Innovative Conflict Resolution

There seems to be a rule in many households (like ours) that leftovers are not to be thrown out until they’re moldy or otherwise inedible.  We will leave the container for several days, telling ourselves that “someone will eat this,” but knowing full well that in reality, no one will.   Eventually, circumstances will make the decision for you.

Most people deal with conflict like they deal with leftovers:  They know it’s there; they can see that it will become a smelly, rotten disaster.  Where the situation could be salvaged and potentially turned into something positive, inactivity allows conflict to get to the point where an expert needs to be brought in.  Conflict is, in deed, a lot like leftovers.  Neither one just goes away on its own, or improves with age.

Agree to disagree?

Whenever you have a group of people working together, you will have conflict.  Even when you have reached consensus on an issue, there’s a good chance that there are sufficient differences in perspective that some amount of disagreement still exists.  If your discussion was handled well, you have discovered the areas of disagreement, and all parties are satisfied that the areas are insignificant, or that they will be dealt with in some manner.  If, however, consensus was reached without dealing with the remaining issues, they could grow and fester and cause problems at some point down the road.

Plan to disagree

Knowing that there will be disagreements within any relationship (the more people involved, the more potential for disagreement), it makes sense to acknowledge this within the group, and establish guidelines for discussion that diminish the potential that these pockets of disagreement – that will exist – will be able to be dealt with in a positive manner.

Leftovers, whether in the fridge or in relationships, are best not ignored.  What’s in your fridge?