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Games for Learning about Conflict Resolution

Games for Learning about Conflict Resolution
Presenter:​ Ellen Grove
Track:​ Learning Session
Type:​ Workshop
Audience Level:​ Learning
Room Setup:​ Rounds
Duration:​ 75 minutes
Keywords:​ play, Conflict, learning-game

Abstract
Conflict isn’t inherently a bad thing – it’s inevitable when people are working closely together on things that they care about. In fact, diverging viewpoints can bring new insights to help teams move forward and create something new. Dealing with conflict head-on is challenging for many people, yet few teams spend time explicitly considering “how will we work together when things get rocky?” Teams need to build the skills to be able to navigate through rough times together and come out with win-win solutions.

This workshop will present useful models for considering team conflicts supported by games teams can use to develop and practice conflict resolution skills. The models address underlying drivers of conflict, modes for responding to conflict, assessing conflict severity to determine appropriate interventions, and the patterns of principled negotiation. The games build on the concepts to help participants gain insight and develop important skills in a non-intimidating and memorable way.

Information for Program Team
In this workshop we explore a series of concepts related to understanding our reactions to conflict and how to navigate through conflict situations: for each concept, there's a brief presentation segment and then we play a game that builds on the concept.

This has been presented as a 90 min workshop in the past. As a 75 minute session, it will likely run like this:

0:00 Introduction: Rock Paper Scissors competition (to create a little conflict in the room)

Theme 1: Understanding our own responses to conflict:
0:05 Navigating Conflict - poem: The Zax - Why is conflict inevitable? What happens when we deal with conflict (or when we don’t)
0:10 Game: Perception - how do you perceive conflict? - debrief
0:20 Game: Escalation - how do you react in conflict situations? - debrief
0:25 Thomas–Kilman Conflict Modes - understanding patterns of response to conflict
0:35 Game: Contagion - how do our interactions with others make them feel negative or positive? - debrief

Theme 2: Learning to navigate conflict:
0:40 Leas’ Levels of Conflict - knowing when to intervene
0:45 Principles for “Getting to Yes” - patterns for systematically addressing conflict situations
0:50 Activity: Clearing the AIRR - addressing conflict head on - debrief
1:00 Furlong’s Circle of Conflict - identify drivers of conflict
1:05 Game: Contradiction - considering hindsight bias and situational validity - debrief
1:10 Q&A, Closing

Prerequisite Knowledge
None.

Learning Outcomes
●Understanding our own beliefs about and reactions to conflict
●A useful model for identifying the drivers underlying conflict
●A pattern for constructive conflict resolution based on principled negotiation
●Games that can use with your teams to develop conflict management and resolution skills

Presentation History
I presented this workshop at SDEC 2013 (InfoQ recorded it - see the link below), Agile Tour Montreal 2013 and Gatineau Ottawa Agile Tour 2013, and offered a subset of the games from it at a session at Agile Coach Camp US 2014.

I have offered workshops in using playful techniques to do serious work at Agile Tour Montreal 2014, Gatineau Ottawa Agile Tour 2014, Agile Coach Camp US 2014, Agile Coach Camp Spain 2014, Agile Coach Camp Canada 2014, Agile India 2014, Agile Games 2014 (Cambridge MA),Play4Agile 2014 (Frankfurt), SDEC 2013 (Winnipeg MB), Agile Day NYC 2012

http://www.infoq.com/author/Ellen-Grove