Instead of butting heads, use your emotional intelligence to come up with more creative ways of solving conflicts. Photo by Ken Lindsay via uk.blog.tourismthailand.co.uk
As in any workplace, conflict in the arts sector is often seen as inevitable – particularly when emotionally voluble individuals come together to work on a project collaboratively: whether that be making a new work or presenting a festival or other event.
But while creativity is inherent, learning how to resolve conflict is not – at least for most of us. Given that resolving conflict can result in teams working together with more focus and passion, as well as providing individuals with greater focus, conflict-solving is a valuable skill to master.
Here are some valuable insights into conflict resolution in the arts from a diverse array of sector members.
Daniel Clarke, Creative Producer, Theatre Works
‘You have to be able to have open conversations with the person who you might be in conflict with; that’s the starting point. I think sometimes as hard as it is to be able to face something head-on, I’ve always found that as a first step being able to talk openly and honestly about the conflict has been helpful – as scary as that is.
‘I think dealing with conflict is really hard; it’s a really difficult thing to do. Especially in this industry, where so many of us are such emotional creatures. But I guess I can only talk from my perspective; I’ve just learned, as I’ve got older and more experienced, to be able to talk through things; and I would appreciate if someone did the same with me, if they had an issue with me: to talk about it and be honest.’
Ella Hinkley, Gallery Manager, Bundoora Homestead Arts Centre
‘Conflict in the arts is a very different thing to conflict in another workplace. In another workplace you can make it very specific: “You’re not achieving this goal and therefore we need to talk about that issue.” But when you’re dealing with creativity and arts projects it’s very emotional for people, and so that changes the scale in some way.
‘If you’re starting conversations constantly from the perspective of “We all want to end up with the best show, and the best outcome for our work; this is a little hurdle that we need to get over,” it sort of changes the scale of the conflict, somehow. So rather than the conversation being about the piece of conflict, the conversation is about the piece of art and making the best work.
‘Dealing with conflict is one thing; avoiding it is obviously the best thing. So clarity of roles, clarity of timelines, all that sort of project management stuff that can sometimes get a little lost when you’re in the middle of an amazing creative brainstorm. And then everyone goes off and goes their own way and does their bits and pieces.
‘And one of the best ways, I think, to avoid conflict within a creative working environment is to have an amazingly talented producer or production manager; because that way you have that person who is constantly saying “Actually this is your job, get on with that,” rather than people sort of crossing boundaries and getting confused and running off on tangents that weren’t perhaps quite where everyone was going.’
Esther Anatolitis, Director, Regional Arts Victoria
‘Conflict is essential to every artistic collaboration. If we’re all in agreement, something’s wrong: we haven’t created that environment where we can take the risks we need to take. Same goes for conflicts that aren’t generated from creative work. We each choose to work with the most outstanding people we can find, and so we need to respect the expertise of the other – more than that, we need to demand its passionate expression. We need to be challenged. I expect nothing less from everyone I work with, and I will go out of my way to ask the provocative question.
‘When conflict happens, relax into it. Recognise it as the breakthrough intensity that will lead to the next resolution of the work or the problem. Break through the emotion if you’re easily affronted by breaking the conflict down into its elements. Make a list. Take your time. If you know you’re a conflict avoider, do a workshop – no, go out and find three different conflict or negotiation workshops, and do them all as soon as you can. You seriously can’t get enough of this stuff, and it will do wonders for the confidence of your expression – as well as for all of us across the arts. The healthiest artistic community is one where conflicts are constantly playing out, resolving and then re-emerging as new work; a generative conflict, not one that shuts us down. We make our best work when we test our ideas with an honesty that’s open and generous.’
Roslyn Dundas, CEO, Ausdance National
‘Conflict isn’t always bad. So when we talk about conflict resolution we’re trying to resolve an issue, but the fact that there are differing ideas, differing approaches, can actually be quite invigorating in the artistic process. And when so much of what we see in dance comes from collaboration, there is often tension in how that collaboration comes into being and it helps create something very magical that we might see.
‘So in one sense, conflict in and of itself doesn’t have to be bad; but we do need practices and processes for working towards an end point, because otherwise we’re just kind of stuck in this tension without taking it forward to a place where we can use it.
‘Working with artists, I find that because of that practise of collaboration and a very strong connection to where we sit as humans … I think artists are more willing to work through these issues, and take them further and explore shared outcomes from a particular conflict – which you don’t actually see in other workplaces and work spaces.
‘But we do need to, I think, not be afraid of conflict and be willing to talk it through. And in an administrative sense, we can’t let it distract us. We need to go “Well we might have different ideas about how we’re going to deliver this project or how to take things forward, so we need to manage this conflict but still keep our eye on the bigger picture, supporting the art form and taking that forward.”’
Scott Gooding, actor/director
‘[A rehearsal room] is a workplace and should be treated as such. So whatever the creation is, whatever the inter-relations that have formed, … once we build that show or once we’re in the rehearsal room it is a workplace, and you have to adhere to all the workplace rules. And that includes anything that is sexually unwanted or workplace bullying or working out what is a personal conflict or what is an artistic conflict or what is “I’ve just had a shit day and I’m bringing it into the rehearsal room and I’m not dealing with it”.
‘And also having, whether it’s a producer or someone else as a third party, like you would in any other workplace, so that if things do go pear-shaped you’ve got a third party to mediate.’
Tatia Sloley, publicist
‘I think it’s about trying to re-establish what your mutual aims are; what you were both trying to achieve. Trying to work out why those two things haven’t actually met up. And often when you do that, that’s when you find that someone goes “I thought this was what we were going to do,” and you go “Oh no, that’s not what I thought we were going to do!” It’s a chance to re-establish [your original goal], and then once you talk about that, sometimes even though those goals are diametrically opposed or whatever, just the chance to have an actual conversation about it can lead to you being in better communication and can help fix things.’
Trent Baker, actor/director/lecturer
‘A lot of artists don’t deal with conflict very well, and I’d probably include myself in that; but what I find effective is to try and keep yourself present and breath if conflict’s going on, and to try – particularly if you’re in director mode, which I am sometimes – to remain neutral, and to hear both sides of what’s going on. You have to really listen and not have an agenda and not think about what your own argument is at the back of your mind pressing in all the time.
‘It doesn’t help to get histrionic, which I think, you know, a lot of us actors can! But also, because of the empathic nature of what we do, there’s the tendency to give in. I think some people can be like “Oh yeah you’re right – I shouldn’t have done that,” and then they go away and say “Hang on!” It hasn’t been solved. So there’s that element of it as well – sometimes actors can so empathise and relate to someone else that they go “Oh yeah you were right and I was in the wrong”. And then they go “No actually I was right – why did I do that?” Because in a way it’s what you’re trained to do.
‘And it is actually important to air conflict, if there is a grievance, if there is something that’s on someone’s mind. As a tribe, as much as we might not like to face it or have conflict, it is actually important to face it; because once it gets out – even if there is a little bit of argy-bargy going on – afterwards it always is clearer where to go from there, which is important as well.’
