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monty-glasses-roxy · 9 months

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This is an invitation to ramble

About Roxy and Freddy? Sure. I'll come and add a read more if this goes on forever.

How about they both think the other is a massive hypocrite?

They've never bothered to actually get to know eachother deep enough to realise that there's just as much thought and nuance in the other's actions as they have in theirs. On the surface, they just seem like they're acting like there's one rule for them and another for everyone else, but there's generally a lot more thought to it.

To Freddy, Roxy is all about the abolishment of rules. She's just gonna do whatever she wants, rules, safety and impact on kids be damned. She's never where she's supposed to be if she decides it's not worth her time, she's deliberately broken rules in front of him out of spite, and he has a sneaking suspicion - but no evidence, just a gut feeling on occasion - that she's breaking rules so big that if she ever gets found out, she'll be scrapped in seconds. And yet, whenever he's in the Raceway, she is pushing safety standards, sometimes even better ones than Fazbear Entertainment's official ones. She refuses to let anyone get away with cheating/breaking the rules in games they all play together and she's very loud about hating liars. To him, all he sees is her enforcing rules when she feels like it, but not holding herself to the same standard and it's incredibly infuriating to him. The rules apply to everyone and are there for a reason, she shouldn't get to pick and choose who follows what and when! What kind of trouble are the kids going to get into following her example? What happens when her thoughtlessness gets someone hurt? He's not gonna try and cover for her that's for sure. She's had this coming for years. He's so tired of her shit.

From Roxy's perspective though, a lot of these rules don't make sense. She's questioned why they're there every time it's hindered her, and over time, has worked out which ones are there for company money making/saving reasons, and which ones do actually need to be followed. She's tested the boundaries of what she can get away with, and it's only confirmed it for her. So long as she's not caught breaking any of the serious rules, she's fine. The rules she breaks are calculated, thought out, and generally to make her job entertaining easier. She gives out more freebies, she takes the occasional kid or two into areas they don't have a pass for, she got caught rigging a claw machine for a teen that had been trying to win something for months with no luck, and sneaking extra arcade tokens to those that can't afford to keep playing. She's careful about who she does this with, meaning she ends up with her own little group of kids that she knows fairly well instead of a mass of fans she doesn't. It's also much easier for her to entertain by doing these things, when she doesn't have an open attraction, so really, she could argue she's just trying to keep herself relevant. She's not. She thinks the rules preventing her and the others from giving kids a good day at the Plex are stupid and will gladly break them. (The other's do too, she's just way more obvious and known for it. She's got no attraction to maintain what else is she gonna do all day?)

Now, from Roxy's perspective, Freddy acts all high and mighty as a rule enforcer and follower and likes to make some sort of moral judgement on that. She calls him a thoughtless, one trick pony just doing as he's told all the damn time, yet seems perfectly happy to bend them or find loopholes specifically to spite her personally. He's literally kicked her out of Fazerblast once over deliberately misinterperating how she was playing it with a kid in order to accuse her of cheating. The reason? She was supposed to be somewhere else in the building doing something completely different. It seems to her that he picks and chooses who to punish for rulebreaking and who not to, as in her eyes, the others are getting off way lighter (because she's like a lightning rod of attention he's too busy being pissed off at her to notice the others). For someone that's all about rule following, how comes he can bend them whenever he wants? How comes he can break the occasional rule to stop her from doing something, but she can't be left alone to do her own thing? It's none of his business what she's doing! If he's so fussed about rulebreakers, she thinks he should start leading by example instead of nitpicking and stonewalling everything she does! She's never ever letting the situation where he accused her of cheating and disqualified her from a Fazerblast game go. She's so fucking spiteful about it because playing fair is something she prides herself on and how dare he try and say otherwise!!

However, from Freddy's perspective, he is leading by example. That's the whole reason he cares about this so much. He wants to make sure the kids have someone to look up to and be like that isn't going to get them in trouble. He stays out of trouble and does his best to 'lead' the others down the same path of being the best example to the kids possible, but Roxy just doesn't seem to care about that. To him, what he's doing is for the best. The rules are made for a reason, even if it's for monetary gain, that money is what is currently keeping them safe, functioning and alive. By following the rules as best they all can, they're securing that safety for themselves, and he's convinced of this. If they help the company do well, if they enforce the rules that make the company more money, and follow through with what they want from them, they'll be okay. Him being so against what Roxy does on a daily basis is his way of trying to make sure the kids that love her (for reasons he cannot fathom, and she feels the same about him) have the best rolemodel they possibly can, and that she's contributing to the continued existence of the Pizzaplex, and themselves. The fact that staff have given up and keep bending things to let her get her own way all the time has just stirred him into trying harder to keep her in check. His patience wanes by the day and much to his frustration, he finds himself slipping and letting things slide every so often. Even worse, his efforts with the others are falling short too, and the fact he's catching them more now rather than before Roxy was moved to the band, he's attributed this entirely to her being a terrible influence. What if she's as bad with the kids and they start copying her? He can't stand the thought of kids getting into trouble because of her thoughtlessness! He's honestly waiting for the day that management finally snap and scare some sense into her, or at the very least, remove her from the band to limit her influence and reach. He swears, she's gonna be the death of all of them and the reason her fans are gonna get seriously hurt.

So. They both see each other as hypocrites, but they also don't listen or care to find out what the actual thought process behind their actions are. Roxy can't stand the sight of a child whose parents couldn't afford the expensive prices of the Plex, and Freddy can't stand the thought of a kid learning bad behaviours off of any of them. Freddy follows and Roxy breaks. Freddy bends to keep order, and Roxy doesn't for a fair game. They both have their priorities and are both so stubborn they won't budge on them for anything, especially not each other.

You, may be wondering about the middle ground here. About setting a good example whilst also making sure everyone has fun. There is one, but they're not giving an inch. They have a truce for rehearsals, performance and events where the whole band has to be present and that's as good as it will get for them. And was established after they both had a joint party/event thing together, just the two of them hosting, and things got very out of hand. It was decided that since both of them were participating in what happened and both clearly fucking hate each other, that the easiest solution would be to prevent anymore parties without at least two other animatronics present for it. It took three, maybe even four to deal with that one situation so um. Yeah they're not fucking around now. No more Freddy and Roxy duos.

Things have cooled down over time, but that's only because of the truce and the new rule that they can't be left alone together. They still get into arguments and shit all the time though. At least it's less frequent now, right?

#long post #fnaf security breach #roxanne wolf #glamrock freddy #listen. they hate each other.#they have buried the hatchet a few times but only in dire situations.#they would rather die than ask the other for help.#and they're very petty about it too!#they bring the worst out in each other and ends some friction within the group dynamic #they're better about letting each other get to them so it's not as awful but still!#stopping my tags now. but one last thing...#freddy is right btw. roxy IS frequently breaking rules that would get her scrapped in a heartbeat if caught.#that is all.#enjoy!!

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innumerablemuses-a · 4 years

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Mobile Version: Original Characters

(For those that can’t view the page due to being mobile or other issues!)

FOR CANON CHARACTERS, REFER TO HERE–> canon muses

Serenity Freya

Main Universe;;Final Fantasy VII

As most young people dreamed of doing, Serenity had wanted to be in SOLDIER since she was about eight, two years since she was found and adopted by Dane and Ramy Freya from Fort Condor. She has no recollection of her past beyond the age of six, and people would assume that as a child she had come in contact with Mako, since her eyes had that unusual glow associated with Mako-poisonings, or even similar to Mako exposures done on SOLDIERs to enhance their physical and magical abilities. And since it was unlikely that she was a SOLDIER of any type, the townfolks assumed the first option and would say that she was still lucky to be sane and able to remember her life after such an incident. Anyone else would have been so addled that they’d rarely ever recover to talk or continue living.

