Notes

How to Manage Conflict in Your Nonprofit
The honeymoon ends. It seems like yesterday that everyone was brimming with passion, vision and warm fuzzies. You were gonna save the entire world and nothing could stand in your way. Now, passions have cooled, visions have diverged along with the warm fuzzies happen to be replace contempt and backbiting. How did things go south so quickly?
Operating an enterprise, especially a nonprofit, is like a relationship... without the presence of romance. What begins with mutual respect and unity of purpose can descend into open hostility. And, it could threaten your organization's effectiveness... even its expereince of living. Conflict management is the central skill that each nonprofit leader must learn and utilize. What follows are some tips to take into consideration regarding effective conflict management:
Conflict is inevitable. Learn it, live it, love it. The sooner you dispense of the notion that conflict could be avoided, the earlier you can manage the realities from it. Conflict is inevitable because those are participating. And and then there are people, there may eventually be conflict. Just like in marriage, you and the other leaders within your organization have different ideas, backgrounds and experiences. https://www.bridgemediation.com.au how we approach life, as well as your approach to running your nonprofit.
Conflict isn't bad... provided that it does not become warfare. Once things have that far, it's very hard to recover without having a lot a collateral damage. Feelings are hurt, respect is lost and paths to resolution become steep.
Conflict is good... as long as it involves mutual respect and it is channeled to productive ends. Let me illustrate with the example of your own company. My business partner, Blair Dudley, and I started The Foundation Group 14 in the past. Along the way, we now have sparred over many issues important to the direction and mission with this business. Our department heads can advise you stories of team meetings where we've squared off, pounded desktops coupled with the veins on our foreheads bulge (well, a minimum of I have... Blair is a bit more chilled out than I am). But, we're still here and stronger than in the past. Why? Because these conflicts involve intensity, not anger. It is never, ever personal. Debates always stay from the context when attemping to perform the right thing for the company, our staff and our clients. It's true that we very often have unique ideas regarding how to acquire there. But by approaching these complaints with mutual respect and a spirit of appreciation for that unique perspective each offers, progress is made along with the resulting plans usually are better as a result in the debate. And, in the event the meeting has ended, same goes with the conflict.
You could be saying, "Nice story, but my organization is way past that time. What do perform if everything is already hostile?"
Admittedly, you are in a tough position. I won't pat yourself on the back and say it comes with an easy 3-step intend to fix this. But there are a few things you should think about.
Don't help with the chaos. If you've been doing throwing gas on the fire, stop it now. Be a leader and hang up the example. You may even should apologize towards the others. There's no better approach to shame them into acting like adults.
Get outside help. Often, the situation is too much gone to settle it yourselves. If that's the case, seek the expertise of a respected mediator. Just like some marriage conflicts require counseling, some business conflicts require mediation. Many seemingly impossible situations are actually rectified deploying it.
If all else fails, be willing to steer away. No organization, now matter how crucial that you you, should define your life. Some conflicts cannot be resolved no matter how badly you would like them to become. Move on.
Learning to control organizational conflict can be difficult and uncomfortable. But the rewards are worth it.
Homepage: https://www.bridgemediation.com.au