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Conflict means struggling between people. People with different ideas, different
beliefs, different values, different needs. We'll start this module on conflict by
thinking about what that word actually means to you. When I use the word
"conflict," take just a moment in your mind's eye to think about what conflict looks
like to you. For many of you I'm guessing you first are seeing negative images. Images
of war, arguments between people, anger and frustration, images of tension.

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Many people also associate conflict with images of winning and losing. Winning a
dispute, losing an election, court cases, arguments, and I imagine that some of you
are remembering difficult meetings where there were personal attacks going on,
feelings of alienation and isolation in the room, and maybe silence instead of healthy
debate and discussion. Yesterday somebody was telling me about one of our partner-
agencies, that is undergoing a reorganization that's caused a great deal of conflict.
My friend there described the environment as "Putting a plate of vegetables down in
front of a child who sits and stares at it, but doesn’t make a move to eat any of it."
It's true that we often have these sorts of images when we think of conflict.
Resistance, silence, inertia.

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However, conflict can also look like this, people coming together for a healthy debate
on difficult issues. Our presidential debates in the US, for instance. It's clear there's
no love lost between the candidates and yet they're willing and expected to air their
differences in front of us. For me this is what democracy is, a kind of healthy debate
so that people like me can make a choice of who is going to lead us into the future.
From this type of conflict comes creative thinking, a much greater understanding of
all sides of complex issues, and greater group cohesion. This e-learning module is
about one of the most important tools in your management and leadership toolkit.
The ability to use conflict, to increase your own effectiveness, and to reduce and
resolve negative conflict and strife on the job.

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Take a moment now to read this quote from Ronald Heifetz and
Marty Linsky. I think it says it all.