Act Together

Dealing with conflict

Clearly, it’s best to prevent conflict as much as possible, through open communication, focusing on shared goals and promoting team building with a respect for differences of opinion. However, conflict within a community group or between community groups and others does happen and can be very healthy and natural for a group, as we saw with the “storming” phase of group development in phase two.

Every culture has developed strategies to avoid and resolve conflicts. Some strategies, while they may resolve conflict, can also create ongoing negative feelings and resentment. These types of strategies can usually be characterized as “win/lose.” “Win/win” strategies more often result in better long-term relationships, and while it isn’t always possible to arrive at “win/win” solutions, itis usually worth the effort to try. It can be helpful to discuss with community groups how they have dealt with differences of opinion and conflict in the past, the results of these strategies, and the differences between win/lose and win/win approaches to conflict resolution. Community groups can establish mechanisms to help deal with conflicts when they arise, based on their most effective experiences resolving conflict or trying new approaches that incorporate a win/win philosophy.

The conflict resolution field is large and growing, with many tools, methods and techniques. (The Conflict Research Consortium of the University of Colorado has developed many tools and resources on preventing and resolving conflict.)2 You will need to work with your team and community members to determine which are the most appropriate for your cultural setting and the particular issues you are facing.

Many communities will rely on existing systems to lodge their complaints. For example, community members may consult village elders to determine what should be done. Other communities decide to establish councils or committees to deal with disputes or complaints. These committees are often composed of individuals who may be elected or appointed by community members to represent a variety of perspectives and interests. These committees usually establish operating procedures so that everyone knows how and to whom disputes or conflicts should be presented and how particular issues will be resolved. To avoid additional future conflicts, these processes should be transparent to all concerned. While not everyone may agree with a decision, it should be clear how and why the decision was made.

Trouble shooting for common community mobilization program problems