Conflicts between training professionals, their teams or the employees with whom they work can be a challenge to navigate, especially if the conflict is intense or volatile. However, when managed well, conflict provides a powerful opportunity for clarity and solutions. I propose that knowing and understanding our core desires and the desires of others with whom we may be in conflict is the key to effective leadership, peace and productivity.

Labels and Conflict

Within each of our brains is a complex survival mechanism that has evolved over many millennia called the reticular activating system. This system is responsible for the primitive “fight or flight” mechanism that’s activated each time we feel threatened in some way. When the fight/flight operating system is activated, the brain begins to scan our environment through the lens of danger. When the threat is perceived, the brain identifies (labels) the threat, and a reaction to either attack or flee the threat is made. In the workplace, this survival mechanism rarely brings about optimal outcomes for anybody.

The Six Core Human Desires and Understanding

Life coach Anthony Robbins has done much work in identifying the six fundamental human needs that are consistent regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, age, etc.