Juan Carro, an engineer and psychologist who has master’s degree in Human Potential Development with a specialization in Organizations, led Universidad ORT Uruguay workshop “Dialoguing Conflict” at Universidad ORT Uruguay , aimed at graduates of the School of Graduate Studies in Business. Carro is a facilitator for training programs on creativity, personal development, teamwork, leadership, decision-making, and nonviolent conflict resolution.
The workshop, which took place on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at the School of Management and Social Sciences, focused on the fundamentals of empathetic communication. Participants also discussed the importance of clarifying one’s own needs as a way to resolve conflicts effectively.
What is the workshop you teach at ORT about? What are its objectives?
The workshop focuses on difficult conversations that arise in the workplace. For example, providing feedback on poor performance, terminating an employee, dealing with missing merchandise or stock shortages, or discussing areas for improvement in a manager’s leadership style, to name a few.
The objectives are:
- Handle conversations in complex situations with a high degree of effectiveness.
- Apply conversational skills that are part of the ontological discipline of language.
- Design conversations to resolve conflicts that arise within organizations.
- Use tools to foster greater connection and empathy in conversations with your team members.
- Coordinate efforts to ensure the achievement of results through discussions that lead to their effective implementation.
- Giving and receiving feedback as part of the learning cycle within an organization.
When it comes to conflict resolution, you refer to “inner voices.” What are they, and how do they influence conflict resolution?
This concept refers to the internal dialogue we have with ourselves about a particular situation. If we ignore this dialogue, we may end up sabotaging ourselves or the other person. One of the keys is to look beyond those voices and identify what my core needs are. The conflict isn’t about strategies; it lies at the level of needs.
One of the topics you cover in your workshops is empathetic communication. How can we improve it?
Starting with ourselves first, in a process of self-connection. It’s very difficult to be empathetic toward others if we don’t start with ourselves.
What are your recommendations for effectively resolving a conflict?
It is essential to clarify the events that led to the situation. We need to connect emotionally with what caused it, share our needs, and work on addressing them. This process is also at play for the other person, and empathy helps us validate their perspective. Moving from the “I” to the “we” is vital for resolving the conflict.
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