Change, Comfort and Conflict

Change, Comfort & Conflict

"Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history. " - Joan Wallach Scott

I’ve spent years trying to help the people I serve (and those of you who read this) create meaningful change in their personal and professional lives. However, change inherently requires some degree of discomfort and conflict.

When the change you seek is personal in nature, that conflict is often private or shared with only your closest confidants. While the struggle is real, the change can be accomplished without interpersonal conflict.

On the other hand, change at the organizational level is often messy and full of conflict. Not only do you need to manage the pain points associated with the change, but you also need to manage the personalities of everyone involved with the change. Those personality differences often cause real conflict as opposed to simple pain points.

The season we find ourselves in demands change. Whether it is as obvious as changes in the way in which we provide service to our customers and members as dictated by COVID or as nuanced as reorganization of staffing and duties based on the availability of qualified employees, change and conflict are all around us. Even great leaders will be challenged by the process. When faced with conflict, consider the following when faced with conflict in your organization:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. In your organization or team, what are the root causes of conflict? Does your organization or team create both good conflict and bad conflict? What are some examples of both? What is the line that separates good conflict from bad? What can you do to create a culture where people aren’t afraid to voice their opinions to create positive change? How does your organization prevent personal conflicts from becoming professional? Conversely, how does your organization prevent professional conflicts from becoming personal? Can it be constructive to set up opportunities for conflict to come to the surface?

Conflict can be the catalyst for significant positive change, though at times, we can be too close to the problem to see the answer. When that time comes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if I can be an objective voice in the midst of chaos.

The only constant is change,

Keith Soriano, PGA, ARWC

PGA of America Career Consultant

Serving the Colorado and Utah Sections of the PGA ksoriano@pgahq.com (720) 841-1006