You’re managing a group of volunteers and two of them are in conflict. How can you help them work together?

Encouraging empathy is key to conflict resolution. There are various ways of doing so, depending on the situation: the classic non-violent communications steps, in which each person identifies their emotions and needs and communicates them to the other; an observation process where each person observes and tries to understand what the other person is going through, etc. The volunteer manager helps with this process, providing a structure, ground rules, and reformulating when needed. It's important for the volunteer manager to have a good understanding of non-violent communication basics, in order to avoid judgement, potentially hurting comments, and helping the volunteers with understanding themselves and finding the right words.

I have often been able to support volunteers through conflicts by grounding them in the mission of the work we are there to do. Most people volunteer to advance and support the organization and wouldn’t want to do anything contrary to that goal. Especially long term volunteers!

The most important consideration is impact on your mission - does conflict jeopardize interests of the organization and volunteers’ ability to support you. Your responsibility is first and foremost to the mission. Resolving conflict among volunteers is no different than any other types of conflict. It’s important to understand the motivations and assess if you are likely to resolve this conflict or if it is beyond repair and only likely to escalate to determine the best course of action.

We might see them in conflict from one perspective, but they have two more perspectives to offer. Speak to each individual separately first to learn more about the background and behaviors that brought them to this point. Then you'll be better prepared to address the situation.

The first thing I have learnt is to find Peace. Into any house you enter,First Declare Peace. You cannot avoid conflict management,it is an essential skill for any one managing, leading people. Therefore,the culture of mutual respect must be embedded in the team from the beginning. How do we embrace the diversity of opinions, without letting anyone feeling left out.Because the source of conflict is usually a difference in temperament,manner of approach, conversation. Can the team lead foster dialogue,which will encourage people to express themselves. It is also important to hold people accountable for their words or action.

As long as the conflict is not directly impacting the agency, it’s useful to let volunteers know no two people will have the exact job and therefore each is invited to offer their perspectives and experiences within the roles assigned; this provides a richer experience for all. For the two in conflict, try a simple fix like assigning them where they won’t run into each other and keep the focus on engaging volunteers’ unique strengths which gives them permission to complete the tasks as they prefer.