolution. However, as conflict practitioners we can also promote emotions that have a positive impact on conflict engagement and
Positive and negative emotions in conflict Read More »
When we are working with people in conflict, we know that there are emotions involved. However, did you know that there are many different kinds of emotions that people bring to their conflict interactions, and that each of these can be managed differently to best support constructive conflict engagement? By different emotions, I don’t mean different
Emotions people bring to conflict Read More »
Emotions affect what we perceive, and they also help our brain determine what is most useful to pay attention to. Emotions draw our attention to certain things and away from others. Emotions can keep our attention focused or distract us from information that’s available to us. Emotions also affect how we interpret what we perceive
How emotions affect perception and attention in conflict Read More »
Managing conflict is always a nuanced and complex issue. However, in today’s post-pandemic world, many practitioners are finding their work especially challenging. From adapting to working online to supporting people in conflict directly over covid-related issues (such as vaccination), to encountering clients experiencing additional stressors relating to covid that impact their capacity to manage other
Conflict Management in Turbulent Times Read More »
When we are in conflict, we often feel stuck, perhaps between a rock and a hard place! It’s important to remember, though, that we always have many choices about whether and how we respond in a conflict situation. Our first two obvious choices are: (1) do something, or (2) do nothing. Assuming that we would
It is generally accepted that, to successfully manage and resolve conflict, it is important to try to see things from perspectives other than our own. We are advised to “try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes” and to “look at the situation objectively”. In theory, this is good advice, because our own point
The challenge of perspective-taking in conflict Read More »
When someone in conflict comes to a manager or a conflict specialist for help with a conflict, they often ask for a solution. They want the manager or specialist to fix things for them, or at the very least to tell them what they should do. Having someone intervene on your behalf, or give you
Giving someone in conflict what they want versus giving clients what they need Read More »
When we are in conflict, we tend to only see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear. We filter out information that is inconsistent with our interpretation of events and we can ignore information that is glaringly obvious to other people around us. When we are emotional, this problem is
Are your emotions messing with your memory? Read More »
Managing conflict well is not about suppressing emotions; rather it is about providing a constructive way to communicate about and through them. What does this mean in practice? Firstly, we need to accept that emotions are an integral part of conflict. They are always there, whether or not they are expressed, and whether or not
Managing emotions in conflict Read More »