Serenity had her adopted parents, who would later on have a daughter together named Alexandria, and honestly it was all the family she needed. Especially since with Fort Condor being a small community, everyone within it were like family to each other. She would learn how to defend the town from monsters and learn to do tasks that would help them get by from day to day. Hunting, farming, even a little fishing even though just getting to the ocean was about half a day’s trip. Everything had a place, and most of the time the chores were enjoyable. But she wanted something bigger.

Around seventeen, this was when things started picking up out in the rest of the world. ShinRa was about to declare war on Wutai, whom had threatened the company as well as the rest of the continent. Despite her parent’s pleas to not go to ShinRa, she would leave and go to the nearest ShinRa recruitment center there was; Junon. From there, she had to go through boot camp and training. Unfortunately she wasn’t prepared for so many comments toward one thing… her hair color. SOLDIER First Class Sephiroth had been known for his long silver hair, and had gained a large fanclub not only for his good looks but also for his status in ShinRa. So typically anyone else with silver hair must have bleached their hair and were copying First Class Sephiroth, or were some of the hardcore fanatics, according to anyone who got in her face about it. This however only ever made her more determined to be her own soldier, especially as often she couldn’t convince anyone else that it was her normal hair color.

Four hard months went into training and boot camp, and she was keeping up with those at the top better than she expected. On certain occasions, an scientist would come by and examine each of them. For this particular instance, a man by the name of Professor Kilian only had to glance at her and see something with great potential (according to him anyhow). Serenity could see that he had a strange interest in her, but for what she couldn’t really fathom. But since then after that visit, she was promoted straight to SOLDIER Third Class and transferred to another section with the other selected candidates to the next step of training that lasted for a month, to which afterwards they would finally see action.

From there, Serenity had done all she was asked of and demonstrated her abilities and strength while on the field. Mostly it was defending caravans and the occasional terrorist attack, but there were times where her unusual strength would be the reason they’d succeed (not that she was much aware of her as the tipping point). But she was recognized and would move on to Second Class after two more months. Perhaps the reason for such speedy rise in ranks was that the attack on Wutai was reaching its peak, and ShinRa was in need of those with strength to overcome the war. After all, it wasn’t only Serenity who was getting through the ranks, even if the numbers were smaller than when joining Third Class.

The final attack on Wutai was where she was brought to fight along with many other Second Class and even the First Class SOLDIERS, with Third Class bringing up the rear. Faced with a choice to either strike down a group of Wutai that consisted of children and elders or to go past them to the main fight, she had chosen the second and allowed the group to carry on. This caused a bit of friction with another Second Class, but she was firm on the decision and said that she would take the punishment if there were one to be given. But she was never given a punishment for the action, at worst given a reprimend. However she had earned a few words from an First Class, named Angeal, that sometimes the right thing would often be the hardest to follow. She wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but she kept those words close.

Coming to the end of the war, there were no more deployments. Word had gotten out that one of the First Class had deserted ShinRa. And in the interests of keeping a strong front, another Second Class named Zack Fair was given the rank First Class, whom had a glowing recommendation from the First Class Angeal (or at least as glowing as it could be, according to those that actually knew him). Serenity Frey was not at all worried about not being picked, as she was only recently Second Class herself. But the interest in her was accelerating rapidly as Professor Kilian would often call for her to his labs so that he could run a series of tests, as well as something called infusion. At the time it wasn’t so unusual for scientists to call several candidates for various tests and experiments, though Serenity was not all that comfortable with the process nor the way she was looked at with expectations, like she was about to grow a second head or suddenly becoming a monster. Professor Kilian was insistant with her coming every few days, and despite her misgivings, she couldn’t refuse the orders.

Flash forward a few years when ShinRa had won the fight with Wutai, subduing them and setting up a reactor in a rather desolate location on their lands. Rumors spread about the war with Wutai, the most out-spoken being that it wasn’t Wutai who had declared war, that it was ShinRa who had wanted to take a sacred location of theirs because of its abundance of mako energy and decided that if Wutai wasn’t going to agree, then they’d take it by force. For awhile, Serenity ignored these rumors since it didn’t make sense to have such a reason. Despite all three of the top First Class SOLDIERs abandoning their station, one in which was killed in action after his trip to Nibelheim to check on the reactor there, the rest of SOLDIER were doing as much good as they could. Serenity had taken special interests in the slums of Midgar, taking the time to clear monsters from nesting in the sectors and trying to show that there was nothing but good will to the inhabitants. Needless to say that there were mixed reactions to seeing a Second Class SOLDIER. And all the while she took this up and other duties, Professor Kilian had continued his research and tests on her at every possible oppontunity.

The true last straw was when Fort Condor had been targetted. She had been aware for the longest time of the reactor that Fort Condor hosted one of ShinRa’s reactors, to which when the namesake Condor had come to roost on top of it and nest its solitary egg. The Condor was to repeat its cycle of rebirth, where when it dies it was reborn within its egg before it matured and returned out to the world before it returned to start again. ShinRa, however, wanted to be rid of the Condor to be able to get to the reactor, and thus they ordered its execution. When Fort Condor’s people refused to make way, the company caused the destruction that left it in ruins, constantly attacking the fort and trying to make it up to the reactor before forced to retreat.

After the operation began and Serenity learned of it, she knew that she had enough. Not only were they keeping the information from her and had done so until a text message managed to make it to her phone to alert her to the situation, the company itself had begun to twist its own morales. But before she could make her leave, Professor Kilian had one last test to perform, so under the guise that she was still unaware of the happenings, she would meet him in the labs. From there though, it was no longer simple tests. ShinRa had been quite aware of her origins, and so even though she gave no indication that she would turn against them, they gave the go-ahead for Kilian to use her for his project, one that had been on hold for about twelve years.

Further information afterwards had been unclear… especially as ȇ̻̍ͤ̔ͫ̂͝r͋ͩ̽̽̈́͋̄͏̘̗̳̘̗̬̹rͭ̾̄̊͐̄ō͎̘̃͗̇̿̒̉r̒̈̆͏̣̰̖̳̘̤̻ ̸̬͔̱̜͍ͫ̐̄ĥ̠͚̲̳͙̥̖ͬͫȧ͓͈̟͍̩̻̃̽ͣ̉̍s̨̱ͮ̊ ̶͓̩̟̙͎͕̌͐ͣỏ̱̙̥̱͇̖̈́͒ͣͧ́c̙ͦͫͧͣ͊̇̆c̢̖̝̦̠̱ͣ̑ͧͤͥ̀͊ͅu͚͊͌̀͒̕r̲͓̜̖̝͕͋̿̾̄́͜ȓ͉̣̲̺̖̟͐͑̆̂̚͢ĕ̳͕̌ͭ͝ḑ̭̪ͯ.̅͊ͫ.͚͍́̊̽ͤ͑̔.̙͔̻͓ͥ́ͫ́̕ ̤ͯ͜d̛̺̦͖͉̼͇̹̎̈́ͫ̄a̼͊ͥ̌̽̾͛ťA̝͓̘̫̙͈͎ͬͪ̏ͬ͐̃ ͕̪̗̲̮̹͈͞c̩̻̠̦̲̦̄ͭ̈́ͦ͑0̯̣͚̘͚̇̿ͣ̏ͅr̰̥̞̮̯̲̈ͩR̬͕̮̗͓̦͌͌ͧ́̓̓u̠̺͚̺̹̿͞p̯̯̱͍͆̈́̉̋̊̎̽

Nora Friska

Main Universe;;Final Fantasy XV

Born into a family in Verina Mart - Ravatogh, Nora was told that she was born with a spear in her hand. This is mostly due to the fact that the family were hunters, to which they mostly hunted prey and beasts for what they could use as either consumption or use in everyday life, as well as keep the monster population in control around the small towns. Once she was old enough to be taught how to help with the family during hunts, she was hooked into the sport of it as well as the thrill. This often got her reprimanded whenever she complained that the hunt was boring (usually the hunts that involved non-violent beasts).

