A recent conflict did occur when a member of the teaching
staff listed an unapproved field trip on her lesson plan. She was upset when I returned her plan
unapproved and asked for her field trip approval information. However, she did not voice her concerns to
me. Instead, she told another co-worker
that she felt my inquiry and subsequent denial was unfair. I asked to speak with both this staff member
and her Lead Teacher. The Lead Teacher
is responsible for reviewing lesson plans prior to them hitting my desk. The information regarding field trip approval
had been given to the Lead and was reviewed with all teaching staff.
I met with both
staff members in the teacher’s classroom at the end of the day. I believed the teacher would be comfortable
in her environment instead of my office.
I was able to remind her of center policy regarding field trip
requests. I brought a form along so we
could fill it out together. I also
reminded her that may door is always open to discuss any questions or concerns.
I chose not to
bring up the indirect method initially used to voice her concerns; this would
not be conflict resolution. Instead, I
reminded her of a more direct way to get her needs met. Prior to this weeks reading, I would have
most likely held the meeting in my office or the training room out of
convenience. However, I wanted to get a
handle on the latent tension that was building and prevent overt conflict or a
power struggle by quickly resolving the issue using a Third side conflict
resolution technique (TS, nd). “Conflict
is not a bad thing” it is how we manage conflict that counts (TS, nd).
Reference
The Third Side.
(n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/
Hello Jackie, thank you for sharing and I enjoy reading your post. this week enhance my knowledge on nonviolent communication. I learned that we need to treat people with respect as well as the way we want to be treated. Sophia
ReplyDeleteHello Jackie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I learned from this weeks reading the importance of resolving conflict in the workplace. With my issue I did not see the importance of resolving the matter until reading this weeks material. Is is important to treat each other with respect especially your co-workers.
Hi Jackie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog. This is a situation that I can identify with all too well. This used to happen a lot in my center, as far as my staff going back and voicing their opinions to one another instead of me. I normally always handle the situation such as you did, in a non-direct way not giving attention to how the information got back to you. I try to keep the tension among coworkers at a low, but I let them know that I know by addressing the situation. I will often address it to them where ever they are and often I will bring them to my office so that they do not feel as if I am trying to put them on the spot. I will work on this after this week's lesson. I also like how you went with a field trip slip, allowing her to see that the trip itself was okay but that it must still go through the proper channels to be approved first. Very professional and encouraging! Thank you for that small but vital nugget. :)
Hi Jackie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the way you coped with a conflict which is very common in a school or educational insitution setting. It looks simple reading through it, but I believe it was not that simple when it was happening, especially to know how others complain about or disagree with us behind our back. You did a great thing to come to a win-win solution.
Jackie thank you for sharing this situation with us. I have faced this situation before and being that I am new to management I am always looking for ways to handle situations differently. Having a meeting in the teachers classroom was a great idea. I have also learned that not all teachers respond to techniques like this, but the key is to finding a neutral place where everyone feels comfortable enough to share their thoughts and feelings.
ReplyDeleteJackie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is important to address the issues directly. Mentioning the indirect views of the employee would only insight more conflict. As a result, I agree that you were correct in providing the teacher and the Leader with information on how to get approval or address issues. This helps to prevent conflict in the future.
Hi Jackie,
ReplyDeleteI aspire to handle situations with the grace and professionalism that you did. Holding the meeting in the teacher's classroom is such a thoughtful move because being called to the "principal's" office, so to speak, does set an attitude and demeanor in the mind of the person being called before the meeting ever takes place. the way you handled it by not directly calling the teacher out was respectful and definitely a skill that is lacking among many professionals I work with. Thank you for your blog post!
Lemora
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ReplyDelete