Building team cohesion in the midst of responding to human tragedies will always be challenging given our individual strengths and quirks. And yet we manage to accomplish amazing things due in part to our shared values of extending care and concern to others. Maximizing the effectiveness of our work requires a give and take between capitalizing on the unique abilities of each team member and corporate consent to the team’s mission.Many of us have been on assignments in which our biggest challenge was not managing our emotional responses to the traumatic event but navigating our relationships with other trauma responders. These challenges occur for many logical and expected reasons, from personality clashes to misunderstood traumatic stress reactions to physical exhaustion. However, oftentimes conflict occurs as a result of trauma responders working at cross purposes with one another. In these instances, team members have different views regarding the nature of their work (focus) and how best to intervene (approach). Relational processes are set in motion and soon some coworkers are perceived as inadequately trained or lazy, while others are perceived as overly controlling and driven. “The other” becomes identified as the problem rather than something systemic in origin setting up the team for frustration and possibly failure.
This seminar will focus on conflict which occurs due to a lack of a universally understood focus and/or accepted approach, inviting the entrepreneurial, highly skilled, and caring trauma responder into a quagmire waiting to happen. We will begin by identifying multi-level systems designed to promote cohesion already in place within many organizations, while exploring strategies for strengthening and supplementing existing procedures. Group members will be invited to share their experiences and offer solutions as well.