CONFLICT COACHING B A PREVENTATIVE
FORMOF DISPUTE RESOLUTION
by Cinnie Noble
This article first
appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of Interaction
(v.15, n.1) and is reprinted here with permission.
Coaching
A unique tool to add to the
box of methods for preventing and addressing
conflict may be found in the flourishing field
of coaching. At a minimum, coaching may be defined
as an alliance between a trained coach and a
client who wants to improve and enrich one or
more aspects of his or her life. The role of
the coach is a combination of personal consultant,
supporter, advisor, motivator and trainer.
Individuals hire coaches to
help them identify and work towards gaining
balance in one=s life, to articulate and clarify
a vision, to develop a mission statement for
life, to better manage time and tasks, to make
a career or relationship transition and so on.
At an organizational level,
internal staff such as human resource professionals
may coach staff in their career development
as a way, for example, of supporting improved
performance and productivity. External corporate
coaches are also hired by companies to perform
these tasks and others, such as helping executives
to reorient and strategize their goals or groups
of staff members to work more compatibly and
effectively. In whichever context and for whatever
objectives, coaching is gaining a foothold in
organizations and corporations, in small businesses
and at a personal level.
Conflict Coaching
A unique coaching model that
marries the field of coaching with the field
of Alternative/Appropriate Dispute Resolution
(ADR) provides a practical and preventative
approach to conflict management. The particular
model described here will be referred to as
interest-based conflict coaching. This model
is a coach approach using interest-based principles,
which is aimed at assisting people who want
to develop or improve the way they deal with
conflict, whether on a professional or personal
basis.
Among other benefits, conflict
coaching provides individuals with the opportunity
to develop insight into their own dispute resolution
style and possible contribution to unproductive
interactions. Conflict coaching also helps people
to identify their own interests and those of
others, to work on skills to resolve conflict
in constructive and conciliatory ways, to practice
alternative ways to replace habitual and counterproductive
behaviours and to enable effective and satisfying
problem-solving.
There are many forms that
conflict coaching may take, contingent upon
the particular objective of the individual client.
The list of potential benefits cited above includes
the type of goals commonly identified by people
who want to generally improve the way they deal
with conflict. Conflict coaching serves such
purposes and may or may not be dispute specific.
Forms of conflict coaching that are dispute
specific include negotiation and mediation coaching.
Negotiation and Mediation
Coaching
To a great extent, mediators
coach parties when assisting them throughout
the mediation process. However, the focus of
the model presented here is on coaching one
party who wants help with a number of matters
that may be beyond the usual scope of the mediator=s
role in any given mediation. Similarly, people
might hire a coach to help ready themselves
for a specific negotiation in which they are
going to be involved. Some of these clients
may also want to improve their negotiating skills
in a more general way. Negotiation coaches work
with individuals to help them in both of these
areas. In the case of both mediation and negotiation,
the interest-based coach approach may be used.
The role of a coach in terms
of preparing a party for mediation or negotiation
is quite different from a client=s counsel whose
preparation often has an adversarial approach
that focuses more on strategy and result. In
both mediation and negotiation the coach assists
in a number of important ways, by, for example,
preparing a client for the process and helping
a party articulate his or her perspective and
needs on the issues in dispute. In addition,
coaching commonly includes helping the party
to acknowledge the other party=s needs and interests.
Guiding clients to explore alternatives, to
assess options and to evaluate possible solutions
that may be mutually acceptable are also functions
of the conflict coach. Directing clients to
consider possible reactions from the other side
and to respond effectively are important aspects
of both types of coaching.
Application
Practitioners in the field
of dispute resolution will find that interest-based
conflict coaching is another mechanism for helping
clients manage conflict. Although interest-based
conflict coaching differs in a number of major
ways from interest-based mediation, some basic
principles are inherent in the model=s application.
These principles are familiar to mediators and
dispute resolution consultants, although the
method of coaching is typically more expansive.
Clients who want to become more effective at
managing conflict in general, engage in varying
degrees of self-reflection and analysis throughout
the coaching process. This may involve the use
of assessment tools and the performance of a
series of fieldwork tasks. Alternate ways of
addressing conflict are worked on with the guidance
of the coach, who may use role plays and other
methods to facilitate the learning process.
The coach works synergistically with clients
to help them transform counterproductive conduct
and replace it with effective behaviours.
One of the main exceptions to employing interest-based
mediation principles is that the coaching model
employs a one-on-one liaison between the client
and the coach. Conflict coaching sessions take
place on a scheduled basis, e.g. weekly, for
a specified period of time. Each session typically
lasts from 45 minutes to 75 minutes. For negotiation
and mediation coaching, the duration of coaching
is usually more limited both in terms of time
and by the scope of the specific dispute. The
degree of self-reflection and analysis may also
be more limited in these forms of conflict coaching.
