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Conflict and Collaboration

At some point, you will be living and working with people whose views are utterly different from your own. They are not toxic or draining, but they just might be from another planet.

You may be running a team where members have entirely different perspectives. Sometimes you may be able to harmonize between extremes. Sometimes, the only thing you can do is separate the elements and use the tension between them creatively.

If someone’s difference of view causes them to be hateful, you don’t have to react. You can distance yourself from them. Sometimes you can have significant input from a very different view. That doesn’t necessarily mean accepting it in its entirety. You may gain critical insight and then continue on your own core path.

You could share a meal with someone very different, identify common ground in essential things, finding an unexpected way forward.

Even those who at first sight look like barbarians come to disturb your peace may turn out to be welcome allies, on closer inspection.

There are also those whose differences are aggressive and who will never seek to find a way to collaborate. They are best avoided or kept at a safe distance in case your place ends up looking like this…