Kathleen A. Rinehart General Counsel & Secy. Of the Corp. Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL .

1. LVAIC Academic Department Chair WorkshopAugust 10, 2017CONFLICT MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP FOR ACADEMIC LEADERS:TECHNIQUES AND BEST PRACTICES Kathleen A. Rinehart General Counsel & Secy. Of the Corp. Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL.

2. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: • Something is said or a decision is made affecting the workplace • The statement may/may not have been authorized; may even have been made with good intentions • There is a disagreement with the decision, the manner in which it was made, and the actions that follow

3. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: • Positions are taken; alliances form on either side of the issue • Arguments begin; personal accusations multiply; grievances begin to take shape; dysfunction sets in • And, with the passage of time, as the conflict “hardens” into a formal dispute, it becomes increasingly difficult for many to remember what the real problem was • Sound Familiar?

4. OUR AGENDA TODAY • Review the impact of uncontrolled conflict on campus • Identify the differences between a Conflict and a Dispute • Consider the “Drivers” of conflict • Review Dispute Resolution tools that are essential to resolve or better manage campus conflicts • Apply essential DR tools; assess their effectiveness as a means to improve daily communications

5. OUR GOAL TODAY • To create a sense of familiarity with, and confidence in, a number of dispute resolution tools that can be used – formally and informally to: • Manage or better resolve conflict • Create options to improve an organization’s working environment • Assess your own approach to conflict and conflict management • Identify your own communication style

6. OUR GOAL TODAY • Understand how to develop a “language of leadership” through effective framing • Create options to improve your campus’ working environment so as to better manage daily challenges and achieve strategic goals

7. OUR GOAL TODAY • It also is important to “de-mystify” the process of dispute resolution in order to: • Understand the nature of the practical and accessible tools available to us every day as a means to improve our communications with others • Utilize the tools available to change habits of mind regarding how we approach conflict

8. First – • A little background regarding: • The nature of conflict • The consequences of “uncontrolled” conflict on our campuses • The role emotion plays in conflict

9. FOUR PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION • Everyone communicates verbally and non-verbally; consciously and unconsciously • Every individual is a product of his or her own culture • All communication is culture-bound • Numerous communication styles exist within racial, gender and ethnic groups

10. FOUR PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION • We also know that – • Poor communication • Miscommunication • No communication • And, the context in which verbal and nonverbal cues occur • Can result in conflict

11. THE NATURE OF CONFLICT • Conflict can be: • Short-term and focused on one issue, or • Long-term, resulting in a formal dispute and/or systemic dysfunction

12. THE NATURE OF CONFLICT • Conflict is emotionally defined – “I am very angry about this!” • Conflict evokes a moral stance – “Your conduct is unethical.” • Conflict is identity-based – “I resent that you have questioned my integrity.” • Conflict is relational – “I don’t know if you and I will ever get past this.”

13. Conflictwhich is – • Emotionally charged • Ill-defined • Poorly structured Can be transformed into – • A Dispute in which – • Parties and stakeholders are defined • Issues are identified and defined • Positions on those issues are identified and defined • THE NATURE OF CONFLICT

14. Increased costs to the institution in: • Legal fees • Negative impact on personal and organizational expectations • Lowered organizational morale • Lost personnel time/lower productivity • Distraction from strategic goals • CONSEQUENCES OF “UNCONTROLLED” CONFLICT ON CAMPUS

15. Think of the top 2 issues that have created conflict in your department or unit. How “old” are these conflicts? 6 months or less? 1-2 years? 3-5 years? Older?

16. Why have these conflicts lasted as long as they have? Turnover in supervisors, leaving no one to effectively manage the issues? Supervisors have been conflict avoidant? Departmental reluctance to confront the issue? Fear of retaliation? One/more of the above?

