ITMO Teaches Conflict Management to School Principals in St. Petersburg

The course was led by ITMO’s soft skills lecturers and facilitators – that is, experienced corporate trainers, coaches, and psychologists who teach communication and management courses not only at ITMO but also at such companies as Lukoil, Rosneft, Pulkovo, and the Moscow Government. 

As part of their practical training, participants were tasked with building a strategy for preserving language-focused lyceums alongside the expanding appeal of IT schools, finding ways to ease the tension between teachers and parents, and figuring out how to motivate teachers to be more engaged in school activities.

“Now, we’re seeing a new generation of both students and parents at schools. They are more demanding and expect more from their children’s education. Principals must be able to not only solve all disputable questions between students and teachers but also efficiently handle conflicts – which means they should be able to advocate for their school’s interests, while at the same time satisfy the demands of parents. Our course goes in line with both current needs of school principals and ITMO’s Development Strategy – as regards to finding and helping talented students at schools who are only about to make their career choices. Engaging teachers and principals in a dialogue about the future of their students is vital for this process,” notes Maria Didkovskaya, the head of ITMO's Internationalization Department. 

Change management. Principals are often the ones who have to fill teachers in about the coming changes at schools. To reduce resistance among employees, they can turn to the ADKAR model, which is widely used at Sberbank, Rosatom, Sibur, Rostelecom, and other major companies. The model includes a set of actions: first, they need to educate their employees about why these changes are necessary, then help them see how they can benefit from the situation, provide them with guidance and resources, and finally, support their results. This approach can help principals turn resistance to change into engagement. 

Planning for negotiations. If a hard conversation is unavoidable, it’s better to create an emotion map of this conversation ahead of time – for instance, one can start a conversation with a neutral or positive input, such as a compliment, a clarifying question, or asking for advice, in order to lower tension in the beginning. Once a conflict is resolved, one should thank their collocutor for their help, even if they haven’t reached a consensus – it will help build a solid foundation for future interactions.

Constructive dialogue. When it comes to communication, it’s important that the information and feedback one provides are timely and relevant. One should address their proposals solely to those who are capable of solving a given problem, speak in facts (e.g, not “You’re always late,” but “You came 15 minutes later today”), and not get personal.

“That was an incredible course! For starters, I gained valuable experience in managing conflicts. School leaders can’t avoid confrontations with colleagues, parents, and children, and this course reminded me that there are certain tools and algorithms I can use to mitigate any conflict. I believe this kind of training will be useful to anyone in a leading position. Also, I enjoyed the course’s format: speakers inspired us with theory, and we were able to practice on cases as teams. And finally, many of our students are at ITMO now, and we were curious to see what it's like to study at a top university and one of the educational leaders in St. Petersburg and Russia,” says Olga Shuyskaya, the head of the School No. 155 in St. Petersburg. 

The next course is slated for December and will be held for principals of schools in Petrogradsky and Primorsky Districts. As for school teachers, ITMO offers professional development courses in a range of subject areas, including teaching and soft skills. You can view the schedule on the website and follow this Telegram channel for more updates.