Conflict is a natural part of life. When embraced, opposing views present a powerful opportunity for opening ourselves to new understanding and thinking. Recognizing the energy that conflict produces is central to practicing Generative Communication. Learning to work with that energy can lead to breakthrough thinking on everyone’s part—confrontation and collaboration is a hothouse for generating exciting new possibilities. Welcome the struggle!
We’re Each Unique
No two people see the world the same, not even twins born moments apart, raised by the same parents within the same household. That’s the richness of being human: we are each unique. It’s little wonder there is disagreement among us! We each have different perspective of what’s going on around us. In fact, our individual perspectives—or lifeviews—are neurologically informed by our individually unique life experiences. Our lifeviews serve as personalized filters for how we take in and make sense of information, thereby producing individual and unique understanding and interpretation of the very same information. We naturally see and interpret things differently, making disagreement inevitable.Conflict Isn’t the Problem
Conflict itself isn’t a problem. The problem is how we choose to deal with it! Most of us have learned through our experiences that conflict is difficult, often resulting in winners and losers. It is no surprise that many try to avoid conflict altogether. If we’re likely to disagree, why engage? If we must, it is easy to rely on ambiguous language to steer clear of a confrontation. Others like to take conflict head-on with the goal of overcoming dissenting points of view. Those who disagree are seen as “opponents” in a fight to win or lose. Still others opt to accommodate or give in to the other, without ever challenging a different point of view.
Embracing Conflict
Few of us have learned to confront our differences openly and respectfully, with an intent to understand other points of view and generate—together—new possibilities for understanding and resolving the conflict. We can choose to embrace conflict and disagreement as a powerful source of energy for joint understanding, resolution, and growth.Generative Communication
Generative Communication is a revolutionary way of thinking about how we interact with ourselves, others, and our shared circumstances day in and out. It’s a process of intentional co-creation that seeks mutually desired outcomes including a better understanding of complex issues, an appreciation for opposing viewpoints, and workable solutions to intractable challenges. The overall goal of Generative Communication is to participate in creating a world that works for all.