17. How often are dispute resolution techniques discussed as essential components of supervisory in-services or academic professional development? Always Never Sometimes

18. The transformation of a conflict into a dispute depends on the perceptual and/or conceptual changes that occur in the parties (and stakeholders) to the conflict. • Be attentive to all the elements that make up a conflict – only then will there be an understanding as to whether the conflict can be resolved or better managed. • THE NATURE OF CONFLICT

19. Neuroscience literature regarding brain activity confirms that emotion plays an important role in our decision making • In fact, we cannot make decisions without emotion – either positive or negative • Intense emotions, however, cause a form of tunnel vision or “flooding” • Attention narrows; we are aware only of those strong emotions • Result: Our ability to think clearly and creatively becomes sidetracked • THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN CONFLICT

20. We express intense emotions to – • Get them “off our chest” • Educate others regarding the impact of their behavior • Influence others • Improve, or end, a relationship • The sooner intense emotions are addressed, the easier it will be to prevent their escalation • Result: We need to create a process to defuse the intensity of emotion in order to prevent or better manage conflict • THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN CONFLICT

21. Two essential components of any process used: • Taking one’s own emotional temperature • Are my emotions: • Manageable – Under control? Am I aware of my emotions and able to keep them in check? • Risky – Simmering? Am I finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than my own emotions? • Out of control? Have I said things that should not have been said? • THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN CONFLICT

22. Taking the emotional temperature of others • Compare an individual’s ordinary demeanor to that exhibited during the current meeting or confrontation • Identify the changes in one’s physical appearance or verbal responses • Assess the merit of one’s expressed or unexpressed concerns • Determine whether it is appropriate to suspend a meeting for a period of time • THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN CONFLICT

23. We all know that people react differently to the same set of events • We have different “hot buttons” or emotional triggers • Identifying and understanding one’s “emotional footprint” • Nature v. Nurture • THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN CONFLICT

24. Lack of respect, deference, attention • Questioning one’s ability, commitment or integrity • Feeling of being manipulated or controlled • Fear of personal loss: • Social support • Income • Status symbols • Well-being • Surroundings • “HOT BUTTONS”

25. These Hot Buttons can be exacerbated by verbal and non-verbal expressions of emotion, such as: • Raising/lowering one’s voice • Verbally attacking the listener, others • Glaring, slouching, sighing • Rapidly changing topics • “HOT BUTTONS”

26. Consider: • A campus building project requires all Department members to relocate to temporary offices for several months. • During construction, offices are reconfigured. All are now the same size. • The Chair reassigns offices to create a greater sense of interaction between junior and senior colleagues. • Dr. Jones, the most senior member, views the office move as highly disrespectful, does not hold back in sharing this view with others, and refuses to speak with the Chair.

27. Why is Dr. Jones reacting this way? Is this conduct typical? • What can/should be done to address this situation? • Where do you begin? • Options for the Chair? Professor Jones? Colleagues?

28. Changing demographics • Different modes/styles of communication • Different work, career and lifestyle expectations • Leadership transitions • Changed litigation landscape • Increased number/complexity of student and personnel matters • Inter- and intra-departmental competition for limited resources • THE DRIVERS OF CAMPUS CONFLICT

29. Shared governance – often leads to an “us vs. them” mentality • Decentralization of hiring and decision making – leads to a preservation of (and “need to protect”) silos • Misunderstanding of the actual limits of academic freedom • Culture of tolerance; conflict avoidance • Poor behavior: “That’s just the way Professor or Employee X is” • Unwillingness to intervene until the issue is too significant to ignore • THE DRIVERS OF CAMPUS CONFLICT

30. Consider: • Colleagues meet to discuss and prepare for an external review. • During an intense discussion of the nature and scope of program review initiatives over the next 5 years, the most junior, tenure-track colleague in the Department, Professor Dodd, offered her opinion regarding online program development.

31. A senior member of the Department, Professor Smith, who enjoys being viewed as “prickly,” responds, “What on earth makes you think anyone here is interested in your opinion?”Professor Dodd does not directly respond, fearing retaliation from Professor Smith.No one in the meeting confronts Professor Smith about the tone or substance of the statement.The meeting ends shortly thereafter.

32. Did the statement by Professor Smith to his colleague warrant a response? If so, when? At the time it was made? After the meeting? • Who should have responded – the Department Chair? Another senior colleague? • Is a comment like this sanctionable? Why or why not? • How can/should Professor Dodd be expected to manage communications/interactions with Professor Smith following this meeting?

