Conflict Navigation

Conflict coaching is a one-on-one, confidential, and individualized conversation to talk through a conflict, explore concerns, frustrations, and goals; in addition to learning ways to manage and resolve conflicts in a way that meets the interests and needs of all parties involved. A conflict coach is someone who is empathetic, trained in conflict resolution, and can provide guidance on best practices for managing conflict effectively. The conflict coach supports the student in exploring and clarifying what their needs, desires, and viable options are with regard to the conflict. Conflict coaching is less about instructing or mandating how to manage the conflict, and more about empowering and supporting an individual with the confidence and skills to manage conflict on their own. Part of the goal of conflict coaching involves the individual exploring and learning about their individual’s conflict style, habits, and ways to manage conflict more effectively in their lives beyond any one particular incident.

The goal of a facilitated conversation is to support a group of people in communicating openly and effectively. Sometimes, when tensions are high or there is a lot at stake, it can become difficult to understand and empathize with different perspectives and communicate effectively, calmly, and compassionately. An external and impartial facilitator can be helpful in moving a group discussion or process forward when there is disagreement, tension, or a sense of being stuck. Dialogue facilitators are available to support student groups or teams who are struggling to manage a particular discussion or project on their own, including but not limited to student club meetings, sports teams meetings, and group projects.

Mediation is a facilitated dialogue where parties can share their perspectives, thoughts, and feelings surrounding a conflict. The Mediator facilitates a conversation between the parties with the goal of reaching an agreement that satisfies the concerns presented and meets the standards of acceptable behavior in a community environment. The role of the Mediator is to serve as a neutral facilitator and not to impose a solution or offer College intervention.

The focus of Restorative Justice (RJ) is to repair harm and rebuild relationships through inclusive decision-making and active accountability after a policy violation has occurred. RJ circles, or conferences, typically include responsible parties, impacted parties, supporting parties, and facilitators. This conflict resolution method is most appropriate when both the responsible party and impacted party have a desire to discuss the impact of the behavior and steps for moving forward.

Shuttle mediation is a process during which a mediator facilitates a negotiation to resolve a dispute between two or more parties without parties meeting together at the same time in the same room. This option may be especially helpful for parties in a dispute who have reached a high level of frustration or anxiety due to the conflict and may be more effective in resolving the matter through indirect conversation with the other party(s). Each party of the conflict will have an opportunity to share their perspective, concerns, and desired outcomes. During this process, each party will share and write down their needs in a written agreement, which the facilitator will circulate - or "shuttle" - between the two parties until an agreement is found that is accepted by all parties.