Staff and faculty in higher ed who are managing conflict with peers, direct reports, or supervisors will benefit from this training.

Day 1: Welcome and Introductions
In this opening activity, you will meet your facilitators and engage in an activity to define your current challenges and what you hope to get out of this conference.

Day 1: Managing the Conflict Within
In this first session, we will discuss the ways the past year has impacted our world in terms of conflict. From how we manage increased stress to the messages we tell ourselves, the first step in resolving conflict is developing an awareness to how you perceive it and the impact it has on you. Here you will engage in a self-assessment to help determine your default reaction(s) to conflict. You will use these results throughout the program to bring more awareness to how you respond to any current or future tenuous situations.

Day 1: The Positive Effect of Conflict
Not all conflict is bad—in fact, it can often lead to conversations that propel a team or project to its next level. In this session, you will learn strategies for analyzing current conflicts and begin to understand how to reveal potential positive outcomes.

Day 1: Perception and Communication
Here you will look at how perception and communication are tied. How are messages being received and is it in the way the messenger intended? These subtle miscommunications are often the foundations of conflict.

Day 1: Final Questions and Closing

Day 2: Welcome and Day 1 Debrief

Day 2: Strategies to Help you Work Towards a Resolution
Now that you have a clear understanding of your current conflict, you will look towards solutions that provide as close to a win-win conclusion as possible. These strategies will include prioritizing relationships and active listening, taking “winning” off the table, displaying empathy, and seeking understanding of the context as well as the specifics of a situation.

Day 2: Breakout Session: Staff and Faculty
In this breakout session, you will have an opportunity to discuss common conflicts in your area of work. Faculty will discuss how to address common conflicts that can arise around shared governance, tenure, academic freedom, and due process. Staff will discuss how to address conflicts such as staff/faculty competing priorities, working seamlessly among departments, and working with external partners.

Day 2: Workshopping Solutions
In this breakout session, you will be placed into small groups to workshop any current conflicts. You can use this time to brainstorm on your own, get feedback, role play, or other ways that you find most useful. Your facilitators will rotate to be available as needed.

Day 2: Panel Discussion
Our final session will be an informal panel discussion so that you have a chance to ask any clarifying questions before we close. We will also discuss your next steps upon leaving the conference.

Day 2: Closing Remarks & Evaluation