I spend a great deal of time in an office tower on the 6th floor thinking about conflict. Some would say this is a very negative world, but I am an optimist, and an opportunist. What I have primarily learned about conflict, as I sit here thinking, is that everyone has a different view of the definition of conflict, and what it is for them. My definition has changed. A vacuum is created when something is missing in a relationship. We know that when a vacuum is created, it is filled. If something is missing in a relationship, high emotion, anger, frustration rush in. Our hard-wired phisiological reaction to conflict rushes in — we fight or take flight. This is conflict. I view my role as a facilitator in conflict to fill the vacuum with greater understanding, thereby pushing aside the conflict, or the perceived conflict. This is about understanding, and not about agreement.
In an office tower…
Advertisements
Very insightful, for the record I will be plagiarising your analogy of the vacuum and conflict… it’s brilliant!