Conflict Masterclass

How can the 10 components of a Thinking Environment support us when we find ourselves caught up in conflict?

I'm not sure about you but I never got taught how to handle conflict well.

The messages I got as a child were to either shut up ('children should be seen and not heard'), argue your corner or leave (either physically or emotionally) when things got too hard or too much.

People were either aggressive - they shouted or withdrew.
They pacified the situation and the conflict either blew over, or got swept under.
Or the whole thing was ignored. 

Conflict of any type rarely led to positive outcomes.

When I started work, conflict looked different on the surface (we were all far more polite and grown up about the whole thing) but underneath the messages were still the same.

The loudest people got the most time and space. 
Someone or both parties would end up withdrawing.
Rarely did anyone get to speak without interruption or judgement.
Eventually someone was made to feel 'right', which left someone else was wrong.

Wrong - Right
In - Out
Win - Lose

It felt so binary. So hard. So damaging.

I've learned thought it doesn't have to be like this.

Conflict really can be a chance to deepen relationships, to understand ourselves and others better and to solve problems more creatively.

If we want to resolve conflict well we need to be able to think well and that's where I believe a Thinking Environment can help.

In this masterclass I introduce you to a new, more thoughtful way of being in conflict. 

Here’s what we covered…

  • How we can keep thinking beautifully even in disagreement and what generally stops us.

  • How asking ourselves Incisive Questions when we are not facing conflict can help us become better at handing conflict

  • How a basic understanding of how our brains react during conflict can help to explain why we find conflict so powerful and challenging

  • How our behaviour can impact on the other people we are with - positively or negatively

  • The role the 10 components of a Thinking Environment can support us during conflict

Sophie Stephenson