Relationship-building, Teamwork and Conflict Resolution Skills

Importance of Relationship-building, Teamwork and Conflict Resolution Skills:

Individuals, families, businesses and communities all need people with good relationship-building skills who can work well in teams and resolve conflicts. 

The automotive giant, Henry Ford, once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Good team players who can adjust and get along with others are valued throughout society. 

In fact,  the findings of a Report of the New Commission of the Skills of the American Workforce indicate that employers now value applied skills such as collaboration, teamwork and relationship building more than basic knowledge and skills, such as reading comprehension and mathematics.

The information age and globalized world make it more important than ever for students to develop these skills. 

Deficiency in Relationship-building, Teamwork and Conflict Resolution Skills: 

Wherever we look in society, we can observe a general deficiency in relationship-building, teamwork and conflict resolution skills. Here are some illustrative examples: 

• A report by UNICEF estimates that around 275 million children worldwide witness domestic violence annually, and suffer the consequences of a turbulent home life. This causes long-term physical, emotional and psychological damage, making it difficult for children to develop close relationships and perform well in school. 
• Each year, the World Health Organization estimates around 40 million children under the age of 15 are subjected to child abuse.
• The costs of poor teamwork, relationship-building and conflict-resolution skills for businesses include loss of market position, the inability to respond to changing customer needs, failure to identify new market opportunities, lack of focus in training or cross-functional decision-making, increased time required for management intervention on issues related to process and staff performance, poor responsiveness and time inefficiencies. 
• Unresolved conflict in the workplace often leads to stress, frustration, anxiety, strained relationships, high levels of employee turnover, loss of productivity, increased client complaints, absenteeism, sabotage, injury and accidents, disability claims and higher levels of sick leave.
• Over 100 million people died in the wars of the 20^th century alone, over 20 million since the Second World War.  Economic costs include the direct economic costs and the cost of foregone choices to fund the conflict at the expense of taxpayers and economic growth, and other costs include injuries, deep fear, distrust, depression, a sense of hopelessness, refugee flows and environmental degradation.

Note that many of these costs affect rich and poor families and societies alike. The consequences of failing to develop relationship-building, teamwork and conflict resolution skills apply to all children, regardless of background or socio-economic status.

Realizing Relationship-building, Teamwork and Conflict Resolution Skills as Educational Outcomes:

Relationship-building, teamwork and conflict resolution skills can be realized as educational outcomes when they are built into the learning environment organized around how children learn and develop. This makes teaching easier and more effective, as the following examples illustrate: 

1. Relationship is the foundation for development - The US National Association for the Education of Young Children observes: "Positive relationships formed through warm, sensitive, and responsive care help children feel valued and gain more from their learning experiences. Children need positive relationships so that they feel comfortable and learn how to cooperate with others." A supportive teacher-student relationship naturally develops relationship-building skills.  For the teacher, this can be as simple as recognizing the student as an individual, listening to their views, and treating them with dignity. 
2. The child learns in an integrated way - A teacher who understands that children learn in integrated ways also understands that the child's personal and social development are inseparable from his academic development. The teacher understands that subects are learnt better in a cooperative environment. 
3. Children are natural learners - A teacher who understands that children are natural learners can encourage the development of skills such as teamwork by providing opportunities for the students to work in teams coorperatively. These skills can be built into the learning environment. 
4. Each child learns in his her own way - Teaching that takes into account how the student learns and develops makes the student more responsive and engaged in school, and this leads to better educational outcomes, including relationship-building, teamwork and conflict resolution skills when they form part of the learning environment. 

The benefits of an education that works - of a learning environment based on how children learn and develop - for realizing relationship-biulding, teamwork and conflict resolution skills as educational outomes are obvious and far-reaching. This is why education that works is the best possible investment any country can make.