Conflict Transformation with Deep Democracy

As organizations become more diverse and complex, we are increasingly called upon to skillfully handle complicated interpersonal and team dynamics. Deep Democracy training increases facilitators’ and leaders’ capacity to succeed in turbulent times by offering practical tools for working with differences in groups and turning destructive conflict into creative tension.

While many studies confirm the value of diversity to organizations, diversity often means the presence of contrasting points of view which can lead to conflict. Conflicts are typically feared because we don’t know what to do with them. The longer we go without addressing rising conflict, the farther away we move from each other and the more stuck we become in our positions. The work of leaders and facilitators in organizations and communities is to safely hold conflict, tensions and polarities skillfully as a source of creativity and as a catalyst for learning and growth. To simply respect our differences is to forgo the real gift that is offered to us by diversity.

The basis of the training

Lewis Deep Democracy was developed in post-apartheid South Africa and is currently practiced in over 20 countries around the world. Based on the foundation of this psychologically-based facilitation methodology, we are experimenting alongside many leaders, organizers, and facilitators working towards equity to build individual and collective capacity for transformative change. As change-makers, we need to hold space for relationship and group dynamics that are emotionally charged and/or marked by difference. In previous CoResolve courses, you were introduced to the theory and foundational practices of Lewis Deep Democracy (LDD). Level 3 is designed to strengthen your ability to work with more emotional conflicts.

Course overview

LDD Level 3 is a 2.5-day course for managers, leaders, organizers, and facilitators who have completed CoResolve and the Level 2 Online Integration Program and want to go further with the methodology to work with more emotional conflict situations. The Course will further build your muscles in this simple and yet profound approach to working with group dynamics, decision-making, and conflict. It is a highly experiential deep-dive into this powerful philosophy and practice for engaging individuals and groups of all sizes. It is designed for anyone who wants to work to support groups becoming more empowered, aligned, healthy, and resilient. This course will be taught by Deep Democracy teachers, is limited to 25 participants and is applicable to both experienced and emerging leaders.

Learning outcomes

In Level 3 we will continue to build on previous learning and offer new skills around:

1. Understanding Group Dynamics
   The Lens of Role Theory offers a method for reading the fabric of a group that makes it significantly easier to helpfully intervene. We will continue to grow our awareness of the group dynamics and add the tool of “role mapping to make sense of the teams and groups we work with”.

2. Skills for Steering Discussions and Making Lasting Decisions
   Most of organizational life happens in meetings, and many of us go to too many unproductive meetings. Too often conversations circle at the surface, leaving the elephant in the room untouched. Many groups struggle with making decisions, or they make decisions that don’t get implemented and are constantly revisited. We will revisit and continue to build our skill with “Meeting Etiquette”, a simple set of 4 steps that can be used to guide conversations, avoid the common traps of human miscommunication, engage even the quietest voices, bring out and work with dissent, and make more intelligent, creative decisions.

3. Engaging with Tensions and Mining the Gold of Conflict

Often we are not aware of conflict until it is erupting in our team, organization, or society. Though it often feels like it comes out of nowhere, conflicts usually build up slowly over time, and if diagnosed early (using the resistance line), it can be handled with much greater ease. Timely conflict engagement should be encouraged because once the energy of conflict is released and re-aligned, teams become far more innovative and efficient, while individuals learn, grow and improve their relationships in the process of exploring their differences. In this course, we deepen our skills for working with tensions and conflict by building on existing tools and learning new skills for more charged group conflict as well as supporting the resolution of inner conflict.

Course outcomes

• Reflective Listening: a simple yet transformational tool for applying the Lewis Deep Democracy toolkit to working with individuals. Helping to reflect back what is being said, so that your colleagues or clients can uncover their own unconscious wisdom and deeper knowing. This is the basis for LDD style coaching and one-on-one support.

• Naming Polarities: in situations of complexity, there are always inherent polarities that can either be the basis of division and silos or the basis of learning and growth. When we effectively act from an understanding of “role theory”, our “meeting etiquette” skills to help make tensions visible to groups early, they can be viewed in a way that shifts us from fear and fragility to connection and solidarity.

• Surfacing perspectives: when emotional dynamics escalate, it becomes difficult to see and hear each other clearly. As a leader, we can use this skill set to help slow things down and bring dissenting and emotional voices into the group’s awareness with compassion and clarity.

• Unhooking: when we are holding the space for group action, learning and/or healing, we may get caught up and lose our “Metaskills” or our ability to maintain an attitude of compassion and equanimity for everyone in our groups. When this happens, trust and safety erode. We will offer a simple and powerful tool to help us unhook our reactive patterns and regain our capacity to hold safe spaces for conflict engagement and deeper learning.

Check out for our next Level 3 courses here