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Conflict is present on every college and university campus in America, whether between or among students, faculty, administrators, board of trustees, or state and federal agencies; conflicts are an inevitable fact of academic life (McCarthy, 1980). An organization can experience too much or too little conflict; therefore, intervention may be needed to tamp down or stoke up the intensity, depending on the situation. Even more important than the amount of conflict is how it is managed. The job of a leader is to manage conflict as productively as possible (Bolman & Deal, 2008; Heifetz & Linsky, 2002). When leaders act as conflict coaches, they observe the organization through the lens of conflict resolution, and become better at identifying conflicts, responding quickly to emerging disputes and supporting others in acting strategically in their conflicts and promoting learning and collaboration (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2011).
Background of Conflict
The researcher has personal experience with conflict at MSU, which is important context for this study. She was at one time involved in a chronic situation of conflict and attempted to manage the issue through a series of steps. The first step involved the researcher independently engaging in several discussions with the other person, a fellow
faculty member, in which the situation of conflict had arisen. The researcher used an ‘empathetic listening’ approach to understand why the conflict(s) occurred. Empathetic and responsive listening automatically arises when we genuinely care about what our opponent is trying to tell us, and actively reach out with questions, tone of voice and body language. As listening deepens improved skills are developed in problem solving, resolution, and transformation (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2011).
The next steps in the researchers process to manage the situation of conflict involved asking mentors and peers how they handle conflict to gauge if the same methods could be applied in the conflict experienced by the researcher. Some suggested methods by mentors and peers were applied, while the researcher continued to engage in ongoing discussions with the other person in the conflict to find a resolution. Unfortunately, the proposed methods did not work.
After a significant amount of time with no resolution and tactics by the researcher exhausted, the researcher’s next option led to the traditional route for personnel in institutions of higher education when situations of conflict occur, reporting the issue to the immediate supervisors. The researcher’s immediate supervisors were the former Associate Dean of the department and the college’s former Dean; both have since stepped down from these positions. With the assistance of the supervisors, the situation of conflict worsened; therefore, their knowledge and assistance with conflict resolution did not provide the results sought out by the researcher.
The researcher’s last step involved contacting the Office of Human Resources to report the conflict and seek their assistance with conflict resolution. The Human Resources department acts as a mediator between employees and managers, quickly
responding to conflict and following conflict resolution procedures (Scott, 2021). The former director of the Office of Human Resources, who has retired since this study was implemented, could only offer mediation as a resolution to the conflict. They were the only person in the Office of Human Resources certified to mediate conflict at that time. According to the former Office of Human Resources Director, the Office of Human Resources on Morehead State University’s campus managed conflict by either documenting these incidents as informal, thus enacting a mediation process with the parties involved or as formal grievances against the person(s) involved in the conflict. The researcher proceeded with mediation as suggested by the former Office of Human Resources Director in order to document and manage the conflict via a professional mediator; however, the situation still did not improve. Therefore, a formal complaint was filed by the researcher against the person in which the conflict resided and a former supervisor who the researcher believed contributed to the conflict instead of helping to resolve the conflict.
The researcher’s personal involvement in a situation of conflict and the attempted methods to manage and resolve the conflict, helped to inform her understanding of the problem and the design, development, and implantation of this study. Additionally, the implemented study placed the researcher in a unique position as participant, observer, and leader.
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