Conflict Coaching
Conflict coaching can help you clarify your conflict management goals and develop insight into the dynamics that are maintaining the conflict. It can be applied to specific disputes, internal conflicts or more general patterns of dealing with conflict.
What is conflict coaching?
Conflict coaching supports early resolution or management of conflict situations and the restoration of working relationships.
It is a structured process that helps people on a one on one basis to develop an understanding of their own and the other party’s perspective, prior to assessing the options available to them and developing strategies to manage their conflicts.
The coaching process permits different kinds of conflict related conversations to take place including, but not limited to, ways of making sense of the conflict, general plans for actively managing conflict and specific communication behaviours for the individuals to possibly enact.
It is a structured process that helps people on a one on one basis to develop an understanding of their own and the other party’s perspective, prior to assessing the options available to them and developing strategies to manage their conflicts.
The coaching process permits different kinds of conflict related conversations to take place including, but not limited to, ways of making sense of the conflict, general plans for actively managing conflict and specific communication behaviours for the individuals to possibly enact.
What will happen in your coaching session?
The coaching sessions are based on the CINERGY® model of coaching and this leads you through the following steps:
- Identifying your goal for the session.
- Understanding the current situation in all its composite parts.
- Considering your options for responding to the situation.
- Reality testing and rehearsing the situation to identify and overcome any barriers.
Every situation is different but typically clients considering conflict coaching start with three initial sessions and often this is all they need.
In a mediation context
In a mediation context, conflict coaching can be used in separate meetings with the parties prior to the mediation. In this context conflict coaching can be used to assist individuals to:
- Clarify their conflict goals in relation to resolving the dispute and managing the conflict more effectively.
- Work on their communication and negotiation strategies for the mediation.
- Become more comfortable with the mediation process and their role in it.
The addition of conflict coaching for individuals prior to mediation greatly improves the likelihood of obtaining sustainable outcomes from the mediation process and as such is strongly recommended to anyone about to participate in a mediation process.
