British Airways, railways, teachers.... I feel sad and a little overwhelmed when I read and hear the positional statements of different parties so seemingly polarised. I was also on the receiving end of the BA walkout, as I hurriedly rearranged my flight to Geneva in March.
So what's REALLY happening when people decide to strike? And is there anything we can learn from global conflict transformation practice as we seek solutions?
Conflict transformation practice suggests, sadly, that strikes are pretty inevitable in today's business world. Why so? Because the world of work is often not set up to give people what they really value, what they really long for.
Conflict is never just about the headline, the 'safety of customers' or the 'fair pay'. Indeed the headline is often a smokescreen. The problem is this however; we are so used to living in a world defined by headlines that we don't know what's in the body text, we don't know what the smoke is screening. In my experience understanding and connecting with what's underneath the headline is where transformation and agreement can be found so it can be worth learning how to clear the fog.
This begins with how you think; you'll know if you're in the fog if you find yourself saying 'typical unions causing trouble again!' or 'management have too much power!' Foggy thinking is characterised by judgemental labelling of one or both sides - and a predisposition to search for an answer to the question 'who's right and who's wrong in this case?'
By contrast, conflict transformation practice isn't about questions of right and wrong. Why not? Well, in part because it keeps us locked in the same way of thinking that created the problem in the first place, one where we wrestle through the balance of power for an agreement that is only sustainable whilst the power balance remains the same. And also in part because who's right and wrong is not only endlessly contestable, it's also not what really matters to people; it's not the magic that transforms.
So if we clear the fog of right and wrong what do we find - what's in the body text? Now this is exciting.... we find human beings the world over striving to have in their lives the things that REALLY matter to them; TO CONTRIBUTE, TO BE VALUED, TO BE HEARD, TO HAVE POWER IN THEIR WORLD, TO BE SEEN, ACKNOWLEDGED, UNDERSTOOD, TO HAVE LOVE, CONNECTION, SAFETY, INSPIRATION AND HARMONY, TO EXPERIENCE EQUALITY, TRUST, HONESTY AND INTEGRITY.... and on and on... I have witnessed how understanding these elements, sometimes called non-material needs, has transformed conflict among Sri Lankan villagers hit by tsunami and war, Iraqi refugees in Beirut and Amman and communities and work colleagues in the UK. This work is not bound by culture or language. Instead it speaks to what we all, as human beings, value.
So how is this helpful? BA cabin crew and managers are doing what they do to meet their non material needs. Connect to that and then find ways for everyone's needs to be met. How? We call that empathy, self empathy and self expression. Sound soft? It's about having tough conversations about what's REALLY happening for you. Sound hard? Yes, it is. Unlearning right and wrong is the beginning and as the initially sceptical HR manager on my programme in March 2010 illustrates, you have to experience it to understand - you can't get this just through cognitive processing. The outcome however can be radical, by the end of two days she said 'everyone should attend this training'.
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