Summary
As civic designers, we are adept at listening well, understanding complex interactions between people and within systems, and identifying creative opportunities. Working on teams that often comprise many disciplines, perspectives, and motivations, we must approach teamwork with intention and importance. While differing opinions and interpersonal dynamics are inevitabilities of collaborative work, our civic design superpowers uniquely position us to navigate conflict skillfully. While tackling some of our communities’ toughest, most intractable challenges, we must care for ourselves and our teams too– so that we can live well and serve sustainably. This session will begin with guided self-reflection. We will then explore conflict navigation through a lens of mindfulness, systems-thinking, and human-centered design.
Key Insights
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Conflict navigation requires self-awareness and understanding of one's own worldview.
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Mindfulness practices can aid in being present and managing conflict effectively.
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Different approaches to conflict include management, mediation, and navigation, with navigation being the most constructive.
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Collusion occurs when parties perpetuate conflict through their behaviors, resulting in a negative feedback loop.
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Visualizing collusion through diagrams can illuminate the dynamics of conflict and reveal paths for resolution.
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Questioning assumptions is a powerful tool in conflict navigation and can alter narratives.
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Civic design methods empower individuals to facilitate conflict navigation by bridging diverse stakeholder perspectives.
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Building psychological safety within teams encourages open communication and transparency.
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Seeking understanding from the other party can turn a conflict into a collaborative opportunity.
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Listening and empathy are crucial in breaking cycles of conflict and moving towards connection.
Notable Quotes
"I'm joined by Caitlin and Dr. Susan, who's also my mom."
"Our goals for today are to build awareness of ourselves in conflict and learn how your skills as designers can apply to that."
"At the heart of conflict navigation is creating self-awareness and understanding your relationship to others."
"If we're not able to be successful as teams, we won't succeed in our design work."
"The act of visualizing each step of this conflict as it plays out allows us to see what's happening."
"When we're in conflict, it's not just you and me, but we're always operating within a system."
"Positive feedback loops can be very disruptive, but they can also be powerful tools for transformation."
"Mindfulness gives us the space to bring in curiosity and compassion for ourselves and others."
"Each of these behaviors turns the positive feedback loops back into connection."
"Creating an atmosphere of psychological safety will generate a foundation for transparency."
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