4

Point of Creative Tension

 NOTES ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

 

The moral miracle performed by our Co-operators at Rochdale is that they had the good sense to differ without disagreeing; to dissent with each other without separating; and to hate at times and yet always to hold together.  -  ​George Jacob Holyoake​

 

Point of Creative Tension is the fourth module in this proposed study corresponding to the fourth course listed in the CDA Standard Curricula. The title suggests a negotiation table scenario, where a balancing act is called for – “When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the real world, cooperation works better (William J. Clinton)... This must be what The Co-op Idea is all about. In the words of Stephen Covey, “Win-win sees life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one. Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions…there is plenty for everyone” (7 Habits of Highly Effective People).

 

Other famous leaders share the same idea  -

 

We have war when at least one of the parties to a conflict wants something more than it wants peace (Jeane Kirkpatrick)... Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. (Ronald Reagan) ... One has to accept pain as a condition of existence. One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing. One needs a will stubborn in conflict, but apt always to the total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying (Morris West) ...Once to every person and nation come the moment to decide. In the conflict of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side (James Russell Lowell) ... Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral (Paulo Freire)  ... It is the great sadness of our species that we have not found a way to eliminate the conflict and to eliminate violence as a device to resolve our conflicts throughout the entire history of the human race (Neale Donald Walsch) ... What are we having this liberty for? We are having this liberty in order to reform our social system, which is full of inequality, discrimination and other things, which conflict with our fundamental rights (B. R. Ambedkar) ... When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the real world, cooperation works better (William J. Clinton) ...

 

Hence, Point of Creative Tension, the fourth strategic point of awareness for effective Co-operative leadership.