Thanks, Alex! I was needing this post at just this time. First because it reminds me I'm not the only one who has struggled / is struggling with various items on your list, and second because it reminds me of solutions that help make the community stronger.
On Monday, June 3, 2013 5:41:43 PM UTC+2, Alex Hillman wrote: > > Turns out this never made it out of my drafts folder - better late than > never :) > > Here are some common causes for conflict that I've seen at our coworking > space as well as others: > * > > People are messy. * > Common areas, especially kitchens, are the first to go. Individual > workspaces can easily get out of hand too, and spill over into adjacent > areas. > * > * > *People are noisy.* > Some people don't know how to control the volume of their voices. Others > have loud, klackety keyboards. Others spend a lot time on the phone. Some > just don't know when to shut up or leave people alone. > > *People have different senses of humor.* > "Political correctness" is a wide range. Some people are easier to offend > than others. > * > * > *People work together and the project explodes or goes belly-up.* > Collaboration isn't inevitable, but when it does happen there's an > inherent risk: if the project collapses, can the relationship between those > people endure or will someone end up losing their coworking community in > the divorce? > > *People feel like they got taken advantage of. * > Same as above, or worse: somebody actually *did* take advantage of them. > * > * > *People drop the ball on their commitments.* > People make promises that aren't kept. Everyone makes mistakes, but be on > the look out for patterns. > * > * > *People's belongings are moved, go missing, or are damaged.* > From "sorry I just borrowed your iPhone charger" to actual theft & > vandalism. > > *People aren't able to honor their financial commitments.* > My policy on membership problems due to financial issues has always been > "life happens, but don't make me chase you." > * > * > *People feel entitled to something they're not getting.* > Sometimes people expect more than you're prepared to offer. Other times > people just want to believe that they're special. > > The #1 conflict creator in communities and sharing is the tragedy of the > commons <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons>. In its > simplest form, you can think of "tragedy of the commons"-type conflicts as > what happens when there is an imbalance in taking and giving in the > community. > > We experience this most commonly during periods of growth: a lot of new > members join, and if we're not working extra hard to help them understand > they can contribute instead of just view Indy Hall as a resource to take > from, overall cultural norms can shift noticeably and the entire community > can begin to feel the effects. > > Similarly, if the community begins to get too comfortable, even the > smallest changes can be perceived as a *personal* disruption rather than > part of the goal of ongoing improvement for *everyone*. > > While these scenarios are general, they have one major theme in common: *a > breakdown in trust and communication.* > * > * > The worst thing you can do is pretend that there isn't a problem. I see > this FAR too often - usually because peoples fears are far worse than > reality. > > The second worst thing you can do is attempt to mend the problem yourself. > Healthy communities are remarkably self-healing, and in fact communities > can become stronger in the face of a challenge...but you have to give them > a chance (and sometimes some guidance) to work things out themselves. A > community's immune system is like a muscle - it needs to be worked in order > to get strong. A healthy community can deal with conflict on its own far > more effectively than you can on its behalf. > > Remind members of core values and the purpose of the community, and help > them find common ground rather than a "win/lose" outcome. Very few problems > can't be resolved with this kind of communication. > > In all cases, remember that humans are fragile, but > remarkably resilient in groups. You have to give people some room to grow > together in order for them to be able to work together to solve their own > problems, even when your "fixer" instincts are their strongest. > > -Alex > > > > -- > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > On Sat, May 4, 2013 at 10:17 PM, AlexandriaC > <[email protected]<javascript:> > > wrote: > >> What are some of the conflicts you have faced at work and how did you >> handle them? I would love to hear the different experiences people have >> had. Would you try to avoid a conflict or would you face it head on? >> >> -- >> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
