Free Signature Conflict Workshop Next Thursday

Hi Everyone,

Next Thursday, January 22, from 4 - 5pm Pacific, I'll be offering my first virtual workshop of the year: Creating the Conditions for Generative Conflict.

The workshop is totally free, and it is especially tailored for folks who are interested in the leadership moves and culture-building work that I think can be supportive for helping conflict shift from barrier to resource.

You can register for the workshop by clicking on this link.

I spent a good deal of my winter break reflecting on conflict, why I focus on it, and the state of our world.

If you choose to pay attention to the news, its hard not to notice that we are being bombarded with daily examples of how we struggle to navigate conflict well. In my view, it seems to be one of our core challenges as a species.

There are two metaphors for conflict I've been working with a lot lately, and they're both intended to emphasize two fundamental truths about conflict: 1) Conflict can be a powerful resource for any individual, relationship, or group; and 2) it only becomes a resource under the right conditions. (Sadly, most of us don't have a great deal of familiarity with what these conditions are or how to create them.)

The first of these metaphors is to say that conflict is like a chef's knife. It can be a powerful tool for preparing a nourishing meal, OR it can be dangerous thing that hurts you. Whether it offers nourishment or harm depends on your understanding of and skill for using it well.

The second of these metaphors is to compare conflict to fire in the woods. It can offer warmth and a resource with which to prepare food to sustain your life, OR it can get out of control and threaten both your life and the lives of all the other creatures in the woods. Whether it keeps you safe and well-feed or kills you depends, again, on whether you know how to tame it and use it well.

I often begin my workshops on conflict by acknowledging first and foremost that, for many of us, conflict has been a site of extraordinary pain. It's been a place where some of our highest hopes for intimacy, being seen, and getting our needs met have been shattered. Sadly, that's very real. Conflict can absolutely do that.

On the other hand, with the right skill, understanding, and support – conflict can become a location where self-awareness is increased, relationships deepen, trust is strengthen, and group goals become more clear.

My workshop next Thursday is specifically about creating (I should really say curating) conditions within groups for conflict to become a resource. It is intended for anyone involved with any kind of group who takes some level of ownership for how well that group gets along - and it is especially intended for mission-driven groups invested in having a positive impact on the world.

I'll offer a working definition of conflict, explain why anyone interested in high-functioning groups needs to take an interest in conflict, and we'll dive more deeply into my generative conflict pyramid (which you can see above).

If you're free next Thursday (Jan 15) from 4 - 5pm Pacific, I'd love to have you.

Lots of LOVE,

James
www.jamesboutin.com
james.boutin@mailfence.com
Link to My Free Generative Conflict Stater Kit
Generative Conflict eBook

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