It took several years for Nora to start making a name for herself, though she had gained a mixed reputation over the time - such as being the one to cause a stampede of wyvern through the town when she was dared to try to ride one. But she had made progress in being just as good of a hunter as her dad and brothers, even if she was always the one to scour through the lands for something tougher.

When she was about sixteen and on one of the trips that took them to other locations and places, she was traveling further away to find some fun when she came across a large group of saberclaws that had been terrorizing a herd of mesmenir. Several were already felled. While it was the natural course of things and she knew this, Nora couldn’t help herself when she spotted a little mesmenir foal in the jaws of a saberclaw. The group itself was too large for a young girl to take care of, but she managed to gain their attention after killing the saberclaw holding the foal and causing as much noise as possible until her dad finally found her to take care of the saberclaws.

Once it turned out that the foal’s mother was one of those slayed and the rest of the herd were scattered, Nora took it upon herself to care for the mesmenir since she had rescued it. Her father at least didn’t mind, as this was an opportunity for her to learn some responsibility, and perhaps stop trying to seek out bigger hunts that she wasn’t ready for. The foal was given the name Ira, and while at the beginning it took many long hours and days to convince her that she could take food from the human girl, the time spent with the mesmenir would eventually bring the bond between them to grow despite the trial-and-error on the part of the human trying to care for her. Within two years, Ira had grown from that scared foal to a swift full-grown adult that refused to leave even when presented several opportunities to join herds. When it was clear that Nora was the permanent herd for the mesmenir, she couldn’t help but be relieved since she too had bonded with the beast, and it presented an opportunity for the human to be able to travel anywhere she wanted with Ira willing to carry her.

Ever since the incident that brought her to rescue Ira, Nora herself was working on her training for more than just thrill hunts. At around nineteen, she decided that she should get into the occupation of monster hunter, that in which while thrilling was to help towns that were being terrorized by beasts. She and Ira had set off once she learned the location of Monster Hunter HQ to join the ranks, and ever since then she was moving from one place to another depending on hunt requests. Nora would make sure to visit her family whenever she was in the area, or to write to them, but she glad to have found something worth doing.

Alternate Universe;;Monster Hunter

Ysra

Main Universe;;How to Train Your Dragon

There weren’t a lot to do on a small island that her clan lived on, but like most other young people, Ysra had gone out and explored as often as she could so that she could find things to do. With a fiery attitude to match her bright red hair, she was someone that wasn’t at all afraid to express her opinions despite being one of the youngest currently. But then again, being the youngest might be why she’s so vocal. Regardless, this young lady had a lot of practice in her somewhat large family that consists of her parents and four other kids.

Her boldness may have gotten her into many a trouble, but it also saved her life during those times of trouble. When the Beserkers had raided her village, Ysra had been one of the first to respond by attacking with a staff when no weapon was readily available. Unfortunately a staff could only do so much, and when the bulk of the raiders invaded, her mother would take her by the arm and shove her into one of the small boats, telling her to row out along the island until things calmed down.

Despite her reluctance, Ysra did as her mother bid (as her mother was one of the three leaders, not to mention that she had no intention of being grounded until her coming of age ceremony a year later) and started out into the sea in the attempt to escape the encove that the boats were stationed. By this point though, a storm that had been brewing but was to the other side of the island had finally rolled in and the combination of wind and waves sent the small boat out much further than she wanted. No matter what she tried, Ysra was swept out to sea, going so much further than even she would have dared to do on her own. The combination of the earlier fight and trying to keep control over the boat would eventually overwhelm her senses and pass out.

It would be next day’s afternoon before she woke again, dimly aware that the boat was no longer swaying to the waves that had subsided to calmer rocking surges. Briefly she had thought that she was back on her island until she sat up and looked around to see that this island was surrounded by several mounds of black rock that she would recall the lessons about volcanoes and lava, none in which was on her home island and only heard about it. Wherever she had ended up, it wasn’t her home, and one look around the sea said that she was a long ways away.

The young girl started on making a shelter near the beach where she washed up, to which gave her something besides her predicament to think about. It was a lot easier to forget your troubles when you’re keeping your hands busy, as she found it to be. The loud noises of her cursing and breaking branches from nearby trees would fill the air, and it wouldn’t be long before Ysra found that she wasn’t alone on the island after all.

A splash of red would eventually catch her attention as it watched her move from tree to tree, always keeping distance but apparently trying to figure her out. Ysra would throw a few of the lesser branches she deemed unusable at it in the hopes of it going away, but it never went far. This would be when she was cursing herself for not making at least a sharp branch for a weapon, but she tried to keep going about her own business, aware as the creature - though she was starting to think it was one of the dragons that would on more than one occasion attack her village - was following her every move.

Eventually her little shelter was made and she settled down next to a small inlet of water, indeed ready with a sharp stick and keeping her patience as she waited for fish to swim by. For awhile, it seemed that the dragon was leaving her alone at last, or at least it was well out of sight. Either way, she was starving and needed to eat, so she kept her attention mostly on the ocean. After a long time of spearing one fish inbetween the wait, Ysra had plenty to keep stock for a couple of days. As she was tottering back to her shelter to get ready to make a fire and cook a few of them right then, this was when the red dragon reappeared, flaring its wings and giving a bellowing roar.

Rather than run away, Ysra dropped her catch and readied her spear leveled at the dragon, to which in turn made the dragon pause in confusion. It tried to scare her off with another demonstration of its fiercesome roars, but the girl was not having it, bellowing right back at it and standing her ground. Both would go silent as the dragon tilted its head, still confused by this, before taking only one step back before standing still. Scowling at the dragon, Ysra grabbed hold of all of her fish that were strung together by some binded reeds, and slowly circled around the dragon to get to her shelter. It would hiss if she got closer than it wanted, but she hissed right back and kept going.

An understanding would eventually come to pass as the dragon stayed near but never approaching the shelter, waiting for something. By this point, Ysra was a little curious but all the same cautious as she’d roast a few fish, the smell apparently interesting the dragon as it sniffed the air at the smoke. This prompted Ysra to pick up a fish from her pile and toss it toward the dragon after doing a little show of her holding it and making the ‘ready catch’ motion she had done for dogs in the past. The dragon shirked away as the fish fell short of it before snapping its head forward and tossing the fish into its maw. The way it stared at her expectedly told Ysra that she had at least perked its interest for more than just food.

Days turned to weeks as Ysra waited on the island for possible rescue. And everyday the dragon would come by her shelter, inching a little closer each visit as she would give it a few fish from her pile if she had any to spare. If nothing else, it gave her something to look forward to, and perhaps kept her sanity as she’d start to talk and sing to it whenever it was around. A few times during this time, if she took a nap under a tree, she would on more than one occasion wake up to see the dragon almost standing over her while observing before fleeing upon noticing her being awake. At one point, Ysra ended up naming the dragon Tempest, since calling it (or him, as she started noticing these things) “dragon” was just weird.

