BACK-TO-SCHOOL/BACK-TO-CONFLICT

Conflict - to be different, opposed, or contradictory: to fail to be in agreement or accord (https://www.merriam-webster.com/)

To me, there are five seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Back-to-School.  Depending on where you are and your family values, back-to-school can be a full-on event!  However, for school leaders, there is usually this bittersweet pull of thoughts, ideals, and emotions.

School leaders love the buzz of a busy, productive school environment and are hopeful about the accomplishments of the coming year. But yet, we almost always wish we had more time (or money) to prepare, see needs for further professional development, have concerns about at least one staff person, and we are dreading the onslaught of complaints.  If someone were viewing our thoughts they might think we are losing our minds!

This school year, “the pandemic grace” to make mistakes has dissipated, we have fewer staff than needed and demands seem to be more unreachable than ever.  Are you ready? Is your leadership team prepared?

We teach that at the heart of every child’s misbehavior is the attempt to communicate a need.  Realistically, as leaders, we must stay focused on the fact that every conflict we have with a child or adult has a need at its root.  The faster you get to the root - the faster you can move forward. And contrary to popular belief, conflict isn't always loud, ugly, or uncomfortable.  

In order to move forward there are a few things to remember:

•  Your approach to conflict is driven by the thoughts you have related to specific actions more than your assessment of the person you are in conflict with.
•  It’s a frustrating impossibility to try to control the other person.
•  Some conflicts won’t be resolved they simply need to be managed.

My baby sister and I have an iron-clad bond, but there are some things that we just don’t agree on.  Once I stopped trying to control her and realized that my reaction was adding fuel to our fire, we got even closer.  And for some conflicts, we’ve learned to dance together to our own music. 

If you need some help with your conflict dance, I’ve got a solution for you… (GET THE SOLUTION HERE)