Public health leaders and managers provide oversight for programs, operations, and personnel, in addition to collaborating with community partners to achieve goals.
These encounters naturally create conditions for conflicts and the need for negotiation. Fortunately, NWCPHP’s new learning opportunity can help.
The newly revised Conflict Management course gives public health professionals the skills and preparation they need to navigate these issues and lead others in the process.
Drawn from NWCPHP’s award-winning Public Health Management Certificate materials, this short course has been adapted for leaders and managers at all levels in an organization but lacking in time to join the year-long certificate program. The course is particularly intended for people serving in management or senior leadership positions, managing others, or engaging with internal and external stakeholders and community partners.
It is also specifically designed to support busy teams and groups in the same organization or those collaborating on a community issue who want to learn together for even greater impact.
The highly-engaging material is designed to be delivered over eight 90-minute sessions or approximately 12 hours. The dates and times can be customized to meet your office environment and learning needs.
“The importance of negotiation and conflict management skills in public health practice cannot be overemphasized, even in normal times,” said Jim Reid, course instructor and senior lecturer at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington.
Throughout the course, participants will identify and assess factors that are common to a wide range of negotiation scenarios. They will then consider and practice how these factors can be applied and adapted to specific situations including negotiations between individuals, organizations, community groups, and in multi-party negotiations involving public or nonprofit agencies, the private sector, or other interest groups.
The use of real-world case examples and practice with simulated negotiation exercises provides concrete examples to learn from and brings the material to life.
Participants who complete this course will be able to apply interest-based negotiation techniques to resolve disputes, use effective communication strategies to help influence others, and understand ways to keep everyone engaged in the negotiation process.
As reaching an agreement is not the end of the conflict resolution process, course participants will also learn about the use of adaptive management practices to renegotiate or refine a consensus agreement during its implementation.
In many cases, agencies cannot afford to hire a facilitator or the dispute is not big enough to require outside mediation. Let Conflict Management give you the confidence and skills to lead a negotiation on your own and help a group reach consensus and accomplish their goals.
Contact Christine Ector to learn more about this unique learning opportunity and how to bring it to your organization or team.
