1. Required Reading: Within 6 months of becoming a SELC staff member, all staff members shall read or re-read the book “Difficult Conversations,” or the book “Powerful Non-Defensive Communication,” or a comparable book. By the end of that period, each staff member shall write a short summary on lessons learned from the readings, ideas for improving SELC’s internal and interpersonal communication processes, and other takeaways from the readings.
2. Conflict Engagement Training: If any staff member sees a reasonable and affordable opportunity for some or all staff members to take a training on conflict resolution, that staff member should bring a proposal to the General Circle or the Conflict Engagement Team to have staff attend that training.
3. Conflict Engagement Team Accountabilities: SELC shall maintain a Conflict Engagement Team (CET) of three people that will be responsible for the following (i.e. CET’s accountabilities):
   1. Resource development and maintenance. CET will:
      1. Maintain a list of potential mediators and other external conflict resolution resources in Asana. The list can be found here.
      2. Maintain a list of conflict resolution training opportunities and inform staff of those opportunities. The list can be found in Asana.
   2. Annual trainings. The CET will schedule 1-2 mandatory all-staff workshops, trainings, or facilitated meetings on conflict and communications per year. After seeking input from all staff, the CET will have discretion over the content and facilitation of those activities, including whether to bring in outside facilitators or workshop leaders.
   3. CET is the go-to body for staff to receive support for interpersonal conflicts. When the CET observes or learns of an interpersonal conflict, and believes that the parties in conflict are not taking appropriate steps to resolve the matter, and that the conflict has the potential of harming the organization or moving it back in its mission, the CET will bring this to the attention of the parties involved, offer their assistance, or require the parties to follow the Conflict Resolution Process detailed below.
   4. Recusal of CET members when involved in a conflict. If any member of the CET becomes aware that they are part of any conflict the CET is working to resolve, or if they are otherwise involved or unreasonably biased, that member shall inform the other CET members and recuse themselves from acting as a member of the CET for purposes of working to resolve that particular conflict.
   5. Maintaining accountability to the General Circle. The Conflict Engagement Team members hold elected positions voted on by the General Circle. Elections shall take place every 2 years or when a position becomes vacant. Members elected to the CET shall participate in a conflict resolution, transformative justice, restorative justice, and/or other training aligned with the values of the Law Center within 6 months of joining the CET. This training is not intended to prepare CET members to act as internal mediators for the Law Center, but rather to become effective stewards of the CET and our Conflict Resolution Process (see below). Any reasonable expenses for this training shall be an Internal Resilience Circle expense; not a staff member’s individual professional development budget expense.
4. Scope of Conflict Resolution Process. The Conflict Resolution Process below covers conflicts between coworkers who feel irritated, offended, or are generally experiencing an interpersonal conflict with one or more other staff members. For cases of unlawful harassment, discrimination, retaliation, physical or verbal abuse, or whistleblower issues, staff should follow the complaint procedure outlined in the Law Center’s harassment, whistleblower, or other specific policies.
5. Confidentiality. The CET will endeavor to keep all communications between staff and the CET confidential, to the extent practical, until all parties involved in the conflict give their input to the CET about when, how, and what to share, and with whom, related to the conflict in question, in order to reach a meaningful resolution for all parties involved. Parties involved in a conflict should be aware that there are limits -- legal and otherwise -- on what information the CET will maintain in confidence, both from the other party or parties involved in the conflict, and from the General Circle. After seeking input from the parties involved on the parameters of confidentiality and disclosure, the CET will use its best judgment to determine the disclosures it deems necessary to further its goal: resolving the conflict in a manner that serves the best interests of all staff. The CET has an affirmative responsibility to the General Circle to create, maintain, and abide by a transparent and accountable system for engaging and guiding staff through the Conflict Resolution Process. Therefore, after seeking input from the parties involved in the conflict, the CET will will use its best judgment to provide the General Circle with information about conflicts which have been brought to the attention of the CET at a time and in a manner designed to encourage resolution of those conflicts and serve the best interests of our co-workers.
6. Conflict Resolution Process. Staff members who find themselves in conflict shall:
   1. Reflect: Reflect on whether it is possible to forgive and let go of the issue without lasting feelings of resentment, distrust, or fearing that the issue will arise again if left unaddressed.
