The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
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The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
The Staff Conflict Playbook
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Conflict Isn't Always Broken
Speaker 1Conflict on a church staff team isn't always a sign that something's broken . But how do you handle it ? That tells the real story and today on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast , we're going to walk through a practical plan for navigating staff conflict without making it worse , whether you're a lead pastor , an executive pastor or in the middle of a mess . Hopefully this will help guide you through to be able to lead with clarity and courage . Hi there , my name is Todd Rhodes . I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and also your host right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast every Monday through Friday . That tension between two staff members , it's not just awkward , it can be contagious , because a lot of times conflict doesn't stay contained , it leaks into team morale , into church culture and it can even leak into the Sunday experience . So today we're going to talk about what I call a staff conflict playbook . Of course , we're only going to be able to talk a few minutes about this , so it's just going to be the 30,000-foot level . But stay with me and hopefully you'll walk away at the end of the podcast with a four-step framework to help lead your team through conflict without messing everything up worse or losing momentum . So here is where we're going to start without messing everything up worse or losing momentum . Okay , so here is where we're going to start , and this is the first part of the playbook
Normalize That Conflict Happens
Speaker 1. Okay , normalize that conflict happens . Okay , conflict happens .
Speaker 1Staff conflict isn't a crisis . It's a guarantee . If you have a passion and gifted and opinionated people , sooner or later . It's not if it's when , sooner or later , there will be some friction . There just will be . What matters most is how you respond . So , when you sense that there's some conflict , some tension , some unease , ask yourself some questions like are we avoiding conflict altogether ? Are we escalating conflict unnecessarily or are we using conflict to help create clarity ? Because the last question is that's the approach you probably need to take . No , I will say this is the approach you need to take . So first thing is just to remember if you have conflict , that means you're a church and that means you have staff . Okay , no harm , no foul . If there's conflict , it's important how you deal with the conflict , though . Okay . So here's how I would say a four-step conflict playbook , simple framework , nothing
Four-Step Conflict Playbook
Speaker 1too difficult . You might want to write this down , but it's not rocket science here , but this four-step conflict playbook will hopefully help you address conflict on your church staff .
Speaker 1Okay , the first is to observe , observe , watch for patterns . Is this a recurring situation or is it just a one-off type of a thing ? Don't wait until it's toxic . Or is it just a one-off type of a thing ? Don't wait until it's toxic , address it early . And you can only do that when you observe .
Speaker 1Okay , second thing is name it , call it what it is privately , with humility , say , hey , privately , here's what I'm seeing and I want to understand what's behind it . Is there anything to this ? So the first thing you're going to do is you're going to observe and when you see something , you're going to name it and you're going to start to have a conversation . And then you're going to navigate it . Okay , what do I mean by navigate ? You're going to bring both parties together . Right , there's a conflict , so there has to be more than one party . If there was just one party , it probably wouldn't be a conflict . Bring both parties together if it's appropriate . And then you're going to focus on behaviors , not personalities . Okay , don't focus on personalities .
Speaker 1The goal of navigating is to seek to restore trust , not just solve the problem . But you do want to solve the problem , but you also want to restore the trust that the breakage of trust . That's why there's conflict , right ? Conflict usually always involves some kind of a break in trust . So you want to solve the problem , but you also want to concentrate on restoring the trust between these two parties so that they can work together very well in the future . So , again , first thing you're going to do is you're going to observe . Second step you're going to name it . Third step you're going to navigate it . And the fourth step is you're going to coach it .
Building Trust Through Conflict
Speaker 1Okay , you're going to coach it , provide tools for future moments , maybe some communication guides , some expectations . But you don't want to just resolve it , you want to develop your people as they go through it .
Speaker 1Okay , because here's why . Here's why I say that the win isn't avoidance , it's alignment . Okay , conflict can actually build trust when handled well . Let me repeat that because that's an important point . Conflict , when there's conflict , we always think sometimes conflict gets a bad rap . But conflict , there's good that can come out of conflict . Conflict can actually build trust . Build trust when it's handled well . You can have more trust after a conflict than what you had before the conflict if you handle it well . Some of the best breakthroughs in church staffs and church teams have actually come after the hardest conversations , maybe birthed out of some conflict . Healthy church staff teams aren't the ones that never fight . They're the ones that learn to fight for each other , not against each other . Okay , so here's the bottom line , my final thought for today your staff conflict probably isn't the problem . It's a problem , but it's not the problem . Avoiding your church staff conflict . That is the biggest problem .
Speaker 1All right , I would love to hear from you . Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom . You can send me an email . Tell me what's one way that you've seen conflict handled well on a team , and maybe the adverse . Maybe share with me podcast at chemistrystaffingcom one way that you've seen conflict blow up and what started ? Something small man . It just sparked and somebody threw gas on it and it got totally out of control . I find these stories fascinating . Would love to hear your story and if there's any way that I can help your church ever
2025 Church Staff Health Assessment
Speaker 1reach out to me . Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom .
Speaker 1Hey , while I've got you here , while you're listening or watching , I would love for you to take part in our 2025 Church Staff Health Assessment . It's absolutely free . We ask you 50 questions . At the end of it , you get a report that tells you how you rate across seven different key areas of church health . So if you'd like to take that , you can take that absolutely free of charge at chemistrystaffingcom slash 2025 . So chemistrystaffingcom slash 2025 . Thanks so much . I'm here every day on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast . Hope you'll join me every Monday through Friday . If you haven't subscribed , go ahead and hit subscribe , or if you're watching or listening , and that way it'll help the algorithms to tell more people about the podcast , but it'll also help you to know when a new podcast is uploaded . All right , thanks so much . Have a great day .
