Conflict Coaching (6031)

The capacity to engage in conflict is an essential skill for leaders, managers, and teams in all organizations. Developing this capacity requires self-awareness, reflection, self-management, and the relational intelligence to work through tensions that arise in the normal course of working side-by-side with others. Conflict specialists must also have this capacity in order to assist others in moving through conflict situations.

An effective means of helping others to develop the capacity to engage with one another is through the use of coaching. Coaching is defined by the International Coaching Federation as: "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential." The use of coaching is growing as a means of assisting single parties, groups, and teams to intentionally assess and move through conflict and strengthen working relationships. Coaching skills can be embedded into existing professional roles to facilitate behavior change and enhance professional maturation. Professional coaching can also be provided as a distinct service within a broader professional practice portfolio.

Conflict coaching can be used as an adjunct or alternative to mediation and facilitation and as a supplement to teambuilding and training programs to assist with the transfer of learning to the work environment. Conflict coaching can also be integrated into a professional coaching practice working with executives, leaders and teams to better address conflict dynamics within organizations.

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of coaching and applications of coaching skills to conflict situations. The course will provide students with an overview of professional coaching practice and how conflict coaching can serve as a means of assisting individuals, leaders, and teams to move through complex conflict dynamics.
This course is experiential, and students will practice core coaching competencies while reflecting on and growing their own capacity to better understand the habits and patterns that impact the ability to engage with others. Various models will be incorporated for framing the use of coaching including: Bridges Transitions Model, Theory-U, Self-As-Coach, Complex Adaptive Systems, Karpman Drama Triangle, and Horizontal and Vertical Adult Development. Students will be required to keep a reflective practice journal and submit a paper applying a coaching approach to a real-world scenario.