Conflict Resolution in Educational Leadership

Conflict Resolution in Educational Leadership Teams

Conflict resolution in educational leadership. There's a difference between good and unhealthy conflict. We're all familiar with harmful conflict, but how does healthy conflict look and sound? Take a look at these conflict-resolution tips for school teams.

Students in high school sit at desks in foldable chairs. An instructor stands in front of the class on a large whiteboard with a large screen. A presentation slide with the title "Language Acquisition" is displayed.

You're probably scared about disagreement if you're a team leader — a department head, grade-level lead, coach, or administrator. Most of us are nervous about it, and when we're in a leadership position, there's an implicit expectation that we'll do something about it. We might even be concerned that we created or contributed to the disagreement.

I want to be clear: it is your responsibility to deal with unhealthy conflict in any team you lead or facilitate. As a leader, your primary responsibility is to pay attention to how your team members interact and foster a positive team culture.

Without a healthy team culture, it's unlikely that you'll have difficult conversations that significantly impact students because those are the conversations where conflict is most likely to arise. As a result, allow me to suggest strategies for resolving unhealthy competition in the teams you lead.

Choose a conflict to name.

We might hide in denial of the reality of conflict because many of us are terrified of it. The first step is to admit and name that there is conflict in the team you lead. Instead of blaming the conflict on individuals, it helps refer to it as a communication dynamic. There's a distinction between thinking (James is so resistive to new ideas) and declaring (James makes categorical assertions that end debates). Identify the behaviors that lead to unhealthy conflict and keep them distinct from people as persons.

After discovering the team's conflict, you'll need to name it with the rest of the group. You might have to label it for them, and you might get more buy-in from your team if you organize a dialogue in which they recognize the tension. Individual personalities may be significantly different, or they may disagree on goals or action steps, causing friction in a team. Identifying the origins of conflict can aid in the depersonalization of the situation. Organizational politics, dysfunction, and a lack of resources or time are all possible factors.

Consider whether to deal with the conflict now or later.

When you see unhealthy conflict in your team, decide whether it needs to be addressed immediately with the entire team or if it's a problem between two team members that need to be addressed later. If the situation is the latter, you'll most likely recognize it; you'll have seen these team members participate in unhealthy conflict with one another before, or you'll be able to observe the apparent interpersonal dispute between two people. You'll need a complete set of tools to deal with the interpersonal issue afterward (that's the subject of a future blog post).

Team Members Should Be Anchored in Their Norms

Hopefully, your team has established some ground rules or community agreements regarding how members will interact with one another. These, in theory, should help to avoid harmful conflict. When a norm is broken, you can remind the team of their norms and discuss the consequences of not adhering to them. "I want to remind everyone that one of our agreements is to presume positive intent," you might say, which might be enough to subtly influence a group's behavior.

It's also helpful to state how the unproductive conduct harms the group, such as, "We don't get to hear someone's entire thought if we stop them. We need everyone to participate and offer their ideas so that we can make the greatest conclusion possible. We're less likely to gain complete commitment from each other if we don't make smart decisions. Let us remember to give everyone the time they need to express themselves."

If unhealthy disagreement persists, you may need to return to the norms, and team members will need to recommit to how they wish to collaborate.

Conflict Can Be Beneficial

There's a difference between good and unhealthy conflict. We're all familiar with harmful conflict, but how does healthy conflict look and sound? 

The following indicators were recognized by one leadership team with whom I worked as indicators that their team was engaged in healthy conflict:

1. We squabble over concepts.
2. We ask questions to have a better grasp of the situation.
3. We can modify our minds.
4. We show that we are curious.
5. The needs of students are at the heart of everything we do.

This type of confrontation can lead to in-depth discussions that benefit the pupils. A team discussion about the role of healthy conflict and what healthy competition looks and sounds like can assist in the mediation of unhealthy conflict and start the team on a powerful path.

Rather than simply prohibiting specific behaviors, our duty as team leaders is to transform harmful team dynamics into good ones. Such a goal has the ability to change the world.

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