Building A Culture of Forgiveness In Collaborations (table E)

People can come together to solve bigger problems and create real value through collaborations. While part of the attraction to collaborations is all parties tend to be passionate about the end goal, part of passion is the inevitability of conflict to arise. The important point to remember in the face of conflict is conflict can also be a chance for growth. If parties to the collaboration understand that idea, they can use the conflict to drive constructive discourse, and the product of the collaboration could be even greater than any of the parties anticipated. One such way is by creating a culture of forgiveness.

While we know forgiveness is an important component that can empower teams and allow them to risk being successful together, the question of which competencies are necessary to develop a climate and culture of forgiveness in collaborations has gone largely unaddressed. No matter where we collaborate or in which modality, answering the following questions when navigating culture in a collaboration becomes imperative: 1. What are the main causes of conflict; 2. What are the coping practices of individuals when conflict arises; and 3. How can we transform current practices to promote forgiveness?

Those participating in this interactive roundtable will gain a deeper understanding to better answer these questions, learn more about antecedents to conflict in on-ground, hybrid, and virtual collaborations, and learn how to leverage those antecedents to create a culture of forgiveness and growth.