This free course will take place online via Zoom from 10 to 11:15 a.m.

Elected boards and councils make public policy decisions at every meeting, with both pros and cons. Sometimes these discussions can get heated, tensions can flare, and emotions can easily hijack these debates. Such conflict dynamics can be anxiety-provoking at the least, and at their worst can be genuinely harmful to healthy board member relationships. 

Hearing from fellow local elected officials about their personal experiences in managing conflict is a great way to learn what works well and what to avoid. 

In this 101-level Top 10 Primer: Managing Conflicts on Elected Boards: A Roundtable Discussion by Local Elected Officials, School faculty expert John B. Stephens will moderate a discussion among municipal and county alumni of the School's Advanced Leadership Corps (ALC) program. Stephens’ fields of expertise include public dispute resolution, mediation, and facilitation. He is a co-author of Reaching for Higher Ground: Tools for Powerful Groups. 

In this highly interactive and quick-moving online class, Stephens will present brief tips and practical tools for dealing with conflicts in the moment. He will also moderate a roundtable discussion between peer elected officials and ambassadors from the ALC program. Each of our panelists will discuss a challenge they have faced and share strategies for managing the tensions. They will highlight what worked well and confess what might have worked better. 

Audience members will be encouraged to share—through discussion or the group chat—their own conflict situations and seek pointers for possible approaches. 

This roundtable discussion is a free, stand-alone LELA course that also serves as a helpful skill-building supplement to the When Differences of Opinion Escalate: Conflict Resolution Skills for Local Elected Officialscourse.

Participants receive 2 recognition credits toward becoming a LELA Practitioner.