Creating Conflict Agreements

We suggest that all groups create Conflict Agreements to figure out how they will handle conflicts and tensions when they inevitably arise.

These could include:

• An intention to ‘lean into conflict’, treating it as potentially transformative rather than something to run away from.

• An agreement of a clear method and space for raising and processing tensions within your group. For example a weekly or bi-weekly ‘Tension Shifting’ meeting or part of a meeting could achieve this.

• A shared understanding about what to do if a conflict occurs and when and how to ask for help from the TCJ team.

• An intention to use Nonviolent Communication and short feedback loops to process tensions quickly and non-judgmentally.

Short feedback Loops are when you tell someone that you have a tension with their role or their behaviours quickly after the tension occurs.