Calling IN vs Calling OUT: Tools for Turning Conflict Towards Transformation

What If Excellence at Being In Conflict is the Foundation for Transcending It?

In America and around the world we seem to be getting more and more stuck in entrenched, high stakes conflicts.  In these high stakes conflicts, power dynamics come into play, and people often end up using coercion and violence to enforce their will on others.    When a conflict is rooted in abuse of power we often have no choice but to respond as forcefully as we can to defend ourselves.  But what if the root of the conflict is actually a misunderstanding, or a mistake for which genuine amends can be made?

Inspired by recent work from adrienne maree brown, as well as Amanda Ripley, Jonah Berger and Jonathan Haidt, the video for this post is about looking for ways that we can get better at conflict, particularly when the conflict is grounded in a mistake or a misunderstanding.  These ideas are aspirational, but hopefully not beyond the realm of possibility...