I have always thought I am fortunate to work in a peaceful environment. At least, coworkers are usually nice to each other although sometimes they get moody and treat others poorly. I have never complained about my work for colleagues. However, an incident happened on Friday, October 31st. When I finished teaching the 8th period, the other teachers already knew what had happened. I heard the details from someone who was involved in the incident. I had never seen her getting so mad that she was shaking.
Over the weekend, the situation got worse. Somebody started a discussion by not to touch the incident but to talk something more general to improve the situation over email. It ignited two people's anger, and nasty talk started. Suddenly, I got involved in the conversation somehow. SO MUCH CONFUSION. I did not even try to explain myself because I had no idea what they were talking about and where that came from.
We had a meeting on this matter on Tuesday. Our boss was not included in the conversation on purpose. However, she knew everything and facilitated the meeting. I wondered how she would deal with this many people and the serious problem. It came out amazingly, and thus I wanted to write about it tonight. Here's the way of conflict resolution she showed us.
First, she gave each of us three index cards and a pencil. Then, she showed us definitions of two words: "respect" and "tolerance." I do not remember exactly, but respect is about deep admiration toward someone whereas tolerance is about willingness to accept others' idea even when you do not like it. Second, she asked us to write yes or no on the first index card to the question, "Do you tolerate everyone in the office?" After collecting and mixing the index cards, she read the answers aloud. The result was, as far as I remember, 1: No 15:Yes. So, most of the people answered yes. Then, she asked us to write yes or no to the second question, "Do you think everybody tolerate you?" The answer came out 5:No 11:Yes. So, now we figured out that some people are feeling that they are not even accepted by someone in the office. Finally, she asked us to write the change we wanted to see in the office without pointing out someone's name. Later, she asked us if we wanted her to type them and send to us by email or just read them on the spot. We chose to hear at that time. We talked about all the points we made, making sure if those were something we could do or too much. Then, the meeting ended. It took less than an hour. Surprisingly and amazingly, the people in the office started showing their urges to talk to each other right after the meeting. Of course, those three people from the incident still had difficult time to face each other.
A few days have passed since then. I still feel the atmosphere in the office changed dramatically. I truly admire my boss' leadership skill.
Over the weekend, the situation got worse. Somebody started a discussion by not to touch the incident but to talk something more general to improve the situation over email. It ignited two people's anger, and nasty talk started. Suddenly, I got involved in the conversation somehow. SO MUCH CONFUSION. I did not even try to explain myself because I had no idea what they were talking about and where that came from.
We had a meeting on this matter on Tuesday. Our boss was not included in the conversation on purpose. However, she knew everything and facilitated the meeting. I wondered how she would deal with this many people and the serious problem. It came out amazingly, and thus I wanted to write about it tonight. Here's the way of conflict resolution she showed us.
First, she gave each of us three index cards and a pencil. Then, she showed us definitions of two words: "respect" and "tolerance." I do not remember exactly, but respect is about deep admiration toward someone whereas tolerance is about willingness to accept others' idea even when you do not like it. Second, she asked us to write yes or no on the first index card to the question, "Do you tolerate everyone in the office?" After collecting and mixing the index cards, she read the answers aloud. The result was, as far as I remember, 1: No 15:Yes. So, most of the people answered yes. Then, she asked us to write yes or no to the second question, "Do you think everybody tolerate you?" The answer came out 5:No 11:Yes. So, now we figured out that some people are feeling that they are not even accepted by someone in the office. Finally, she asked us to write the change we wanted to see in the office without pointing out someone's name. Later, she asked us if we wanted her to type them and send to us by email or just read them on the spot. We chose to hear at that time. We talked about all the points we made, making sure if those were something we could do or too much. Then, the meeting ended. It took less than an hour. Surprisingly and amazingly, the people in the office started showing their urges to talk to each other right after the meeting. Of course, those three people from the incident still had difficult time to face each other.
A few days have passed since then. I still feel the atmosphere in the office changed dramatically. I truly admire my boss' leadership skill.