WHEN COLLABORATORS CONFLICT

Sometimes people who are trying their very best to collaborate end up conflicting. It actually happens a lot. Already this year I have had many intense conversations with many different trainers about what to do when a collaboration ends up in a conflict. Oftentimes this happens when there is a complex situation and/or one where there are some built in constraints and people just don’t know what to do. While I wrote about this yesterday in the last Framers’ post (#18), there’s more to be said and this will become increasingly true as we grow, as there are more Trainers and Meta-Coaches.

How do you collaborate when you have a client and another trainer or coach tries to take him or her away from you?

First there are several things wrong with this question. First and foremost is the idea that when you have a client, when you have a relationship with a manager, an HR person, or a business owner— that somehow you “own” or “possess” that client. You don’t! That person is his or her own person and the relationship is just that— a relationship and so requires respect, rapport, open communication, truth, honesty, etc.