Conflict is Information: Listen more, learn more, do better
Time: Thursday 21st March 10:50-11:35
Room: Corinthian
Track: People & Culture
We are in the problem solving business. Often there are differences between people in how to best solve each problem, and competing interests around the amount of time and money required to do this.
Disagreements may persist around the relative importance of various factors, the priority of outcomes, and who gets what. It is fairly common that different people want different things. This can lead to conflict.
This may be within teams, between client and vendor, across open source communities or online. It may be a small matter or of great material consequence. It is sometimes upsetting, and different people have widely varying responses to conflict situations.
I am not a conflict resolution specialist, a trained mental health professional or interpersonal mediator. This talk does not address violence, bullying or mental duress - none of which should be present in the workplace.
This talk will share my professional approach to unpacking conflict, developing a better understanding of people who want different things to you, and offer tools for the equitable and rational advocacy of what you want. The purpose of this is not to “win” in conflict with others, but to maintain professional equilibrium and integrity, clear space to focus on better solutions, and deliver better outcomes for all involved.
The talk welcomes questions from the audience. It will present an easy-to-understand framework with simplicity and clarity, using practical examples where relevant, delivered with humour and empathy. It has a positive message that focuses on what the individual can control in order to do better and feel better when encountering conflict in the workplace. This talk is grounded in experiences delivering Drupal in a commercial context for the public and private sector.
Disagreements may persist around the relative importance of various factors, the priority of outcomes, and who gets what. It is fairly common that different people want different things. This can lead to conflict.
This may be within teams, between client and vendor, across open source communities or online. It may be a small matter or of great material consequence. It is sometimes upsetting, and different people have widely varying responses to conflict situations.
I am not a conflict resolution specialist, a trained mental health professional or interpersonal mediator. This talk does not address violence, bullying or mental duress - none of which should be present in the workplace.
This talk will share my professional approach to unpacking conflict, developing a better understanding of people who want different things to you, and offer tools for the equitable and rational advocacy of what you want. The purpose of this is not to “win” in conflict with others, but to maintain professional equilibrium and integrity, clear space to focus on better solutions, and deliver better outcomes for all involved.
The talk welcomes questions from the audience. It will present an easy-to-understand framework with simplicity and clarity, using practical examples where relevant, delivered with humour and empathy. It has a positive message that focuses on what the individual can control in order to do better and feel better when encountering conflict in the workplace. This talk is grounded in experiences delivering Drupal in a commercial context for the public and private sector.
Speakers
Dave Sparks
Dave has been working in Drupal since 2007, and has been delivering web solutions for commercial and public sector clients since the mid-90s. He is the current chair of DrupalSouth. He has spoken at and organised a number of DrupalSouth events over the last decade or so.
Coming from a project management and people management background, Dave has a non-technical view of Drupal as a force for good in people’s professional lives, and communities - because of how the Drupal community operates and helps people communicate, collaborate and tell their stories in their own ways.
Coming from a project management and people management background, Dave has a non-technical view of Drupal as a force for good in people’s professional lives, and communities - because of how the Drupal community operates and helps people communicate, collaborate and tell their stories in their own ways.