   2. Discuss: If it is not possible to forgive and let go of the issue, the staff member shall discuss the conflict with the staff member(s) with whom there is conflict, and attempt resolution using the communication strategies learned in the required reading (see Paragraph 1) and staff trainings. Staff should use the following strategies when engaging with coworker(s) about conflict:
      1. Read your coworker’s communications profile(s). Understand how your coworker wants to discuss conflict and whether they would like to speak in private or with another person present, for example. Ask your coworker when it would be an OK time to talk about a potentially sensitive matter.
      2. Bring it up to that person as soon as reasonably possible. In general, we encourage direct communication about conflicts with coworkers as soon as possible to move towards a resolution.
      3. Be kind and compassionate. Maintain your normal conversational volume when talking about the issue. Listen actively and with empathy to your coworker when they are speaking. Do not interrupt or make impatient gestures.
      4. Assume good intentions. Give your coworker the benefit of the doubt. Assume your coworker is doing their best, intends you no disrespect or harm, and is speaking from a place of truth for them.
      5. Enter the conversation with curiosity. Ask how your coworker experienced the interaction or event, and what your coworker's intent was (that is, ask rather than accuse or impose your version on them). Using “I” statements, tell your coworker how you were impacted by their words, actions, or behavior, and ask them what they experienced or perceived.
      6. Be solution-oriented rather than simply critical. Instead of arguing over who's right, work together, as comrades and colleagues, to solve the problem.
   3. Seek Support from the Conflict Engagement Team. At any stage in a conflict, particularly in the early stages, staff members are encouraged to ask CET for support. And, at any stage in a conflict, the CET may require the parties in conflict to engage with the CET to try to reach a resolution. CET members engaging in the conflict resolution process shall keep notes on relevant conversations, meetings, and communications, as well as any other pertinent documentation in the CET files which are accessible only to CET members.
      1. If the CET determines that it will be productive, the CET will call the people in conflict to a meeting (in person if possible) to discuss the conflict at hand and attempt to diffuse it. The CET and parties in conflict may collaboratively develop an action plan that outlines the next most promising steps for the parties to resolve the conflict. In developing the action plan, the CET and parties in conflict will consider, but are not limited to, the steps outlined in this Conflict Resolution Process.
         1. The notes, agreements, and/or action plan from this meeting shall be put in writing with specified dates by which each person agrees to complete the identified next steps.
      2. If the meeting with the CET and parties in conflict does not result in an action plan, or the CET determines that such a meeting is not the best next step toward resolving the conflict, the CET may forego this meeting and seek the support of professional conflict resolution services.
   4. Professional Conflict Resolution Services: The CET may, at any time, utilize external professional services (“external consultant”) to provide advice and direct support on interpersonal conflicts. The CET, shall ensure the external consultant is provided with an appropriate budget if the consultant charges for their services. The CET may request additional funds from the IR or GC circles if costs will exceed the budget for such services.
      1. If the external consultant advises that the parties engage in mediation, professional coaching, or some other activity, all parties in conflict shall participate in good faith and use their best efforts to resolve the conflict until the budget has been exhausted or the conflict resolved.
      2. At this point in the Conflict Resolution Process, if it hasn’t already been done, the CET shall make the General Circle aware that an interpersonal conflict exists, identify the parties involved, inform the GC that external consulting services are being sought, and disclose the agreed upon budget for the consultant’s engagement.
      3. If any party to a conflict rejects or otherwise fails to follow the consultant’s advice or engage in the prescribed activities, and if the conflict remains unresolved, the CET will create appropriate documentation for the staff member’s personnel file and the conflict engagement process moves to the next step: processing the conflict via the General Circle.
   5. Processing Conflict via the General Circle:
      1. If the conflict remains unresolved after the above process has been exhausted, then CET or any person involved in the unresolved conflict, shall bring a discussion item to the General Circle in order to collectively construct an agreement to resolve the conflict. The discussion item shall provide a summary of the conflict (seeking input from the parties involved), a summary of the steps taken to resolve the conflict (including CET’s involvement, any external services that were offered or provided, and any prescribed actions, and whether and to what extent the prescribed actions were followed by each party to the conflict), the funds expended on resolving the conflict, and any suggestions the involved parties and/or the CET have for appropriate next steps to resolve the conflict.
      2. If either (a) the discussion at the General Circle does not result in an agreement on a way forward to resolve the conflict, or (b) an agreement made during a GC discussion is implemented and the conflict still remains unresolved, the CET shall bring a Proposal to the General Circle to delegate any further decisions on conflict resolution or engagement to the Board of Directors.

(IR/CET)