Great team coaches can stand in the heat and the heat is ON when conflict in the room arises. It’s going to happen but with the right skills, the team coach can lean into it as an opportunity for deeper understanding and collaboration.
One of the most powerful tools for managing conflict in team settings is YOU, the team coach, using your presence and awareness as an instrument to navigate challenging dynamics.
How Emergent Team Coaching Makes the Difference
Emergent team coaching, with its emphasis on adaptability and the evolving needs of the group, offers a unique approach to conflict management. This method goes beyond structured problem-solving or rigid frameworks, focusing instead on creating a space where deeper dynamics can surface and be addressed collaboratively.
Here are some ways emergent team coaching and using yourself as an instrument can transform conflict into growth:
1: Leverage Your Presence
Your presence as a coach is one of the most impactful tools in managing conflict. By remaining calm and grounded, you signal to the team that the situation is manageable, even if emotions are high. This groundedness helps to stabilise the group and creates an environment where members feel safe to explore challenging topics.
To cultivate this presence, focus on self-regulation. Use techniques like deep breathing or centring exercises to remain calm, even in tense moments. When you model composure, you invite the team to do the same.
2. Create Psychological Safety
Conflict often escalates when people feel judged or unsafe to express their perspectives. Emergent team coaching emphasises the importance of psychological safety—ensuring that everyone in the room feels heard and respected.
As team coach, you can foster this safety by:
- Validating emotions without taking sides.
- Setting ground rules for respectful dialogue.
- Encouraging vulnerability by sharing your observations gently, such as, “I notice there’s some tension here. Let’s explore what’s happening.”
3. Use Awareness as a Tool
Drawing from Gestalt psychology, emergent coaches act as “awareness agents.” This involves shining a light on the unspoken dynamics driving conflict. For instance, a team struggling to align on goals might be grappling with deeper interpersonal tensions or power imbalances.
By naming these dynamics sensitively and in the moment, you help the team address the root cause of their conflict. For example: “It seems like there’s some hesitation about fully committing to this plan. What might be behind that?”
4. Focus on the ‘Figural’
In emergent team coaching, “working with the figural” means focusing on what’s most pressing or emotionally charged in the moment. Conflict often represents a figural issue—an opportunity to address something significant that’s been bubbling under the surface.
By staying attuned to what’s emerging in the here and now, you can help the team explore the underlying dynamics and make progress in ways that feel authentic and impactful.
5. Balance Presence with Progress
One challenge in managing conflict is balancing the need to stay present with the group’s evolving dynamics while ensuring progress is made. Emergent coaching encourages you to trust the process rather than forcing solutions prematurely. This might mean sitting with discomfort or allowing silence to create space for reflection.
When you trust the natural unfolding of the team’s journey, you’re more likely to arrive at solutions that are meaningful and sustainable.
6. Help Teams See Each Other’s Humanity
Conflict often arises when individuals become entrenched in their own perspectives and lose sight of others’ humanity. As a coach, you can help bridge this gap by encouraging empathy and perspective-taking.
Questions like, “What might be motivating their viewpoint?” or “How do you think they’re experiencing this situation?” can help shift the group from blame to understanding.
7. Invite Collective Intelligence
Teams have the answers to their conflicts within them; they just need help uncovering them. Emergent coaching prioritises collective sense-making and co-creation. When conflict arises, involve the team in finding solutions by asking open-ended questions like, “What do we need to move forward?” or “How can we address everyone’s concerns?”
This approach not only resolves the immediate conflict but also strengthens the team’s capacity to handle future challenges.
8. Stay Flexible and Adaptive
Emergent coaching rejects a “one-size-fits-all” approach to conflict management. Instead, it encourages you as a coach to adapt to the unique dynamics of each team. This might mean experimenting with different interventions, from structured dialogue exercises to moments of reflection.
The key is to remain open and responsive to what the team needs in the moment, rather than relying on predefined methods.
9. Model Vulnerability and Authenticity
As a coach, your authenticity can set the tone for the group. Share your observations candidly but respectfully, and don’t be afraid to acknowledge your uncertainties. For example, saying, “I’m noticing some tension, and I’m curious how we can best navigate it together,” models vulnerability and invites collaboration.
10. Trust in Emergence
Conflict can feel chaotic, but emergent coaching teaches us to trust in the process. By creating a safe container, staying present, and guiding the team through their challenges, you help them uncover insights and solutions that wouldn’t have been possible through a more rigid approach.
In summary…
…managing conflict in the room isn’t about eliminating tension or avoiding discomfort. It’s about leaning into those moments with curiosity, presence, and trust. By using yourself as an instrument and embracing the principles of emergent team coaching, you can transform conflict into a powerful force for growth and alignment.
When teams learn to navigate conflict constructively, they not only resolve immediate issues but also build the resilience and trust needed to thrive in the face of future challenges.
As a competent, confident coach trained to stand in the heat, you are a fundamental part of this change. Not there yet? Come to a free Intro where we show you how you can have the confidence to help manage conflict in the room
