METM16 interactive session 


Managing conflict with a simple coaching tool

Felicity Neilson, Paris, France 

Conflict within a relationship, whether professional or personal, is a signal that something new is trying to emerge. You may, for example, feel frustrated that not all the members of a team are pulling their weight or that there are negative feelings in your workplace. On a more personal level, you might be trying to find your place in a recomposed family or be fed-up with a friend who is constantly nagging and complaining. You might also experience conflict within yourself when trying to solve a problem or make a decision about your future. However, when handled well, conflict can bring about constructive change and open up new behavior patterns.
 
In this session, we’ll use a simple coaching tool – the paper constellation – to explore how to work through conflict and increase positivity within a relationship. The paper constellation is a way of visualizing the dynamics within a system (relationship, team, environment), analyzing the roles each person plays, and resolving issues through re-positioning the various elements of the system. It is an extremely effective tool that brings fast results in terms of what is going on and what is needed.
 
We’ll start by discussing what coaching actually is and how it can provide truly effective tools to guide us through many life / work situations. I’ll then demonstrate what a paper constellation is and how it can be used as a practical tool to support you and your relationships when faced with conflict. A good part of the session will be devoted to you discovering and playing with paper constellations in pairs. By the end of the session you’ll have experienced an aspect of coaching that you can draw on to resolve conflict in any work/life situation.  


Felicity Neilson graduated in Physiology and Biochemistry from Southampton University before leaving the UK to live in Japan and then in France where she has been working as communications trainer, author’s editor and project manager for the last 30 years. She runs Matrix Consultants, a Paris-based agency offering a wide range of language services for the biomedical sector in France: training, translating, writing and editorial assistance. She is a certified ORSC* coach which she uses both with her clients to enhance their communications skills and in her personal life on a daily basis.  
*Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching