Group Dynamics and Conflict Management Workshop for Student Organization Advisors

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Group Dynamics and Conflict Management Workshop
for Student Organization Advisors

• Harry Webne-Behrman, Office of Human Resource
  Development
• hwebnebehrman_at_ohrd.wisc.edu
• 608-262-9934

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Welcome!

• So, what does this description mean to you?
• this workshop is designed to help student
  organization advisors work with their students in
  healthy and productive ways.  Specifically,
  participants will review what are common group
  dynamics and strategies for maintaining healthy
  group dynamics. In addition, participants will
  learn how to deal with inevitable conflict within
  their student organizations. 
• Where should we focus our time and energy this
  evening?

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What do we know? What works?

• Quick Interview
• Describe an experience in which you were the
  student (or mentee) and had a highly constructive
  relationship with your advisor (mentor).
• What stands out about that experience?
• What were some of the strengths of that advising
  relationship?

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Group Development
True Community
Emptying
Factions
Pseudo-community
Scott Peck, The Different Drummer, 1987
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Four Quadrants of Group Facilitation (Davis,
Harris, and Webne-Behrman)
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What does this mean for you?

• Connect back to issues raised earlier
• Groups (and relationships) go through stages of
  development
• Interactions among participants are often complex
  (as discerned from simple or complicated) and
  emergent
• Advisors need to find effective ways to help
  manage both interior (beliefs, values, capacity,
  culture) and exterior (tasks, plans, outcomes,
  production) in the groups process

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Apply What Youve Just Learned

• Reflect upon what youve just learned. Consider
• Goal What are you trying to accomplish with
  your student group?
• Reality What is happening now? Where are you in
  relation to your goal?
• Options What opportunities are available to
  you? What obstacles (interior, exterior) appear
  to exist?
• What Next? What can you apply from your
  insights thus far? What else do you need to know
  in order to answer this question?
• GROW Coaching Model adapted from the work of
  Graham Alexander and Sir John Whitmore, and
  others.

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Addressing Challenging Issues Conflict
Resolution Strategies

• Facilitating the resolution of conflicts within
  groups is critical at all phases
• Integrate skills
• Communication (Listening/ Asserting)
• Interest-based Negotiation
• Problem-Solving and Analysis
• Consensus-building

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Needs in Negotiation
psychological
substantive
procedural
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Needs in Negotiation

• Substantive needs the stuff of the conflict
  typical definition of problem
• Procedural needs how we foster a fair and well
  understood process Ground Rules
• Psychological needs concerning trust, honesty,
  safety, security, integrity

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Conflict Resolution Process Overview (Inside the
Paradox)

• Focus on each stage as an opportunity to exercise
  leadership
• What are my personal strengths as I look at the
  elements of this process? Where do I need
  assistance in order to improve?
• How might I facilitate such behaviors in my
  groups?
• How might I model such approaches?
• Where are there teachable moments from which
  all of us may learn together?
• How might we support one another in improving our
  capacity to manage conflicts effectively?

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Addressing Conflictive Issues within Groups

• Pre-Negotiation
• Understanding and Clarifying Issues
• Exploring Options with Respect and Flexibility
• Managing Impasse Hanging out in the Groan Zone
  of Ambiguity and Uncertainty
• Convergence Building Effective Agreements
• Implementation, Assessment and Feedback

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Pre-Negotiation

• Clarify needs of various participants
• Understand individual agendas
• Negotiate for the process and the role of the
  facilitator
• Build an initial meeting agenda that emerges from
  participants needs and interests, dovetailing
  with group goals

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Understanding Clarifying Issues

• Be Present Know your Biases and Hot Buttons
• Actively Listen seek deeper meaning
• Persistently focus and convey emerging
  understandings
• Assert for the process of the group

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Explore Options with Flexibility and Respect

• Focus on Underlying Needs, Interests and Concerns
• Generate Options
• Clarify Criteria
• Encourage Flexibility and Model it
• Leadership Questions How flexibly do we approach
  challenging issues are we open to new approaches
  and innovative solutions?

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Facilitating Through the Groan Zone (from Sam
Kaner,
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Managing Impasse Hanging out in the Groan Zone
of Ambiguity and Uncertainty

• Set aside the issue and name the impasse
• Review definition of the problem
• Shift from substantive to procedural needs
• Reiterate ground rules
• Look at BATNA
• Consider a structured break
• Treat the impasse with respect
• Leadership Question Do we treat impasse with
  respect or do we try to minimize it or abandon
  the process when confronting it? This is one of
  the core challenges of leadership

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Convergence Building Effective Agreements

• Patiently address all key issues
• Review the agreement for clarity
• Look for Hallmarks of a good agreement
• Leadership Question Can we make the time
  available to our students to really work through
  the meaningful issues that get us bogged down?

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Hallmarks of a Good Agreement

• Fair
• Balanced
• Realistic
• Responds to Needs of the Conflict
• Specific Enough
• As self-enforcing as possible
• Future-oriented

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Implementation, Assessment and Feedback

• Do all you can to implement the Agreement
• Arrange a time to meet together and review the
  Agreement
• Did we follow through with the agreement?
• Is it working? How can it be improved?
• Are there any additional areas of concern?

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Scenario

• Scenario (built from survey information) ?
  De-brief ? What did you learn? How might you
  apply it to your work with students?

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Keys to Success Communicating with Integrity

• Identify Key stakeholders ? involve them in
  framing the issues to be addressed
• Provide easy access to relevant information
• Establish clear channels of communication that
  are appropriate to the decision-making style
• Utilize multiple modes of ongoing reports to
  stakeholders, as well as relevant public

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Facilitative Leadership

• Focus on the process If you build it, they
  will come.
• Monitor underlying needs and concerns of all
  staff Create channels for open, honest
  routine communication
• Provide information ? reduce anxiety
• Manage the transitions help people mark the
  endings and navigate the neutral zone towards
  a new beginning
• Attend to coordinating resources that support a
  healthy organization

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Additional Resources

• Effective Meetings site http//www.ohrd.wisc.edu/
  academicleadershipsupport/howto1.htm
• Conflict Resolution Skills site
  http//www.ohrd.wisc.edu/onlinetraining/resolution
  /index.htm

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Questions?

• Please feel free to follow-up at
  hwebnebehrman_at_ohr.wisc.edu or
• 608-262-9934
• Please provide feedback, as well