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We often speak to directors and managers who are frustrated with unresolved conflict in their teams. It's normal to ask:
Why is this conflict happening in my team?
Of course you understand that conflict is normal at times and that team members won't always agree.... but sometimes it seems nearly impossible to break the cycle and get on with what's really important.
And more than anything you really want to develop the sort of positive, professional culture described in the National Quality Standard:
Professionalism | Management, educators and staff are collaborative, respectful and ethical. (NQS 4.2)
Professional collaboration | Management, educators and staff work with mutual respect and collaboratively, and challenge and learn from each other, recognising each other's strengths and skills. (NQS Element 4.2.1)
There are some common reasons why conflict occurs in early childhood education settings (and other workplaces too!!).
Of course every team and service is different but here are 5 reasons and some accompanying questions to reflect on - perhaps this is what is happening at your service or perhaps this will spark insight into other issues....
There's a quote that's been around for many years - perhaps you've heard of it? It provides some clues about this reason for conflict:
There was an important job to be done. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Your team will come from varying backgrounds, diverse life and work experiences and different skill and knowledge levels.
Some people will have more developed skills in communication, active listening, building professional relationships, holding difficult conversations and resolving conflict.
(And we're not just saying this because we provide professional development in this area!)
It can be difficult to work through these questions and to form a strategy to work through them.
The important thing is to be realistic, don't ignore the issues, form a plan and get others to help you.
Building a professional team environment is possible and skills can be developed by everyone at your service to contribute to this.
Talk to your team and reflect together about how you are working as a group. What would people like to improve? What do they want to learn? What do they think are the reasons for conflict?
Below you'll find some resources that may assist: