The Beauty of Resolving Work Conflicts through the Montessori Approach
In the Montessori classroom, peace education is the cornerstone as adults model peaceful conduct, fostering a culture of respect. The mixed-age group dynamic enables older students to act as mentors for their younger counterparts. The curriculum further reinforces these values with lessons on grace and courtesy, instilling fundamental practices like greetings, politeness, and chair adjustments, all aimed at nurturing respect for others, oneself, and the environment.
Cultivating harmony is everyone's work, not only in society but also at home, school, and the workplace.
I recently found myself grappling with disheartening situations at work. Something went wrong in a project, and then the following happened: echoes of voices clashing, fingers pointing blame, and the stress response dominating the narrative mirrored the heartbreaking events unraveling worldwide.
The 2023 Indeed Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging study revealed that only one-third of individuals feel able to bring their authentic selves to work, with 47% facing mental health issues contributing to a sense of psychological unsafety, while a concurrent Korn Ferry survey of 3,000 HR professionals indicated that 32% perceive a lack of empathy from their CEOs.
Both studies highlighted a significant portion of employees experiencing psychological unsafety in the workplace. When individuals feel unsafe, it often triggers the stress response model, leading to the "fight-flight-freeze" mode and reactive behaviors, contributing to the emergence of conflicts.
How do we create harmony with the Montessori mindset at work?
Cultivate Empathy: Emphasizing empathy work fosters empathetic leadership. Understand the perspectives and feelings of others, creating an environment where everyone's voice is heard and valued.
Embrace Diversity: Montessori education values the uniqueness of each child. Similarly, fostering a culture of acceptance and appreciation for workplace diversity contributes to a peaceful coexistence.
Model Respect: In Montessori, teachers model respect for students, creating an environment of mutual respect. Extend this principle by modeling respect in your interactions at work at all levels.
Encourage Collaboration: Promote collaboration over competition. Montessori classrooms emphasize collaborative learning, creating a sense of unity and shared goals.
Teach Conflict Resolution: Montessori environments provide opportunities for children to learn and practice conflict resolution, with one valuable skill being active listening: allowing others to talk and creating a space for listening and being empathetic about feelings and emotions.
Perhaps changing the entire society or world is a too big task for us individually, but initiating positive change at home and in the workplace is never too much or too late.
"Preventing conflicts is the work of politics; establishing peace is the work of education."- Dr. Maria Montessori
