Using Your Leadership to Heal Divides: Techniques from a Coventry University Peace Researcher

“I can’t talk to people at work.”

“I can’t even talk with my family!”

We’ve heard those comments from clients and friends alike heading into elections and the holidays this year. Our divisions now draw harsh borders, with yesterday’s friendly debates replaced by belligerence. The most common advice we’ve seen boils down to “Just don’t talk about anything you don’t agree on.”

That’s rotten advice for leaders. Open and frequent communication remains a hallmark of good leadership. So how do you resolve this impasse?

Fortunately, the founding director of the Centre for Peace and Security at Coventry University—Mike Hardy—uncovered the actions and mindsets we can adopt to bridge those divides, and maximize our teams’ potential in the process.

First, adapt and reflect. Take a hard look at yourself. We tend to do that this time of year anyway as we prepare New Year’s resolutions. This year, go a little deeper. Communication is a two-way signal: do you truly listen when others are speaking? Do you know the triggers that make you react, instead of rationally developing decisions or responses? 2025 will have more changes than 2024; are you comfortable adapting as each one rushes in?

Now, look outward to others. When you actively listen, you discern their needs, concerns, fears, and passions. This awareness shows you common ground, which is the brick from which bridges for our divides are built. You can cultivate compassion, empathizing with the people around you – and consider them when you balance important decisions. In turn, empathy and compassion heighten awareness of your own personal biases. Digging under those biases helps you see the rich treasure of talent everyone around you brings to the team (or the family table). Practicing inclusion from this angle reveals diversity as a source of strength rather than division, fertile with opinions, experiences, backgrounds, and ideas.

Getting to the meat of leadership, define your organization’s (and your) values and purpose. Values and purpose should align; alignment helps the team smoothly accomplish goals. Shared goals and common purpose dramatically reduce rancor. It’s much easier to “agree to disagree” when everyone holds the same end game.

From there, be fair. Having uncovered your biases, you’re now aware when you favor one person or group over another. This inequality hinders attaining the goals you’ve set. If you’re feeling bold, look beyond your own team and spot any assumptions or biases that are systemic in your organization; these are especially common in older, larger organizations where your first red flag is hearing a chorus of “I don’t know; that’s just the way we’ve always done it.”

Finally, always remember you’re not in this alone. When things go wrong, a strong team supports you. So do family and friends. And when they go well, remember that you didn’t succeed alone, either: those same people made it possible. Go beyond them in your day-to-day thinking to adopt a global perspective. Our individual and organizations’ interconnectedness stretches across the planet like never before; odds are good your stakeholders stretch far beyond your local community, too.

Keeping these perspectives in mind will start to fill those divisive gaps around you. Before long, you will be able to talk to people at work, and your family. And you’ll find you have plenty to talk about!

This article was adapted by Dan Mushalko from our remastered podcast episode 11 Steps to Help You Heal Divides from the Centre for Peace & Security.

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