Managing Difficult Conversations
Spring 2003 - Course 3
Instructor: Tammy Lenski, Ed.D.
Course Overview:
This two-week course is designed to transform the experience of engaging in difficult conversations in the higher ed workplace. Participants will examine the habitual ways of thinking and being they bring to conversations that challenge them the most, and learn how to develop new perspectives and approaches capable of shifting the way these exchanges unfold. Unlike approaches for "dealing with difficult people," this approach assumes that it can takes only one person in a difficult conversation to lead the way to a more satisfying outcome.
Course Outline:
The course is divided into four learning modules, two each week. With each module, course participants will have material to review, a small set of reflective exercises to do on their own, and a discussion board assignment.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students who participated actively and regularly in the course and its discussion board will have:
- Expanded their understanding of ways that mental models of conflict dramatically shape difficult conversations and make it difficult to move out of cycles of blame and defensiveness.
- Examined their conflict triggers and ways to manage their own "hot buttons."
- Increased their knowledge of ways to manage strong emotions, de-escalate tension, and remove barriers to mutual understanding.
Participant Expectations:
Participants should expect to devote about 5 hours to the course each of the two weeks and complete assignments by the end of the week in which they're posted. Active participation in the discussion board will significantly enhance the learning experience and help bring the course material to life.
Individuals registering for CEUs will receive 1.0 CEU upon successful
completion of the course.
Instructor Bio:
Tammy Lenski, Ed.D., is a mediator and educator with 17 years of experience in higher education and student affairs administration. A former senior student affairs officer, she is now Principal of Lenski Mediation LLC, a New Hampshire-based firm that specializes in helping public- and private-sector clients tap the creative potential in conflict. Dr. Lenski is on the faculty of the Mediation/Conflict Management Program at Woodbury College and is a certified mediator for the NH Probate Court. She holds a B.A. from Middlebury College, an M.Ed. and Ed.D. from The University of Vermont, and a one-year Certificate in Mediation from Woodbury College. In her higher ed career she has worked in 4-year, 2-year, public and private, women's and coeducational institutions and has published, presented and facilitated nationally on a variety of higher education and conflict resolution topics.
|
