Collaborative practices with organizational stakeholders: Preventing and managing conflict

As our society becomes more diverse and issues become increasingly com - plex, organizations are challenged to transcend boundaries and inspire team members to understand and navigate diverse practices, perspectives, and interests. Conflict is inevitable in organizations, and collaboration is one pathway for managing conflict and engaging stakeholders in jointly resolving a problem or producing a desired outcome. Collaborators have high concern for both personal goals and relationships. Because collaboration requires a commitment to finding mutually agreeable solutions, this also communicates mutual respect, which can strengthen relationships and support team-building. In addition, collaboration fosters creative idea generation, with the potential to bring about unanticipated positive outcomes. Multiple forms of power can be leveraged to create positive results for the organization and its stakeholders, and this chapter discusses five forms of power as well as the importance of engaging informal and formal leaders to utilize their unique power to tackle complex issues and create sustainable outcomes together. An example of how collaboration has been used to promote positive health outcomes by promoting collaboration between multiple stakeholders is discussed.