However, the underpinnings of an interest-based
approach are integral to the process.
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Summary
Conflict coaching is a unique
and preventative form of dispute resolution.
Assisting people on a one-on-one basis to improve
their effectiveness in handling conflict and
resolving disputes has far-reaching possibilities
and applications. Managers, team leaders and
others in supervisory positions benefit from
this type of dispute resolution intervention,
both as a coach and as one being coached. Similarly,
work units or other groups of people who work
together benefit from team building based on
a conflict coaching model. Again, this is not
only to resolve specific disputes, but also
to gain skills to address and prevent future
conflict that may arise. Coaching is also of
great benefit to people who engage in any type
of mediation or negotiation. In fact, conflict
coaching applies to anyone interested in developing
his or her skills in order to effectively handle
conflict or a specific dispute, on both a professional
or personal level.
Providing one-on-one conflict
coaching is not for everyone who is trained
in the field of conflict management and dispute
resolution. However, for practitioners who are
interested in adding interest-based conflict
coaching to their tool kit, you already have
the skill base to be able to do so. If you are
inclined to provide one-on-one assistance in
conflict management, learning how to coach conflict
and combine the concepts will greatly expand
the services you offer.
Cinnie Noble, C.M.,
B.S.W., LL.B., LL.M. (ADR), is a lawyer-mediator
and a former social worker. In addition to providing
a wide range of ADR services through Noble
Solutions, she has developed a unique model
for coaching conflict management, through Cinergy
Coaching, a division of Noble Solutions Inc.
Phone: (416) 686-4247; e-mail: noble@cinergycoaching.com;
Websites: CINERGY™coaching.com and noblesolutions.net.
Conflict Management Through Coaching
http://www.mediate.com/articles/noble.cfm
Conflict management coaching combines ADR and the burgeoning field of coaching. This application of dispute resolution skills is aimed at helping individuals improve the way they deal with conflict in general. Conflict coaching may also be used to prepare a party for a specific negotiation or mediation.
Conflict Coaching: A Preventative Form of Dispute Resolution
http://www.mediate.com/articles/noble1.cfm
The fields of coaching and dispute resolution effectively unite in the provision of interest-based conflict coaching. Mediators have operative skills and knowledge to apply ADR principles for the purpose of coaching people to prevent and resolve disputes.
Options in Conflict Management System Design
http://www.mediate.com/articles/noble2.cfm
Some organizations name conflict management as a competency, assessing managers’ proficiency in developing working relationships that prevent and resolve disputes in the workplace. How to help managers (and other staff) become proficient may be accomplished in a number of ways, including through conflict management systems that provide multiple options and access points for users.
Conflict Coaching for Leaders
http://www.mediate.com/articles/noble3.cfm
One of the areas with which leaders often require help is conflict management. Executives and people in managerial positions typically view conflict as inevitable, but do not always realize how their workplaces and their strength as leaders may be improved with increased competency in conflict management.
Mediation Coaching: A Form of Conflict Coaching
http://www.mediate.com/articles/noble4.cfm
To varying degrees, mediators coach parties when assisting them throughout the mediation process and particularly, in pre-mediations. However, the premise of mediation coaching as a form of conflict coaching, is that the coach assists one of the parties who wants help with matters that are beyond the usual scope of the mediator’s role.
Peer Conflict Coaching: Another Dispute Resolution Option
http://www.mediate.com/articles/noble5.cfm
Conflict coaching is a concept that combines dispute resolution and coaching principles. It is a one-on-one confidential and voluntary process in which coaches work with individual clients to help them resolve disputes and to prevent unnecessary ones. Peer coaching may be used for many reasons and in many contexts, including conflict.
Post Mediation Coaching
http://www.mediate.com/articles/noble6.cfm
As the field of coaching takes a foothold in the conflict management world, best practices and procedures will increasingly develop. Some dispute resolution professionals have been providing various forms of coaching in their work, for many years. However, there appears to be a growth in the development of a one-to-one coach approach for among other things, helping people improve their conflict management skills, prevent unnecessary disputes and to effectively resolve those that do arise.
A Coach Approach for Conflict Management Training
http://www.mediate.com/articles/noble7.cfm
It is an understatement to say that generic conflict management training is really not enough. That is, it is not realistic to operate on the basis that one to three days of training in conflict management, fully equips people to effectively manage conflict, between themselves and others, or as a facilitator/mediator.
Copyright Noble Solutions
Inc., February, 2001.
For permission to copy part or all of this article,
contact Cinnie Noble at (416) 686-4247.
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