Seeing the Dimensions of Conflict
Many people see conflict as destructive. But it doesn’t have to be. There are many complex factors that create conflict. Each of those factors is an opportunity to unlock the transformative potential within conflict and make it easier to continue functioning in its presence.
Unfortunately, the lack of a shared understanding of the complex factors that create conflict often gives rise to miscommunication and missed opportunities which can prevent successful navigation of the conflict.
Miscommunication:
Have you ever been in a conflict where one person is focused on repairing trust and rapport between the participants, another is focused on changing an organizational policy, and another one is talking about how the conflict is all a function of white supremacy culture?
In moments like these, a false sense of competition can arise as the people start wrestling with whose focus is the most legitimate. Sometimes this leads to conversations where people spin their wheels and are unable to reach grounded agreements or find new paths forward. Sometimes it can even escalate into a moment where Person A refuses to engage Person B’s area of focus until Person B engages theirs AND vice versa.
These miscommunications and breakdowns happen because people are focused on different dimensions of the conflict and don’t have a way of clearly communicating about that to determine which dimensions they need to approach and in what order.
Missed Opportunities
Have you ever ended a conflict engagement moment with:
People feeling seen and heard, but still existing in a toxic organization
Changes in roles and policies, but continued distrust
Shared political analysis but no ability to change circumstances
This often happens because many conflict engagement modalities focus on just one or two dimensions of conflict instead of meeting all of the complex dimensions of conflict holistically.
Dimensions of Conflict
At this point, you’re probably wondering what we mean by “Dimensions of Conflict” and how we use them to understand and intervene in conflict.
Thanks for asking!
To better understand the various dynamics that are creating the conflict you are experiencing and think more precisely about how to engage the conflict in a transformative way…
Watch our short clip where we explain each of the 8 dimensions and how they show up in conflict.
Check out our Conflict Mapping Tool that outlines the 8 dimensions, shares the possibilities and limitations of focusing on each of them, and offers questions to help you apply the framework to your conflict!
Or SIGN-UP for one or more of our courses in our Conflict Resilience Course Series.
To go deeper on the 8 dimensions & our broader approach to conflict, watch our Harmonizing Conflict info session.
Want to go full nerd and dive into our theory of liberation and collaboration? Watch our Introduction to CODA (Comprehensive Organizational Development and Analysis) info session.
