The honeymoon is over. It seems like yesterday that everyone was full of passion, vision and warm fuzzies. You were going to save the world and nothing could stand in your way. Now, passions have cooled, visions have diverged and the warm fuzzies have been replace with contempt and backbiting. How did things go south so quickly?
Operating a business, especially a nonprofit, is a lot like a marriage…minus the romance. What starts out with mutual respect and unity of purpose can descend into open hostility. And, it can threaten your organization’s effectiveness…even its very existence. Conflict management is an essential skill that every nonprofit leader must learn and utilize. What follows are some key points to consider regarding effective conflict management:
Conflict is inevitable. Learn it, live it, love it. The sooner you dispense of the notion that conflict can be avoided, the sooner you can manage the realities of it. Conflict is inevitable because people are involved. And where there are people, there will eventually be conflict. Just like in marriage, you and the other leaders in your organization have different ideas, backgrounds and experiences. These all color the way you approach life, including your approach to running your nonprofit.