Resolving Conflict

     Currently I am experiencing a conflict between my two assistant directors that cannot get along due to their strong personalities and the manner in which they interact with each others designated programming staff. These two ladies cannot agree to anything from scheduling, evaluations, or accountability! I held a meeting with them in my office just recently because they were arguing in the office that the two of them share which is next to my office where I was conducting orientation for new hires! I had to stop what I was doing and have my trainer continue with the orientation. Immediately, I met with both ladies and allowed each to take their turn expressing their concerns. It was a "heated" conversation that became loud, so loud that I threatened to call the police!
     Two strategies I have learned that might help me manage the conflict more productively would be, Collaboration and Forgiveness. Collaboration between the two assistants would allow them to concentrate on their issues with each other and ask questions that will hopefully discover more information hat may reveal truthful or deeper concerns. Forgiving each other would be a good strategy because there were rude and uncomfortable statements made from each person. Encouraging them to be civil with each other and admit to their negativism contributed to the conflict would be a tremendous accomplishment toward moving forward, "to forgive is an emotional transformation, in which you "let go" and move beyond the conflict or "wrong" that you perceive another has done to you" (Waldron & Kelly, 2005).
     The 3 R's "respectful, reciprocal, and responsive can better help resolve this conflict as well as NVC's strategies such as seeking to understand both sides and the fact that I do not have to take sides or be neutral; I can take the third side which is the mission of the organization!
     A fellow colleague of mine stated that they have learned to be a more effective communicator as it relates to conflict resolution skills using the following strategies:
*Bring the problem "to the table"
*Find out what the problem could be
*Talk about different ways to handle the issue
*Listen to each other's points of view
*Agree to disagree and be respectful of each other's views as adults
(S. Dawkins, 2015, personal communications)

References

Dawkins, S. (November, 2015, personal communication).

The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/3SAssumptions

Waldron, V. R., & Kelly, D. L. (2005). Forgiving communication as a response to relational

     transgressions. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22, 723-742.