Their acquaintance would grow to friendship when on a day where Ysra explored to a new location to see if there were anything worth finding, she ended up coming across a rather tempermental Monsterous Nightmare that had come to hunt in that particular location and didn’t take kindly to seeing her there. Rather than try to scare her off like Tempest had done, it charged right at her with its flames swirling across its scales. She would have been hurt if Tempest hadn’t jumped out and got between them.

#mobileversion #o.➤ooc;;Mod

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things2mustdo · 3 years

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Running themes in Pieter Bruegel’s works include the absurdity, wickedness and foolishness of humans, and the above painting entitled Netherlandish Proverbs is no exception. Painted in 1559, nearly 500 years later the work of art still represents the foolishness of our declining society as it eats, drinks, and acts merry even while the very foundations of Western nations wash out from under it like sand in the tides.

Take a look around the crumbling remains of the West. The population of nations has never been replaced as rapidly as it is being replaced now unless those being conquered lost a war. We indeed have lost a war, but it’s not a military war we lost. We lost a cultural war. It has been said a great nation can’t be conquered from without until it destroys itself from within. That’s exactly what happened to Europe and America.

Most people have no idea why the West is dying. Every major problem we have relates to one simple issue: traditional Europeans and Americans have become demographically non-viable.

The long and short of it is, there’s a magic number demographers use to demonstrate the viability of a culture or ethnic group. There must be an average minimum of 2.1 births per woman to sustain a culture. Traditional European and American women have fallen short of that reproductive mark for 40 years. The ongoing demographic conquest and resettlement of both continents is a direct result of this dereliction of traditional female duty brought on by feminism. The welfare state and child support slavery laws aimed at turning men into sperm donors and indentured servants have added insult to injury.

In many ways, feminism can be seen as the ultimate betrayal of the Western beta male and the ultimate display of female solipsism. It is the root cause of population decline in the West. This is likely why ancient wisdom from the Bible consistently warns men about female nature.

European and American men of yore built the most peaceful and prosperous societies on the planet and women thanked their posterity by not reproducing with them in sufficient numbers to keep the machinery of the perpetual motion, infinite growth economy running. Nor do they reproduce with them in sufficient numbers to even maintain the population. And the situation gets worse with each passing year. As a direct result of feminism, more white people are now dying than being born. For that reason research will be done in the coming year in search of an answer to this looming question: Have American women really become the worst in on the planet from both biological and subjective standpoints?

A Dying Population

The average age of a first-time mother is up from age 21 in 1970 to age 26 today

Within the past few weeks, Establishment media gleefully trumpeted:

In around 1/3 of U.S. states, more white people are now dying than being born — a major shift that is expected to continue and has significant implications for government policy. Seventeen states — home to 121 million people, or roughly 38% of the country’s population — had more deaths than births among non-Hispanic whites in 2014, up from just four states a decade earlier, according to research released Tuesday by the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy.

Just to emphasize: The number of states where more whites are now dying than being born is increasing rapidly, not decreasing.

The end result of feminism will be that two continents (and possibly a third with Australia) will be conquered—yes, conquered—demographically. It is over for the Evil White Male and he has only himself and his statistically sterile women to thank for it.

One only need travel around the USA to see that even parts of Kansas and Nebraska now resemble Mexico and Spanish is the lingua franca, not English. One can also glance at demographic trends that show Hispanic births will outnumber Anglo births sometime around 2040. That’s little more than a generation away, folks. The USA will be an appendage of Latin America in only a couple of generations and Europe will have cities and areas of many countries that are majority Muslim.

If you wonder why you are becoming a stranger in your own nation—this is what feminism hath wrought.

Every problem the West now faces boils down to the demographic implosion of traditional Western populations brought on by feminism and the extremely poor quality of its women from a reproductive and familial standpoint. No matter how much wailing and gnashing of the teeth feminists make, nature comes down to the heartless business of saving those heredities that work, and rejecting those that don’t. Once a population adopts feminism, heredities don’t work any longer.

By Design?

“You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars.” -Network, 1976

Keeping the machinery of a perpetual growth, consumer economy is why immigration has become arguably necessary as traditional Western populations die off, and why Western leaders have opened the flood gates to refugees (an opportune moment for them to consolidate power by doing so, too, unscrupulous as they are.) The only question remaining is, is the demographic resettlement of Europe and America happening because of historical cycles of civilization or is it by design of a maniacal Establishment?

After all, it should be common knowledge among policy makers the population actually needs to be growing slightly in a Western economy in order to be stable. The effects of passing policies to slow population growth among certain ethnic groups must be known by demographers and politicians.

What’s more, the fewer traditional Europeans and Americans who are born have become too effette to carry on many of the necessary dirty jobs and blue collar tasks a functioning society requires due to decades of “special snowflake” indoctrination in the edumacation system.

It’s as if a scientific study was done on how to attack and debase the West, then politicians proceeded to do just that.

That said, effeminate Western men, who worship Hollyweird marionettes rather than themselves or traditional religions have some blame for not setting their foot down and saying “Enough is enough!” before this catastrophe became deeply embedded in the fabric of society.

Cliff’s Notes: The “monster” i.e. the infinite growth economy needs an ever increasing supply of warm bodies to keep it functioning. When white women don’t bear enough children to keep it running, and white people in general become too effette to do blue collar labor, leaders bring in other groups to keep the machinery of the economy moving.

Feminism was the hemlock that changed everything for the West.

History’s Cycles Echo

Another way of looking at this is through the lens of Spengler’s Decline of the West, in which he predicted the very demographic tsunami now hitting the West. Through this lens, feminism is only the manifestation of Spengler’s predictions by a gynocentric and pussy pedestalizing culture.

In Decline of the West, a sweeping, epic study of the cycles of 6 previous civilizations going back 5,000 years and the later Man and Technics, Spengler predicted – a century ago – all the tragedies currently befalling the West. Academics often quibble with his work, but no one can deny he foresaw the current decline with astonishing accuracy.

Here’s basically why the West is being conquered, condensed down for easy digestion.

Spengler saw each high culture and civilization in terms of four seasons. In the declining “Winter” phase of a society of a civilization is which we find ourselves, the center of a nation’s culture shifts from its rural roots to the cities. Out of the irreligious metropolis, as the intellect of the city sterilizes the religion and traditions of a culture, life becomes a series of problems to be analyzed rather than a thing to be lived. Western man’s irreligious, rational, materialistic intellect has sterilized everything about his culture by analyzing it to death – including himself as fertility has declined. An epidemic of snarky, nihilistic manchildren helps illustrate this point.

Feminism is, of course, a representation of the intellect sterilizing the simpler, more intuitive, and more fulfilling ways of life. The other tenets of liberalism also represent the “intellectual” destroying the foundations of the culture.

City intellectuals arrogantly criticize and shame the rural, intuitive ways of life of the masses of people. Religion and traditions are mocked, art itself becomes repetition of past great works, and children are weighed in terms of economic pros and cons rather than a necessity for the promulgation of not only the economy but the ethnic group itself.

The population is then ripe for conquest. Which is happening before our very eyes. As Spengler knew, we can face our fate with cowardly optimism or brave pessimism.

Things only get worse from here as friction grows between traditional Europeans and Americans who have very different ways of life from those who will soon make up the majority of their nations. Democracy will end in the Western world as white people no longer have power at the very ballot boxes they created within a generation or two.

Just remember—feminism (and by extension, weakling males) was at the root of it all when the time comes. When will men stop being White Knights and call a spade a spade, then take away the Pussy Pass women have enjoyed far too long?

Read More: Demographic Ruin Is Upon Us

The documentary above highlights the demographic doom that awaits the human race. The main problem is that replacement fertility is decreasing. The population is becoming elderly with less working people to support them, meaning that those who do work must be burdened to support the elderly via oppressive taxes.

Countries in Western Europe have taken a short-sighted and selfish approach to solving this problem in the form of pro-immigration policies. They conveniently ignore the fact that immigration decimates the countries where immigrants come from, increasing brain drain, reducing human capital, and ultimately guaranteeing that poor countries will remain poor. Those who favor immigration actually favor abject poverty and suffering. In addition, since most immigrants are men, you have an increasing amount of broken families in poor countries, tearing apart the fabric of those societies, all because well-off European women refuse to procreate.

Here are some additional quotes from the video:

“60% of population growth in USA came from immigrants and their children.”

“Once we traveled the road of gender equality and birth control, everything changed.”

“As a society, we don’t want to talk about fertility decline to not offend people.”

“If there is no economic incentive to have children, then people won’t have children.”

In terms of how the demographic winter affects you most urgently, you’ll experience a decreasing selection of young women but increasing numbers of older men who want them, intensifying competition in a game where there will be a greater percentage of male losers than in the past. In a world where egalitarianism is often promoted as an important human right, a small percentage of men will monopolize vaginal access to a great proportion of women, not unlike ancient times when kings and nobles possessed large harems.

Sociologists think the sexual revolution of the 1970s was the biggest factor of decreasing fertility rates. I must remind you that it was the feminists and their Marxist allies who successfully pushed the sexual revolution onto Western society. They are now suspiciously absent in how to solve the fiscal problems in countries where demographics is an urgent concern, and if their current shrieking about obesity acceptance and rape culture is any sign, they will be lacking in helping societies cope with this upcoming calamity.

https://relampagofurioso.com/2016/12/06/only-a-piss-weak-culture-worships-actors/

Hollyweird worship represents the piss weak culture Anglo America has turned into

A man in his most natural state trusts his instincts. When he looks forward in the mists of his dreams he sees only himself.

For he must survive. He must breathe, slay and conquer, begetting heirs to his throne.

On this wicked, this unforgiving earth mere chance or some cruel punishment sentenced us here. So the savage men of old knew the score. They hacked their way through this frigid bitch mother earth and raised spires that reached to the mother fucking sky.

From the very moment they were pulled from the womb, a merciless earth was there to greet them. A vicious crucible to test their hearts. Only the strong, only the most resilient and stout did claim thrones of their own. Asking no one’s god damn permission and showing absolutely zero fucking mercy they took it.

Why?

Because no mercy and no reprieve from the open arms of the Reaper was ever bestowed upon them. They looked to the sky and across the sea, the great wide blue and beyond. Across the cresting waves and blazing high above the clouds they saw immortality. In those sparkling stars and shooting mysteries they saw themselves. The gods they worshiped reflected the most beautifully brave and terribly strong avatars of themselves. Those who had ascended to astral planes now shining back to us, beckoning the brave forward and upward. This was the direction of their hearts. Forward across the limitless sea. Upward to the sky. Ascending to heights unimaginable, whom the weak would scoff and proclaim impossible. They worshiped the Sun and it’s massive power to both sustain and purify the earth with light and heat. Our ancestors had a fire inside like the shining Sun.

How far and how low we have fallen.

A Feminized World

From the heights of the stars to the lunar eclipse of a dark and dreadful nightmare have we found ourselves. We live in a feminized, conformist hive mind. A giant, STD stricken vagina. Meat flaps open wide to welcome the refuse of the earth. Faggots roam the streets holding multi colored dildos. They are showered with praise and attention while the HIV erodes their diseased bodies. A virus received with delight through their now prolapsed anuses.

We live in a culture which hoists the weakest and most degenerate of us on a pedestal and demands the strong to pay tribute. We sit in front of a programming device at all times taking in all the poisoning and all the mental feces our decaying brains can possibly hold.

Our heroes are celebrities and our idols are actors.

People who get paid to play pretend are venerated like saints and demi gods. Worshiped by every pozzed out faggot in this steaming pile of shit which was once the west. At the feet of a faker the masses sit and hear infantile opinions attaching all their pathetic hopes and deranged dreams.

What Is An Actor?

Nothing more than a professional poseur, a liar and deceiver. A petulant child who still plays dress up and make believe. That the majority of our culture places such profound reverence for a pathetic profession like that is enough to completely turn villain against the prevailing orthodoxy.

The weak, entropic and filthy masses look upon these imbeciles and swear they just saw Jesus/Bhudda/Baal or whoever the fuck. The actor being such a good faker and the degenerate masses savoring the shallow facade so gratuitously is a sight worthy of total contempt by any men who still breathe.

When society was right and orderly the actor was held in such lack of respect they were not even given gravestones. To an upright and upward striving people the actor is seen by their true colors. A wandering vagabond and parasite that has no skills to offer. Only to prance around and play a game of make believe. He has never done anything significant. Not scaled any mountains, not felled towering foes, not crossed black seas. He has pretended that he has though. You paid to see him do it.

Why?

Because a frail and feminized people have not the balls nor the will to achieve for themselves. They pay to leech emotional power from the lowly actor who at best can conjure these emotions in the hearts and minds of utter weaklings.

The Cold Truth About Actors

Roosh’s article about a cult running Hollywood has documented some very sinister implications for the whole of the western entertainment industry. These actors are often used as fuck toys for the faggot elites. They often have been raped or traumatized early in their lives. Corey Feldman, 80’s child actor admitted in an interview people fucked him and others as a boy in the acting business. Bryan Singer who produced recent X-Men movies was outed as a boy fucker who raped a 16 yr old. The Miley Cyrus derangement was planned just like the rise of that filthy whore madonna.

It has been proven that those who suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder(DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder have received serious trauma(s) like rape early in their lives. This is the kind of person worshiped in our piss weak culture. Brain dead slaves praising abused, deranged kids and their molesters.

Time to pull the plug you fucking degenerates.

The feminine lunar eclipse will not block the searing light of the Sun forever. All that has been occurring in our society is known by occultist’s as the Left Hand path and is a utilization of the feminine principle. The principle of chaos.

Western male, savage men are coming to a place near you.

Turn Your Fucking TV’s Off

The television has been such an effective device for mind control that the masses do not even think twice about having at least one in every room of their homes. While daddy and mommy watch some degenerate filth in one room, their kids are groomed for a life of perversity in another. The TV is their real father, mother and life instructor. An unholy altar placed in every home to enslave witless fools and their beleaguered children.

The destructive effects of tv has been documented on this very site as well as my own. You can read about the history and some of the science behind the mind control techniques here.

With minimal searching online one can find a plethora of information on this topic.

Stop allowing yourselves to be programmed and poisoned like some cursed faggot blindly clamoring for their day of extinction. When the fires of righteous men blaze down like the furious Sun and burn away all the lies and all the diseased.

Give to shallow actors all they deserve. Your naked contempt and the spit out of your mouth.

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making-business-matter-blog · 4 years

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The Ultimate Guide to Conflict Resolution Skills

By Jacky Clarke

Why Is It Important to Have Good Conflict Resolution Skills?

Conflict at work is inevitable. Yet, it often creates an unpleasant working environment for you and your team. Being able to manage conflict is an essential skill. If you don't, your team will likely lose motivation. Ultimately, over time, workplace grievances will increase. People won't stay in a working environment that is hostile and they will look to leave. Therefore, good conflict resolution skills can help your team work better together. Moreover, the business will benefit from an increase in productivity and a decrease in staff turnover.

Watch the video before to learn more:

youtube

Read on to learn why workplace conflict arises, how to problem solve, and how to adopt a good conflict resolution process when disagreements occur.

What is Conflict?

The Oxford dictionary definition of conflict is 'A serious incompatibility between two or more opinions, principles or interests'.

This definition is interesting because it doesn't imply that this is a disagreement between two people or groups of people. This is experiencing conflict within one person about different areas of their life. It implies that conflict can be internal.

Another definition, by Harvard Law School, is 'Conflict refers to some form of friction, or discord arising within a group when the beliefs or actions of one or more members of the group are either resisted by or unacceptable to one or more members of another group'. This one sounds more like a conflict in the business world, where teams of people have to work together towards a common goal.

What is Conflict Resolution?

Conflict resolution is, 'The methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict'. Conflict management, however, is how to navigate through conflict to get to the resolution. The management part recognises that conflict is inevitable and sometimes healthy.

Workplace Conflict

Let's look at how we would recognise healthy conflict, what causes negative conflict and the skills needed to peacefully manage and end the conflict at work.

6 Causes of Conflict at Work

Lots of things can cause conflict at work. See six of the main causes below:

1. Different Personalities

Different people have different values, work ethics, work styles and beliefs, this can all lead to conflict between people. In short, there are some personalities that will just never get along. Furthermore, pressure can also bring out the worst in people. This makes people snappy and more easily offended.

2. High Expectations

When expectations of staff are unrealistic or feel unattainable, it makes for a very charged environment. People feel unable to meet their targets. This makes them worry about their job security and the environment can become unfriendly.

3. Fairness at Work

When the values of the business and the rules are not clear, people can feel unsettled. This can lead to people not being treated equally and not knowing what leadership and management expect of them. For instance, punishing one person for something and letting another off can lead to conflict.

4. Unresolved Problems

When problems that start small or requests from people being ignored build up, this can lead to conflict.

5. Increase in Workload

Sometimes an increase in workload on an already fragile team can increase conflict at work.

6. Miscommunication

A large number of issues come up simply through people not communicating properly. Things can easily get lost in translation. Moreover, people working towards different goals can also lead to conflict; one person's plans can take away from their colleague's. Working towards a shared goal encourages teamwork and builds relationships and trust.

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Conflict Intensity Levels

Conflicts in a business environment vary widely in intensity. Below, is a list of the different levels of conflict that may be present in the workplace. As the level escalates, the need for effective conflict management increases.

Level One: Differences

On this level, parties only hold different perspectives but are aware of the other party’s interests and mindset. Differences rarely affect productivity or working relationships.

Level Two: Misunderstandings

This occurs when opposing parties interpret situations differently. There is a need to check for misunderstandings early in the conflict resolution process to avoid escalation.

Level Three: Disagreements

Disagreements occur when people see a situation differently even though they understand the other’s position. The discomfort is that the other party is not in agreement. Often, the parties instigate creative thinking.

Level Four: Discord

Conflicts reach the level of discord when parties start to avoid, criticise and block each other. The relationship between the parties is negatively affected at this level.

Level Five: Polarisation

Parties use destructive behaviours when conflict rises. Other parties may begin to recruit others to join their cause, thus leading to severely damaged relationships.

Preventing Conflict at Work: How to Notice the Early Signs

Once we know where the conflict might be coming from, we can put steps in place to do something about it and stop it escalating. What about trying to prevent conflict from becoming a problem in the first place? Noticing these early signs is important.

Body Language

People who might be bottling up their emotions and feeling upset about something can change their body language. Crossing their arms, avoiding eye contact, their position and frowning are signs that someone isn't happy. It is usually subtle, but if you know your staff well you can pick up on these cues and do something about it before it becomes a problem.

Cliques

You want your team to work well together. However, sometimes smaller groups can form in the larger group. This can lead to people feeling left out or even bullied. If you notice smaller cliques forming, spend some time understanding why. If it gets too unprofessional, a seating adjustment can expose people to other team members that they don't know as well and lead to new relationships forming. Also, think about productivity, if people are sitting near someone who distracts them, their work performance could suffer.

Change in Productivity

When people are not happy or comfortable in the work environment their productivity can suffer. They might be more focused on their feelings of discomfort and not on their work. If you start to notice changes in productivity, keep an eye on why that might be so you can have conversations early.

Complaints

People who aren't happy at work are more likely to complain about things. This is possibly an early sign of conflict. Listen out for people who start complaining or are complaining more than they have before.

Increased Absence

Some people will phone in sick if the environment becomes unbearable for them to work in. They will avoid and not face the problem to find a solution. When staff members are off sick and return to work, an open conversation at their return to work meeting is important. You can find out the reason for the absence and do something about it.

High Staff Turnover

If a high number of employees start to leave, this is a big red flag! There is something wrong that needs to be rectified quickly through proactive human resource planning. Moving jobs is a big disruption for people. Losing staff members changes the team dynamic and costs the company time and money. It takes time to find and train a new member of staff. Consequently, good staff retention is a sign of a happy workplace.

What Are the Strategies for Conflict Resolution?

'Prevention is better than cure'. This is a good approach when dealing with conflict. Moreover, don't let it become a serious problem. Be mindful and aware and do something, sooner than later. Now the question is, how do we manage conflict? It's all about workplace culture.

Have a Culture of Respect

Not everyone is going to get along all the time and some personalities just clash. This is normal in the world of work as it is in life. However, that does not mean that people can treat each other badly. A polite culture at work is essential. As a leader, you can take notice of people who don't get along and where possible don't place them on the same tasks. Keep in mind that moving people around to different teams might make the operation run more smoothly. If this isn't possible people need to learn to agree to disagree and not let it affect their work. Being professional and grown-up means working with people we wouldn't necessarily be friends with.

Have a Culture of Open Conversation

Often, when there is conflict it can relate back to misunderstandings and miscommunications. An example of this might be that a member of the team is struggling with their workload. For instance, They may feel like tasks haven't been delegated equally when they see other colleagues managing well. In short, they feel unfairly treated.

Maybe this is true and the managers need to distribute work better. It could also be not true. Simply that the colleagues managing well know some time-saving tips and tricks. This would be helpful to share with their colleague who is struggling. Simple things can make a difference when the problem is properly understood.

Encouraging open conversation also means you will get to know your staff better. This helps to understand their workload. When staff feel like their manager is on their side and willing to advocate for them it makes for a happier work environment. They don't feel like they need to bottle things up. Being open and honest helps to avoid conflict. Overworked staff and ignorant managers are a recipe for disaster!

Have a Culture of Fairness

A sure way to create conflict at work is to not treat people equally. When one person gets away with things while another doesn't, this favouritism can cause conflict. Being resented and treated differently is difficult for the favourite. This starts two problems. Firstly the favourite person will be unhappy at being ostracised. Secondly, the people being treated differently by management will feel unhappy. In the end, everyone is unhappy and the work environment is very unpleasant.

Have a Proactive Culture

Resolve things before they become a problem. When people raise problems, investigate and resolve them as a priority. Happy staff are more productive staff. Letting things stew only causes even more conflict and problems later on.

5 Ways to Promote Healthy Conflict

We've discussed some of the negative aspects of conflict at work. But, are there times when conflict is good?

If you are working in a team where there is never any disagreement or conflict, this might be a bad thing. Possibly people won't feel they can express their opinions. Another possibility is that people don't care enough to argue for what they believe in. If a team knows how to disagree in a constructive and healthy way, this leads to better teamwork and better productivity.

To make a change and move things forward, discussion and debate are necessary. When you have a group of people with different values and opinions, conflict seems inevitable. Handling differences properly can lead to better relationships and productivity. There are key things that are part of the business culture to make healthy conflict work for you.

1. People Need to Know Each Other

Being familiar with work colleagues on a more personal level makes people more trusting of each other. Furthermore, they are less likely to assume that disagreement or different ideas are malicious. It will be more balanced.

2. Only the Facts

When a debate starts to attack people's personality traits, it is no longer healthy. Debate at work is about productivity, workload, work processes, not about attacking an individual.

3. Transparency

There are no hidden agendas in healthy conflict and debate. Everyone needs to bring their ideas to the table and know that open discussion is being had. Trying to make decisions without all the facts is difficult and people don't have the right level of trust when there isn't transparency.

4. Everyone Gets a Say

All members have a chance to talk about and consider their concerns. Making decisions by factoring in everything means people are more likely to commit to the final decision.

5. Full Commitment to Decisions

When decisions come out of healthy conflict and debate, everyone needs to action those decisions. If someone says 'yes' and then walks away and does something else, it undermines the group activity.

Conflict Management Skills: 8 Steps for Conflict Resolution

To manage conflict you need to be able to have an open conversation, stay unemotional and don't attack the other person's character. You must choose your words wisely, discuss, compromise, list and plan for improvements. Finally, look to make changes and meet regularly to track any improvements. Always remember to encourage and praise good behaviour.

What Steps Should You Follow to Resolve a Conflict?

The following eight conflict management skills will help you address and deal with conflict when it arises:

1. Talk to the Person

Arrange to meet with them when it is convenient in a place that is private. A lot of conflict and friction stems from misunderstanding. Discussing things lead to people's perceptions being known and understood. This is the first step to resolution. People also get to know each other and reduces future conflict.

2. Discuss the Event, Not the Personality

How you phrase your concern changes how the other person receives it. Saying 'When you do this', directs the compliant at the person. Instead, you should say, 'When this happens'. That makes the conversation about the issue. When people feel attacked, they won't be as receptive to open conversation. Feeling defensive is going to change the outcome of the conversation in a negative way. Give specific examples so the person can make a connection. Being too general won't help your cause.

3. Use Neutral Language

In anger, people tend to use emotional language. Emotive language is words that cause an emotional response in someone. Try to get your point across using neutral language. Stick to the facts. Words that mean the same thing expressed emotively change the tone of what you are saying. For example, the word 'reduced' is a neutral expression, whereas the word 'slashed' is emotive. They can mean the same thing, but one causes a reaction in the listener. Words that mean the same thing also have an association that is positive or negative. Calling someone 'meticulous to detail', for example, is a positive comment. Whereas telling someone they are 'nitpicking' is not. Think about the language you use and the reaction it causes.

4. Listen to Understand, Not to Reply

Often, during a conversation, we are thinking about our reply instead of listening to the other person and engaging with what is being said. Active listening gets better results. Repeating information back as you have understood it is a good technique to show the other person that you are paying attention. Ask questions, but avoid interrupting the person. If both parties are able to express their story fully, this aids discussion and moves things forward.

5. Clearly Identify the Problem

Discuss the problem fully and summarise the key points of concern. Make sure that both parties agree with the summary so the plan going forward is mutual. Clarify any disagreement here so the problems identified are agreed on. If both parties don't agree, they won't commit to fixing something they don't see as broken. If there are many issues, prioritise the list and work through from the most important or most influential downwards. However, with only one or two issues, this is less relevant.

6.Willing to Compromise

Compromise is a lose-lose scenario. Neither party gets exactly what they want and, therefore, need to give up something. If you are unwilling to compromise you will struggle with managing conflict.

7.Plan

Each point on the conflict list needs a plan of action to improve it. Again develop the plan between both parties. Agreeing to a plan that everyone is on-board with gets a better commitment and better outcomes. Your plan should also include the date of the next meeting to track any progress and adjust the plans if required. To make healthy changes, stick to your commitment. Sometimes things don't go according to plan and things need to change. Setbacks are overcome with both parties committed to a good outcome.

8. Be Complimentary

As things change and improve, acknowledge it. Change is difficult for most people, praise behaviour you want to see repeated.

Conflict Management Models

Everyone has a conflict management style they naturally follow. Knowing yours and the style of your team members is helpful. When people know their style, if it isn't a good style, they can work on it. If you don't know your own style, you can take a quick quiz online to find out.

Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)

People ask, what are the 5 conflict management styles? The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) helps measure how a person behaves when presented with a conflict situation. This model looks at five ways of handling conflict on two dimensions, assertiveness and cooperation. Download the conflict mode questionnaire to learn your conflict style.

Accommodating

Being on the high-end of cooperation and the low-end of assertiveness, you are assisting to a high degree. Potentially putting your own needs on the back burner with this approach and helping others to reach their goals.

When does this approach work? If the other person is an expert in the area being discussed it makes sense to listen to and act on their point of view.

When does this approach not work? Always being accommodating leaves your needs unmet and your own personal goals can suffer. Balance is key here. Know when to bow to expert opinion and when to stand up for what you think.

Avoiding

Being on the low-end of cooperation and the low-end of assertiveness, you are not assisting or being assertive. Avoiding problems means nothing is moving forward. Your goals and the other person's goals are both not being met.

When does this approach work? It works if the issue isn't important to the big picture and leaving it unresolved doesn't cause a problem. Moreover, dealing with it would take a lot of effort. Also, when in a highly emotional situation where people need space to think.

When does this approach not work? If you are avoiding big issues this won't move anything forward. Ignoring problems won't make them go away.

Competing

Being on the high-end of assertiveness and the low-end of cooperation, you are being very assertive. Competing means one person wins and another loses.

When does this approach work? In emergency situations where there isn't time to have long discussions. It is decisive and quick.

When does this approach not work? In day-to-day work life, this approach comes across as bossy. Team members won't tolerate this long term.

Collaborating

On the high-end of assertiveness and the high-end of cooperation, you are being assertive and assisting. This win-win approach meets both groups goals.

When does this approach work? In complicated problems where everyone's feedback forms the solution. You need time to use this approach. Consensus takes time and effort.

When does this approach not work? When the team doesn't trust each other or work well together this is difficult to do.

Compromise

Being right in the middle of the scale, this is when both parties lose out. A lose-lose situation.

When does this approach work? If there isn't time to collaborate and putting a temporary solution in place is the answer. This compromise covers the problem until a collaborative solution is found.

When does this approach not work? Using this approach too often as an easy way out is not sustainable in the long-term. It also needs a level of trust and the ability to work together.

Which of the Five Conflict Modes Do You Favour?

Dynamic Conflict Model

The dynamic conflict model describes how people’s response affects conflict resolution both negatively and positively. Craig Runde and Tim Flanagan developed the Dynamic Conflict Model and published it in their 2007 book, Becoming a Competent Conflict Leader. In it, they broke down conflicts into two main categories; Cognitive Conflicts and Affective Conflicts.

Cognitive conflicts focus on problem-solving hence the parties are tasked-focused. Furthermore, due to their nature, cognitive conflicts hardly escalate into dysfunctional conflicts.

Affective conflicts are focused on the person hence emotionally charged. In that case, conflict escalation is likely and often leads to reduced collaboration and severed relationships.

Constructive responses keep those managing conflict focused on issues, thus reducing tension and stopping the escalation. However, destructive responses, centred on personalities, make things worse. Responses to a conflict can either be active or passive. Active responses are those which a person takes explicit action in response to provocation. Passive responses, by comparison, are those in which the individual refrains from acting.

How Do You Resolve Conflict in a Team?

Communication is so important in resolving team conflict. Furthermore, improving communication will help with the development of conflict resolution skills. It is worth getting team members to know their own communication styles. People with different communication styles could clash. Get your team members to take an online test to understand their style better. There are many online versions and paper versions too. Depending on the training format, pick what suits your needs. Once the team's styles are found, everyone can learn the best ways to communicate. There are two separate categories of communication which are important for conflict resolution. One focuses on people's communication style when talking to other people. The other looks at how people process information and engage.

Individual Communication Styles

There are four categories of communication style:

Passive Communicators

A passive person focuses on pleasing others to avoid conflict. Ignoring their own needs and putting others needs first. A passive person is unlikely to raise problems or concerns. Things build up and lead to tension. Even passive people have their limits though. It takes a long time to reach it, but when they do they may have outbursts. This behaviour is shocking because it is so out of character. The reaction to the situation might be exaggerated because it is the last straw and not just that particular incident that is causing the problem.

How to spot a passive person: They won't express their opinions or thoughts. For instance, they are apologetic and won't speak out or take responsibility for making decisions. Common behavioural traits of passive people are avoiding eye contact, being softly spoken and acting submissively or like a victim.

Communicating with a passive person can make people feel irritated. Indecision and no opinion is tiring to work with. People get tired eventually and stop asking the passive person what they think. Often they become left out.

Aggressive Communicators

An aggressive person only cares about their own goals and feelings. They don't consider others and sometimes use verbal abuse to get their way. The focus on winning leads to walking over other people. This style doesn't work because people react to how the information is delivered instead of the real message.

How to spot an aggressive person: The aggressive person is intimidating, abrasive, unpredictable and just a bully. They speak loudly, get in people's space, have a frown or glare on their face and intimidate others.

Communicating with an aggressive person makes people feel hurt or embarrassed. People with good self-esteem feel aggressive and communication fails. People with low self-esteem feel hurt and embarrassed because they feel like it is their fault. This style doesn't work because people won't talk openly with someone aggressive in case they blow up. Problems aren't talked about and things build up.

Passive Aggressive Communicators

A mixture of the last two styles we looked at, passive-aggressive people are passive on the surface but act aggressively behind the scenes. This is sly behaviour. They feel powerless and act out, even if they hurt themselves in the process.

How to spot a passive aggressive person: Passive aggressive people are often sly and devious. They can be two-faced and engage in gossip. They will seem to take a back seat, but then make underhand remarks about it.

Communicating with a passive aggressive person makes people feel confused. They don't understand why the person won't help themselves and be honest and open. The full story is never laid out and it is difficult to make plans under these circumstances. Getting employees to recognise that they are passive aggressive can be tough. It takes self-awareness to recognise it and to do something about it.

This style of communication, when taken a step further, becomes manipulative communication. This is even more secretive. Their intentions are hidden better and they use guilt to get what they want. People working with a manipulative person often feel guilty. Not knowing where you stand is exhausting and this leads to a charged environment and conflict.

Assertive Communicators

This is the preferred communication style. Assertive people get their point and values across without stepping on anyone else's point of view. Assertive people have good self-esteem and know their value. This is a respectful way to communicate.

How to spot an assertive person? They are direct and open about their needs and wants. Decision makers that don't hurt other people in the process of achieving their goals.

Communicating with an assertive person makes people feel at ease. All the cards are on the table without any games or hidden agendas. Trust is important in communication, making this style one of the better ones.

Running training with people around communication styles is a good way to get people thinking about their style. Being aware of their own style and being a better communicator makes the overall team communication better. Another way to think about communication is by saying things in a way that interests that person. If you know what catches people's attention you can change how you talk to them to get the best out of conversations.

Engaging Styles

When people aren't spoken to in a way that engages them, their mind wanders. Another outcome is there is an internal thought process about where the missing information is. This noise, or mind wander, can take their focus away from what is said. If you talk to people in a way that peaks and holds their interest, the outcome of the conversation is better. There are four engaging styles:

Analytical

When talking to an analytical person, numbers, facts and data catch their attention. Talking in a vague way won't get their attention. They will question why there aren't any hard facts. For example, if a manager told an analytical person that their goals hadn't been met that week, this wouldn't be enough to interest the analytical person. On the other hand, saying, 'Our goal was missed by 5% this week.' This is factual and makes analytical people more comfortable. Analytical people are less emotional and use unemotional language. Sometimes, they can come off as stiff and uncaring. However, on the positive side, they have a good knowledge base. In the business world, this style works well.

Personal

Personal communicators like emotional language. They like building a relationship with their colleagues. During information sharing, the focus is less on the content and more on how people feel about it. They like praise for a job well done, for themselves and the team. An informal approach and a focus on relationships work for personal people. On the one hand, however, people might feel this style is too informal and hippy-dippy. On a positive note, they are good at listening and resolving conflict.

Intuitive

Intuitive people don't need a lot of details. They want to know what the big picture looks like. To hold their attention, get to the point quickly by jumping to the anticipated outcome. When they see where the end point is, they are interested. This approach saves time, but sometimes the problem needs time to go through each step. Intuitive people often don't make the best teachers because they don't go into the detail that people need when learning. This could be something to consider if you have an intuitive engager leading training.

Functional

Functional communicators like the details that intuitive people hate. These people are very thorough and cover all the details. This does take more time, but things won't be missed. As the communicator, they will struggle to hold the attention of everyone in the audience with this level of depth.

Communication and Engagement: Opposing Styles Can Lead to Conflict

You can see why some of these styles wouldn't work well together. The analytical and personal communicators style is very different. Opposite styles clash and cause conflict. Therefore knowing that you need to be more sensitive with personal communicators and more fact-based with analytical communicators means you can tailor your style. The intuitive and functional groups are also opposite. For these two groups, trying to communicate can be a challenge. Simply, the way you phrase your words and ideas will be perceived differently by different people depending on their engagement style.

How to Improve Your Conflict Resolution Skills

How do you handle team conflict? What are the skills needed for resolving conflict? How can conflict resolution skills be improved in the workplace? Hopefully arriving at this point you feel you have a better understanding of conflict resolution. Also, that you have started to answer some of these questions.

The easiest way to further develop your conflict management skills is to attend a conflict resolution training session on the core skills and behaviours. This will help you understand the theoretical models in the classroom. However, it is really important that you apply the skills. In team situations, it is important that we get people talking and building trust with each other. This could be in more formal meetings, over lunch, coffee out of the office or a team building event.

You may wish to start your journey to better conflict resolution by enhancing your communication skills. Without good communication that works for all the people in your team, you won't be able to move forward. However, Once everyone knows how to talk to each other, they can build trusting relationships and the atmosphere improves and conflict will gradually decrease.