Ready to make an impact?
You've been elected and are ready to deliver positive change for your community! You feel energised and optimistic about what lies ahead and how you can deliver meaningful change for your community. But then, you hit a hard patch. Communication breaks down. Mistrust creeps in. Egos emerge. Next thing you know, your well-placed dreams of community change become overshadowed with doubt and frustration and a decent dose of inter-personal conflict.
Delivering results for your community as part of an elected governing body is no easy feat. It requires a group of unique individuals to come together to govern a large complex organisation for the greater good. All within a politically charged environment. So, it may be a relief to hear that hitting a stumbling block and a little bit of tension is a normal stage of group dynamics - the trick is not getting stuck there. In this blog, we unpack the unique stages you are likely to go through and share how you can move forward into a collaborative space.
The democratic process is by nature competitive. You are elected by winning enough votes to a gain a spot within the elected council. The process pits people against others including those who had worked together effectively in the past. Even after the election, the competition is likely to continue as people jostle for the Mayoral and Deputy Mayor roles.
Initially after the election, councillors will be keen to get to know each other and the expectations of the role and task ahead - which is governing as part of the elected council. In this stage, you can expect that councillors will avoid conflict and "play nice" as they form a group. But at the same time, councillors may be quick to judge each other's strengths and weaknesses based on first impressions and each others conduct during the campaign. The focus of the group tends to be practical and particularly for new councillors, becoming familiar with the new environment.
It is important to be aware of this 'play nice' social dynamic. You don't have to a cynic and believe everyone is playing smoke and mirrors but do understand that our first impressions of people may not be reliable or represent a complete understandings of that person. First and foremost, put aside preconceived judgments and focus on finding common ground. Learn about your fellow councillors' values, purpose, goals, skills and lived experiences and take notice of what you share.
Focus: Finding common ground rather than differences
As the group becomes more familiar with each other, it is inevitable that conflict or friction will arise between councillors. Personalities and working styles might clash with each other. Irritations that were ignored previously are likely to become points of contention. This includes things said and done during the campaign period. Individual councillors might begin to feel overwhelmed by not knowing their job, some might start to feel frustrated by the bureaucracy and others might seek to test the boundaries of what can be said and done.
This stage is a useful yet uncomfortable process as it paves the way for more robust communication and an increased curiosity about each other. Ultimately, there will be challenges and misunderstandings that arise from a collective of unique and diverse individuals coming together to make decisions in a formal and structured manner. This stage can be very challenging stage for people who are conflict averse and who would prefer that everyone just gets along. What matters is the conflict stays out of the personal zone, and remains in the healthy zone of debating issues.
Focus: Ensuring conflict is issue based rather than personal
To move out of the conflict phase as quickly as possible, individual councillors should adopt a curiosity mindset. This is when councillors realise that the success of the elected council requires them to let go of initial judgements and expectations and instead become curious about each other. A curiosity mindset is when we listen without judgement, and are open to other views, ideas and ways of working. Curiosity reduces defensiveness and opens up channels of communication which in turn leads to better function and productivity of the group. It can be easiser said than done. Councillors may need to let go of 'their' ideas and be more open to other views.
A key part of curiosity is to take the time to understand more about each other at a human level. Learning about each other's strengths and weaknesses also allows the group to harness each individuals strengths for the benefit of the group.
Focus: Understanding the humans behind the official titles
In this stage, a certain level of trust has been established between councillors and the elected council is beginning to communicate more effectively. It should have developed a positive capacity for disagreement and robust discussion. Conflict is viewed with less defensiveness and instead leads to better quality outcomes or decisions for the community.
This collegial respect allows councillors to ask for help and offer constructive feedback without risking relationships. For example, gaining feedback on a possible amendment at a council meeting or sharing the details of a notice of motion before it is formally submitted. To build on this, councillors should focus on establishing agreed protocols to communicate with each other, particularly when disagreement is in the air.
However, selective information sharing, gossiping, faction forming and poor communication skills can quickly take the elected council back into the conflict stage. If you find this happening, go back to the start - focus on finding common ground, focus on the issue not the person and seek to understand the human on the other side.
Focus: Establishing and maintaining open and transparent communication
Finally, we're at the collaboration stage! It might sound like utopia buts is when the council is poised to achieve its collective goals and deliver outcomes for the community. This is where the gold lies - and where harvesting differences of opinion and building collective understanding about the problems you are trying to solve can create better outcomes for all.
It is important to recognise that this stage is not static and that the group can fall into unproductive conflict when under pressure, especially when faced with controversial decisions that the community feels strongly about or making decisions about allocating scarce resouces. Personal egos and narrow priorities can also hinder progress. As can individual councillors pursuing political gain over the common good.
Focus: Harnessing the unqiue strengths and perspectives of each councillor for the greater good
If you find yourself, or the elected council, getting stuck in an unproductive conflict cycle, then it can be beneficial to access external support. We offer one to one conflict coaching for individual councillors and can also work with the whole elected council. Contact Emma on 0421 180 881 or contact@localelearning.com.au for a confidential and obligation free conversation.
