What?I have always been a big believer that conflict is a good thing as long as it is used in the right way. After graduating high school and directly before coming to Virginia Tech I served as a Virginia State FFA Officer alongside six other teammates. This team was very dynamic as we were all very different and came from many different backgrounds. Our team had many decisions to make throughout the year and many of which were met with a decent or great deal of controversy and conflict. While we definitely were conflicted in numerous situations the one thing that got us through those tough decisions was our respect for one another and desire to ultimately reach the same goal.
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So What? |
Because our team had respect for each other and were all reaching for the same goal, we were able to ultimately make decisions that positively supported and furthered our intentions and goals. That concept is something that is so important and I am blessed to have been a part of a team that taught me the importance of meeting conflict and controversy with a civil outlook and most importantly a respect for other individual’s backgrounds, thoughts and ideas.
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Now What? |
Controversy with civility is a simple idea but one that can certainly break a team if not utilized in the right way. While our team certainly dealt with a lot of it during our year of service, it was our ability to fight through it in a civil way that kept us on track. As someone who enjoys working in teams and plans on pursuing a job where teams will be utilized a lot, this idea will come in great use for team development and progress. Controversy isn’t normally fun but I’ve come to realize that if used in the right way the outcome of it can be very fun.
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