33. Consider: • A few years later, newly-tenured Professor Dodd assumes responsibility as Chair of the Department. • Prior to the start of the new academic year, Professors Jones and Smith demand a meeting during which they inform Professor Dodd that: • Their collective experience and leadership skills far surpass anything she will be able to offer colleagues in the Department. • They want to provide “fair warning”: She should not presume to interfere with their research or the manner in which they wish to conduct their classes. If this occurs, they will be taking their concerns directly to the President. • They will be keeping an eye on her, poised to lead a “no confidence” vote should she decide to challenge them in any way.

34. Where do we begin? • How should Professor Dodd respond? • With whom should Professor Dodd speak first – Colleagues? The Dean/CAO? • Should Professors Smith and Jones be accountable for what they said to Professor Dodd? If so, how?

35. Understand Your Own Approach When Confronted With Conflict • Do you – • Avoid? • Accommodate? • Come out fighting? • Look for a compromise? • Mull it over and share our reaction later? • Go into a problem-solving mode? • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

36. Understand Your Own Approach When Confronted With Conflict • What type of stamina – intellectual, physical, emotional - do you bring to the work you do each day? • What supervisory best practices do you utilize? Are they clear and consistently applied? • What campus, or other, resources do you turn to for support? • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

37. Consider the 5 Core Concerns We All Share • Each Core Concern involves how you see yourself in relation to others, and how they see themselves in relation to you See, Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro, Beyond Reason: Using Emotions As You Negotiate (2005) • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

38. Appreciation • The desire to feel understood, valued, heard • If people feel honestly appreciated, they are more likely to work together; less likely to act in a hostile manner • How is this expressed? • Understanding one’s point of view • Finding merit in what one thinks, feels, does • Communicating understanding through words and actions • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

39. Affiliation • The desire to feel a connection with others • With enhanced affiliation, working together becomes easier and more productive • How is this expressed? • Demonstrating a true concern for one’s well being • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

40. Autonomy • The desire to have power in a situation and make decisions • When autonomy is respected, people feel engaged • How is this expressed? • Listening to recommendations; engaging in joint brainstorming before decisions are made • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

41. Status • The desire to have others recognize your value and self-worth • Treating others with appropriate respect often makes them respect you • How is this expressed? • Appreciate the particular status of others where relevant and deserved • Feel proud of your own expertise and achievement • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

42. Role • The desire to have a meaningful role that incorporates skills, interests, values and beliefs • Appreciate how others see their role, otherwise you may say/do something that fails to meet their expectations • How is this expressed? • Adopt an approach that fosters collaboration • Suspend formal rules that discourage the sharing of ideas • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

43. It has been said that “people almost never change without first feeling understood.” See, Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (1999)

44. Preparing for Difficult Conversations • On a daily basis, you may be required to prepare for, and/or engage in, one or more difficult conversations regarding: • Faculty evaluations; denial of tenure • Student and/or parent complaints • Conflict between colleagues • Disagreements with senior administration • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

45. Preparing for Difficult Conversations • How do you prepare for these conversations? • Do you “run” or avoid? • Do you permit yourself to be distracted? • How do you frame what you wish to say? • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

46. When a conflict with a colleague, or one who reports to you, develops, what do you do? Engage in a face-to-face conversation to discuss the issue? Send a detailed email that sets forth my position and expectations about how we must move forward? Leave a detailed voicemail stating my position and expectations? Ignore it for as long as possible, hoping it will resolve itself?

47. Preparing for Difficult Conversations • We need to understand: • Both what is said and not said in a conversation • The gap that exists between what one is really thinking and what one really is saying in a conversation • We actually engage in3conversations: • The “What Happened?” Conversation • The Feelings Conversation • The Identity Conversation • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

48. Preparing for Difficult Conversations • The “What Happened?” Conversation • Involves a disagreement over: • What has happened and what should happen? • Who said what and who did what? • Who’s right, who meant what, and who is to blame? • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

49. Preparing for Difficult Conversations • The Feelings Conversation • Are my feelings valid? • Are my feelings appropriate? • Should I acknowledge or deny my feelings? • What can/should I do about the other person’s feelings? • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS

50. Preparing for Difficult Conversations • The Identity Conversation • An internal conversation we have with ourselves regarding what a situation means to us • Am I good or bad? • How are my self-image, self-esteem and well-being affected by this situation? • DISPUTE RESOLUTION ESSENTIALS