Edutopia published a short post aimed at school leaders regarding conflict management. (What Conflict Leadership Style Do You Use?) The article states that 20-40% of a leader’s day is devoted to conflict management. I would say that is accurate as the issues that come to me are usually when there is a difference of opinion on which way to go forward and people are coming to me to find a mutually acceptable resolution that is in the best interest of the students and the school.
My natural tendency is to avoid conflict and to try to make peace at all costs. I’ve learned over the years that this is not good in that conflict is natural in organizations because they are composed of humans and individuals have different values and goals. A leader’s job is to address conflict in a meaningful and respectful way with both sides of a dispute or conflict emerging with respect for each other and the understanding that a leader needs to act in what he/she feels is in the best interest of the school.
Some avoidance methods the article describes are going around an issue by holding too many meetings about it or tackling smaller, less controversial issues instead of the big issues. Aggressive leadership techniques include outright hostility (raised voices, verbal threats), stacking decision-making committees with people who think like an agressive leader, or use appraisal systems, stipends, scheduled to reward or punish employees.
The best form of dealing with conflict is addressing it. Letting people state their concerns and views, understanding these views, and using collaborative approaches to finding solutions. It seems that divisive conflict is on the rise and the courage to address conflict is necessary of school leaders.
TIS Director's Blog 
Published by