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Coordinating: Avoiding Political Feuds

MRC units likely will work with several groups, agencies, offices, and organizations. Some of these groups may have longstanding disagreements concerning procedures for allocating resources or for executing missions. Although such conflict does not prevent collaboration, it requires cooperation among participating groups.

MRC unit coordinators will need to be sensitive to tensions among potential partners in their community to avoid any pre-existing conflicts. Avoiding the conflicting parties may reinforce the lack of open communication and cooperation. Rather, while negotiating collaborative partnerships, the unit coordinator must understand the conflict’s history. This will require maintaining perspective on the overall vision and mission against which differences may seem less consequential. It also will require remaining cautious about acting as the mediator.

When two parties sincerely want to mend a breach, they will find a way to do it, sometimes by asking a neutral third party to mediate. When there is no genuine effort to resolve conflict, a non-neutral third party—such as an MRC unit coordinator—may become involved in interactions that only perpetuate the longstanding animosity. When there is no genuine effort to resolve differences, you do not want to be responsible for resolving other parties’ conflicts.

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Last Updated on 8/18/2006