96 Did your simple conflict get complicated fast?

Some conflicts expand beyond their origin story, so you lose track of who started the conflict, and what your original conflict conflict goals were. That's conflict creep, where conflict exceeds the simpler scope and more limited objectives you had when the conflict started. After a conflict creeps, parties forget about solving the problem, and just want to win. So, how do you stop conflict creep? Using John Paul Lederach's six stages of conflict escalation, we look at how you can recognize the stages, and stop conflict creep.

show notes:
Lederach, J. P. (1999). The Journey Toward Reconciliation. Waterloo, ON, Herald Press.
conflict escalates through six changes. 
1, people place blame instead of accepting responsibility. 
2, everything that’s wrong replaces the simpler issue that began the conflict. 
3, language becomes accusatory, generalized and defensive. 
4, people seek allies, and categorize others as friends or enemies. 
5, people believe they're justified to react to the latest insult and aggressions.
6, no middle ground remains, and people stop communicating.

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Dr. Deborah Sword is a conflict specialist with decades of experience and training to share.

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