Reconstructing the 'unsolvable': working with conflict using polarity management

Have you ever encountered a disagreement that seemed to be solved, only to rear its head again later? Have you experienced a topic that seems to be an area of continual conflict in a personal relationship, in your work team, or entire organisation? If you have experienced any of these scenarios, they may actually be polarities in disguise. Good news is: they are more effectively managed than you might think. Ongoing conflict can occur when we apply a 'problem-solving' approach to a situation that is actually not a problem to be solved, but is in fact a “polarity” to be 'managed.” The workshop will include:

Identifying polarities in distinction from problems to be solved
Using the “polarity mapping” technique – a powerful tool for managing polarities to experience more of the “up sides” of both poles, and less of the “down sides”
Communicating effectively about the polarity in times of conflict
Drawing upon Polarity Management techniques to deal with other forms of conflict

By the end of each session, participants will have a greater understanding of conflict and polarities as well as some concrete tools they can draw upon in the future.

Facilitator

Jonathan Braunstein has spent over ten years helping teams develop, change, and overcome their challenges. Jonathan has transitioned his professional network from the corporate setting to not-for-profit, public sector, and Corporate Social Responsibility consulting.

His unique exposure to a diversity of organizational cultures gives Jonathan the ability to easily place himself in a CEO's shoes trying to meet a triple bottom line, while also designing employee-centered approaches that empower employees to be part of the conversation and mobilize toward collective goals. He’s applied his methodologies in settings ranging from Pharmaceutical, IT, and Retail, to not-for-profit and community service organizations; he’s brought an innovative approach to achieving their organizational unity and success.

His most notable achievement is being nominated for having developed one of Canada’s Best Corporate Team Building experiences in 2010 by the CEIA. Jonathan is currently an MA candidate for Human Systems Invention and plans on pursuing a PhD in Social Change and Mobilization.

Lise Palmer (BA, BSW, MA) founded Lise Palmer Consulting in 2009, offering organisation and community development to the not-for-profit and public sectors. She has since had the pleasure of leading a small team through diverse consultation contracts - from priority-setting in northern Ontario, to strategic planning on Quebec's Lower North Shore, to team-building in Ottawa. In 2011 she grew Lise Palmer Consulting into “Spark” to reflect the organisation’s increased capacity and vision.

Lise holds an MA in Human Systems Intervention, which emphasizes systems thinking in change management and organisational effectiveness. Also informed by her background in social work and cultural anthropology, Lise is able to work with a diversity of clients in a way that acknowledges their current culture and ways of working, articulates the strengths already in the client system, and leverages that internal capacity.

She is a member of the Academy of Management and is a volunteer board member of L’Abri en Ville in Montreal. She also volunteers with the University of the Streets Cafe program and 350.org New Zealand.