Team Coaching for Conflict Resolution in Polarized Teams

In today's polarized world, conflict is inevitable. This is especially true in the workplace, where teams are often made up of people with diverse backgrounds, values, and perspectives. While conflict can be disruptive, it can also be an opportunity for growth and learning. Team coaching can help teams to resolve conflict in a constructive way and emerge stronger as a result.

It is so dangerous, to overlook systemic conflicts in the world, and not look on its impact on team members and collective morale, this may look like "sweeping under the rug", as these conflicts will impact the team dynamics, and yet performance and productivity, and leaders should always be reminded to keep monitoring the impact of environmental factors on its dynamics.

How team coaching can help

Team coaching provides a safe and supportive space for team members to explore their differences, identify common ground, and develop new ways of working together. A skilled team coach can help teams to:

• Identify the root causes of conflict and develop strategies for addressing them.
• Understand the different types of conflict and how to manage them effectively.
• Improve communication and collaboration skills.
• Build and stabilize trust and respect among team members.
• Create a more inclusive and equitable team culture.
• Focus on what is important to the business
• It also, can be a reminder of the systemic purpose of the organization in today's world, and how it serves better humanity and better world. So focusing on the collective purpose in the presence of conflict can be a good resolution.

Team coaching for polarized teams

Polarized teams are characterized by deep divisions and entrenched positions. If not handled in a formal process, the discussions and conflicts will be handled in rumors, and in passive aggressive patterns and dynamics, that reflect the deep conflicts between team members. Team coaching can help these teams to overcome these challenges by:

• Creating a safe and respectful space for team members to share their perspectives.
• Helping team members to understand and empathize with each other's perspectives.
• Distinguish between person and origin or affiliation
• Identifying common ground and shared values.
• Developing strategies for addressing differences in a constructive way.
• Creating a more inclusive and cohesive team culture.
• Accepting the differences, and acknowledging our diversity.

Companies and organizations as a source of polarization

Companies and organizations can also contribute to polarization by taking sides in world conflicts. This can suppress employees who are on the other side of the conflict and create internal enemies (if not properly discussed and acknowledged). Organization leaders should be mindful of this and take steps to send inclusive messages, that makes sure that the company position does not mean that it does not understand or empathise with the other side of the conflict. "e.g. a company taking side A by supporting it, or a group that clearly is on its support agenda, and the same company hire employees who belong to side B or are affiliated with it - whether it was origins, family, traditions, values, worldview, religion, political affiliations,...etc. Company A should be inclusive and sensitive acknowledging the anger and disengagement with those in side B, and provide equal opportunity to acknowledge their affiliation, and their anger and frustration, instead of ignoring, or not attending to their need of validation, and empathy.

Post-conflict discussions and shaping the future

After a conflict, it is important to have discussions about what happened and what can be learned from the experience. These discussions can help to heal divisions and build a more resilient team. It is also important to think about how the conflict will shape the future of the team and the organization. What can be done to ensure that the team is better prepared for future conflicts? 

An important role for organizations is to keep the diversity intact, and role model for inclusion, so how as we live in country C, that needs the efforts, values and contributions from those who are supporting sides A & B, how can we bring a future to country C, and avoid the conflict, or deal with it in inclusion, empathy and connection as we shape our community and nation, which can role model how A & B can deal with their conflict - if we believe in parallel processes and collective consciousness.

Team coaches as connectors

Team coaches can play an important role in connecting people from different sides of a conflict. By listening to all perspectives and helping people to understand and empathize with each other, team coaches can help to build bridges and create common ground. As well bring back the focus of the team on business purpose and regain their productivity. These conflicts can lead to innovative approaches, when escalated properly, will lead to de-escalations that will bring out new perspectives and creative approaches, that will result in connection, and growth.

How to listen more

Listening is a key skill for team coaches and anyone who wants to connect with people from different backgrounds and perspectives. Here are some tips for listening more effectively:

• Be present. Put away your phone and other distractions and focus on the person who is speaking.
• Be open-minded. Try to understand the other person's perspective, even if you disagree with it.
• Be non-judgmental. Don't interrupt or tell the other person what they are thinking or feeling.
• Ask clarifying questions. This will help you to better understand the other person's perspective.
• Summarize what you have heard. This shows the other person that you have been listening and that you understand what they have said.
• Be Curious and Never assume: Never assume meanings of actions or words, even if they same contextually comprehendible, always ask open ended questions, allow others to express what they exactly meant by what they said or did.
• Role Switching: an important practice of team coaching for enabling the team to listen to each other is to notice the stances when the parties in conflict are not sympathisizing with each other or not developing proper empathy, is to learn how to switch positions for better understanding and connection. 

How to connect with those who are on the opposite side

It can be challenging to connect with people who are on the opposite side of a conflict. However, it is important to remember that we are all human beings with shared values and experiences. Here are some tips for connecting with people from the other side:

• Start by finding common ground. This could be something as simple as a shared interest or a shared experience.
• Be respectful of the other person's perspective. Even if you disagree with it, try to understand where they are coming from.
• Listen more than you talk. Let the other person know that you are interested in understanding their point of view.
• Be willing to compromise. It is important to be flexible and willing to meet the other person halfway.
• Be patient. It takes time to build trust and understanding with people who have different perspectives.
• Hold the Space for Emotions, Allow emotions to vent: set the stage to accept all forms of emotions, no shaming to the human experiences, it is not offensive or shameful that someone shows anger, sorrow, resentment, or whatsoever of the spectrum of what we consider painful or negative emotions. Yet if this happens, it has to happen in respect. 
• Acknowledge emotions: Make sure that the emotions are acknowledged and validated, as well notice the impact of the words, and actions on the collective team, make sure it is brought to awareness, and the team has the right to chose what happens in it.
• In cases, escalate the conflict to de-escalate: Some conflicts are non resolvable unless you bring its maximum threshold, and make it more louder, once everything is released, conflicts will de-escalate, as long as each party is understood in empathy and was given chance to express their full view point.
• Believe in goodness of humanity: Humanity has more common grounds to connect on, and even if the other party looked a complete villain or opposing to you, it still has some good values, and drivers to remain so, that is stemmed from their goodness that come from their human nature. It will unveil itself in the process.

Bringing understanding, compassion, and empathy to a polarized world

Team coaches can play an important role in bringing understanding, compassion, and empathy to a polarized world. By listening to all perspectives and helping people to understand and empathize with each other, team coaches can help to build bridges and create common ground.

Here are some specific things that team coaches can do to bring understanding, compassion, and empathy to a polarized world:

• Create a safe and supportive space for people to share their stories and perspectives.
• Help people to understand the root causes of conflict and how to address them.
• Encourage people to listen to each other with empathy and understanding.
• Enable people to put themselves in each others shoes
• Facilitate discussions about how to build bridges and create common ground.
• Help people to develop skills for resolving conflict in a constructive way.
• Regain the focus on the purpose of the business.
• Learn together what this conflict is asking us to BE, and what it warns us, Not to BE.

Authors: Mohamed Sharaf Eldin, Dieter Wunderlich, Gabriele Maier-Güttler