1. Dealing with Conflict and Maintaining Faculty Morale
IAL 2017: Dealing with Conflict and Maintaining Faculty Morale

2. “The choice for an administrator is not will we deal with difficult people [conflict] but how we will deal with them.”
--Bissell: “Handling Conflict with Difficulty Faculty: Tools for Maintaining Your Sanity and Your Dignity.”

3. Order and Process

4. Future Planning Strategic plan Assessment plans processes
Curricular development and reform

5. Transparency and Participation

6. So everything is solved, right?
“Conflict arises when individuals find themselves needing one another in some way.”
--Berryman-Fink, Mending the Cracks in the Ivory Tower: Strategies for Conflict Management in Higher Education

7. There will be personal conflicts
Faculty member with student
Faculty member with administrators
Faculty member with Faculty member

8. Why is it important to address the conflict earlier rather than later?
Consequences of not doing so
The conflict will grow beneath the surface and fester
Lack of trust will grow
Complaints will increase
Faculty will start to avoid meetings where the other person will be or where there is a chance for the issue to erupt
There will be an increase in sarcasm
Productivity in the department will decrease as will the general morale

9. Other important things to remember
Address the issue when it becomes apparent that it will not resolve without your action
Don’t take it personally, even when it is meant to be.
Don’t get angry
Know your unit and university governance documents thoroughly
Be willing to have the hard conversations
Hold your own counsel in the academic environment and elsewhere
Be willing to seek advice or help when needed
Find a confident and sounding board.

10. Don’t take it personally, even when it is meant to be.
If you take it personally, the only person who will suffer will be you.
It will impact your judgment.
It will cloud your vision for the department.
It will lower your morale.
It will take a toll on you both mentally and physically.

11. Don’t get angry
Step back—delay or reschedule the meeting, delay responding to the .
When all else fails, use Larry’s technique!

12. Know your unit and university governance documents thoroughly
Departmental and College By-Laws
Departmental Faculty Handbook, University Faculty Handbook
Collective Bargaining Agreement

13. Be willing to have the hard conversations
Active Listening
Recognizing that the real issue may have nothing to do with the issue at hand
Be as fair and as unbiased as possible in dealing with all your faculty
Be clear about your decisions and the results of the meeting
Follow the meeting with a summation so that all parties are clear and so that there is an historical record.
Important points:
Be aware of the emotional climate
Stay focused on the problem
Do not allow name calling
Develop alternative solutions
Be clear about what should happen after the meeting
If necessary, don’t let them leave the meeting without a back-up plan

14. Hold your own counsel in the academic environment and elsewhere.

15. Be willing to seek advice or help when needed
The Dean (sometimes)
Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Equal Opportunity
Ombudsperson
University Legal

16. Find a confidant and sounding board.