CONFLICT RESOLUTION – PART 4: Key Lessons & Guidance

In the final part of their four part series on conflict resolution, facilitation experts Toby Berkman and Dan Egol outline key lessons and practical guidance on how to successfully resolve complex public or workplace disputes.

Here, in part four, we summarise the key overall lessons for the successful resolution of complex workplace/community disputes, based on research carried out by the Consensus Building Institute (CBI). 

PRE-MEETING PREPARATION

Pre-dialogue, facilitators/practitioners should prepare for the meeting by doing the following:

• Do your homework by looking at the stakeholder identities and identity issues in the situation, then thinking about your own identities, how they relate to the engagement at hand, and whether your engagement feels appropriate and credible. If you have any doubts, check in with the client and/or others in the community you will be serving. In some instances, it might be most appropriate to step aside or seek a co-facilitator who brings a different set of identities to the table. 
• Keep in mind your multiple identities and those of your stakeholders and clients, how they might intersect in ways that might make effective and authentic dialogue more challenging, and how they might offer opportunities for connection. Consider how your own background and experiences might bias you, and seek to foster a curious mindset.
• Think about how you want to present yourself and how you disclose elements of your identity ethically and strategically. Consider both internal identities (how you perceive yourself) and how you are likely to be perceived externally, as well as the role of both lived and learned experiences. 
• Though in an ideal world, you could head off any resistance before entering the room, consider running through some potential scenarios of what you would say if your identity is questioned or challenged during the facilitation process. 

GUIDANCE WHILE FACILITATING

Once in the room, the following additional recommendations may be helpful:

• When you first introduce yourself, offer an authentic description of your relevant identities, how they may connect you to the problem at hand, and where your limits may lie. 
• If you are stepping into a controversy as a facilitator whose external identities are clearly different from the people with whom you are working, you have to be particularly attuned to the fact that you may receive pushback. Be prepared to address pushback respectfully and compassionately. Doing this work well requires resilience.
• Remain open to stakeholder preferences with regard to facilitator identities, even if they seem surprising or counterintuitive. At the same time, maintain clarity on your own values, and be prepared to draw a line if necessary (for example, where clients’ gender preferences have no bearing on the facilitators’ ability to lead engagements). 
• Consider that participant behaviours you experience as difficult or confusing could be connected to one or more identities that they cannot or do not want to share explicitly, but that nevertheless drive their views and opinions.
• Continually look for opportunities to demonstrate competence and good faith across identity differences. 

CONCLUDING NOTES

We acknowledge that few of these recommendations are clear cut – context is everything. CBI’s work in the US and internationally often takes place in contexts that are politically charged and nuanced. Effective facilitation must consider the larger cultural milieu and the particulars of both the situation and the stakeholders.

That said, we believe the facilitator’s identity is a factor in all processes; whether or not it is expressly acknowledged. Effective facilitation thus requires raising our awareness around this reality, considering its impact, and addressing it with authenticity, nuance and integrity. 

Check out the links to all the previous posts in this Conflict Resolution series by the authors. They include:

INTRODUCTION: Understanding identity through an ‘intersectional’ lens to help achieve successful conflict resolution for both stakeholders and facilitators.

PART 1: Why “understanding identity” is key to successful conflict resolution.

PART 2: Why identity – specifically knowing how to navigate both internal and external perceptions of identity – are key for building trust and an authentic connection for successful conflict resolution.

PART 3: The value of lived and learned experiences.

You can also find more information on this topic on the CBI’s website.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Toby Berkman is an Senior Associate at the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), where he designs and facilitates inclusive dialogue around difficult public and organisational issues. Dan Egol is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Inclusion NextWork, a community of emerging leaders and organisations committed to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Social Justice (IDEAS). Email: tberkman@cbi.org  or dan.egol@inclusionnextwork.org.