On Sounds Good, Dr. Michael Bordieri and Tracy Ross talk about how groups and organizations can overcome conflict to achieve their purpose.
Bordieri says a branch of clinical psychology is taking methods known to work in the therapy room and applying them in organizational settings. The approach is known as acceptance and commitment training.
“[The approach] really looks at this core idea of whether or not group members and everyone at the table can show up in the same space and focus on what they have in common in terms of what they want the organization to do,” Bordieri said. “And that can be really tricky.”
Bordieri says focusing on conflict can move a group away from the shared purpose. He says every interaction or detail can become part of the fight when people are in an adversarial stance, which is natural and human.
Psychological flexibility is the ability to let go of conflict and it allows individuals to focus on shared values that will move a group forward. Bordieri says achieving this flexibility involves identifying the group's common purpose and then having individuals recognize when they get carried away by conflict so they can refocus on the group's purpose. Bordieri says greater psychological flexibility in group settings leads to better psychological health and better productivity in the workplace.