Archetypes Of Conflict
奥丑测:鈥� The more polarized we get and the more pressure we find on us from the challenges facing society, the more we find ourselves facing conflict.鈥� If you just turn on the TV and watch the news, you find that the days of Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, and Edward R. Morrow are all but gone (with few a few exceptions) and most news are opinions shot back and forth across the airwave bows at each other.鈥�
Refereeing at sporting events, even little league games has become a 鈥渄angerous鈥� profession, the booing from the stands has escalated into high levels of even physical conflict.鈥� At the same time, conflict is a natural part of life 鈥� it is what moves us forward.鈥� Conflict is not the issue 鈥� how we handle it is.鈥���
How:鈥� One way of handling conflict better is to understand how we approach conflict.鈥� There are four 鈥渁rchetypes鈥� for how we handle conflict, each with its underlying strengths and potential weakness.鈥� Conflict concerns our relationship to power, so each represents one of these relationships:
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The Victim
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any power, and I fear it.鈥�
Gifts: compassion, humility
Pitfall: helplessness, despair听
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The Warrior
鈥淥thers have power, and I need to fight it.鈥�
Gifts: confidence, agency
Pitfall: combativeness myopia听
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The Leader/Healer
鈥淧ower is available, and I can harness it.鈥�
Gifts: vision, creativity
Pitfall: denial of challenges, over-realistic听
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The Creator
鈥淧ower is available, and we can harness it together.鈥�
Gifts: presence, flow
Pitfall: slipping to other states, ignoring 鈥渟tuckness鈥澨�
Think back on some conflicts you have had. Ask yourself the following questions:鈥�
- What archetype(s) did you embody during that conflict?鈥�
- How did the archetype(s) impact my responses and actions in the conflict?鈥�
- What were my needs or what could I have done differently when in that archetype?鈥�
- Is there an archetype that I tend to gravitate toward most often and how does it impact my engagement in conflict (positively or negatively)?鈥�
- What is a specific action I can take to harness the best of the archetypes when facing conflict?鈥�
