Disaffected residents abusing Council staff on the phone, community meetings deteriorating into polemical contests, officers arguing over policy or staffing issues, tensions between elected officials and executive staff … These are just some of the ways in which conflict may impinge on the daily life of Local Government.
Managing conflict wisely is an organisational imperative for any business. If anything, it has become more important for local Councils as they emphasise customer service, deal with inadequate resources, and often find themselves the meat in the sandwich in a variety of political and economic contexts.
There are various ways of managing conflict effectively. The introduction of a third party mediator or facilitator works well in disputes between neighbours over issues like noise, overhanging trees, and fences. It also can be extremely helpful in planning disputes, freeing Council planners to play the role of expert advisers to all sides while the facilitator takes responsibility for the planning and conduct of the meeting.
State government institutions like the Dispute Settlement Centre in Victoria and the Community Justice Centres in New South Wales and Queensland readily provide such services at no or low cost. For most situations, however, understanding the nature of and the acquisition of skills for dealing with conflict can provide Council staff with better ways of handling conflicts themselves.
For starters, it is useful to recognise that in many situations there is no objective ‘truth’, just points of view that have a certain subjective logic from the standpoint of the different parties. It is then essential to demonstrate basic communication skills to check that you understand, from the inside, where the other party is coming from and to respond with appropriate language, verbal and non verbal.
With the proper attitude and skills, it may then be possible to work collaboratively to frame the problem in a joint manner and design a solution that addresses, to some extent at least, the needs of all parties. A third dimension of managing conflict is preventative. An effective dispute resolution system should take into account transaction costs, such as time, money and emotional energy expended in disputing, resources consumed and destroyed, and lost opportunities; satisfaction with both process and outcome; effects on ongoing relationship, and potential recurrence.
Opportunities to learn more about conflict and acquire skills in managing it range from skills based short workshops (1-3 days) run by commercial operators to fully accredited university courses, often delivered in block teaching mode with the needs of working professionals in mind.
