Ep 67: What to do When Stuff Hits the Fan in your Community

May 30

Have you ever been a part of an online community, or thought about starting one, but have been hesitant because of the potential for conflict? Maybe you've stayed up at night wondering, "What do I do when the stuff hits the fan?" We will be discussing exactly that.

Recently, I received a Slack message from one of my clients, 911 alert. How do we deal with this? There was someone in their community that had said some pretty awful things to another community member. I was able to help guide this team through making some decisions about how to handle this particular conflict.

While some of you may be used to dealing with conflict on a regular basis, others may feel unsure about how to handle it. The truth is, conflict is going to happen, and it's important to have a plan for when it does. By the end of this, you will have an outline on how to create your own plan and feel more confident in dealing with conflict in your community. This outlines four simple steps to help you manage your 911 situations. So, let's dive in and learn how to handle those tough situations when they arise.

Step 1: Stop the Fire

The first step in managing conflict is to stop the fire. This means addressing the conflict head-on and putting a stop to any behavior that goes against your community guidelines. This could be as simple as leaving a comment and correcting the behavior, or as extreme as deleting a post or muting a member. The key is to take action and address the issue before it continues to spread and cause further damage.

Before deleting a post or muting a member, it's important to document everything. Take screenshots of the post and any comments in the thread. This will help you reference the situation later on if needed. Once you've stopped the fire, it's important to take a step back and evaluate the situation.

Step 2: Chat with the Team

The next step is to chat with the team and maybe the team is just one other person and that's fine, but you need to chat with somebody other than yourself. Before making any big decisions, it's a good idea to speak with at least one other person. This will help you avoid making emotional decisions and ensure that any actions you take are in the best interest of the community as a whole.

By sharing the situation with someone else, you can gain valuable insights and perspectives that you may not have considered before. This can help you avoid making rushed decisions and ensure that you're taking the right course of action for the community as a whole. It's important to provide as much context as possible. This includes what happened, who was involved, and any relevant background information. By doing so, you can help them understand the situation more fully and provide you with more meaningful feedback.

It's also important to share what you've already done to address the situation. This could include leaving a comment, turning off comments, or even deleting a post. By sharing your actions, you can help your team or confidant understand your thought process and provide more targeted feedback.

Step 3: Come up with a Game Plan

When it comes to dealing with conflicts in a community, it's important to remember that as a community leader, it's your responsibility to come up with a plan and take action. You can't just come to the table desperate for advice and not know what to do. It's important to have a clear understanding of what your next steps should be, and to communicate those steps clearly to your team or sounding board.

One important aspect of this process is gathering feedback from others on your team or in your community. They may have important context or insights about the individuals involved in the conflict that can help inform your decision-making. This feedback can help you make more informed decisions about how to address the conflict.

It's also important to remember that the next steps you take may vary depending on the situation. Sometimes the best course of action is to remove a member from the community, while other times it may be appropriate to seek reconciliation and try to work through the conflict with the member involved. Whatever your next steps are, it's important to have a clear plan and to take action quickly to address the situation.

Step 4: Closing the Loop

Closing the loop is an essential step in managing conflict within a community. Ideally you are working from an existing conflict management plan, but if you don't have one, use this episode and go back and listen to episode 36 and episode 8 to create your own conflict management plan. Keeping the team informed of what was done, reaching out to specific community members who were involved, and sometimes closing the loop with the community as a whole are essential in the process. By doing so, you can provide closure and move forward in a positive way.

Having a conflict management plan in place is crucial. It's important to have clear guidelines and procedures for handling conflict so that when a conflict arises, you can quickly and effectively manage it. After a conflict is resolved, it's important to review the plan and update it as needed. This ensures that the plan remains relevant and effective.

Looping your team members in on what was done during a conflict situation is important for keeping everyone informed and on the same page. This allows your team to know that the loop has been closed with a particular member or in a specific conflict situation. It also provides an opportunity to discuss any lessons learned and make changes to the plan as needed.

It's essential to reach out to those involved to provide closure and a sense of resolution. This may include reaching out to victims of the conflict to let them know that the situation has been handled and that steps have been taken to prevent it from happening again. Additionally, those who were not removed from the group but were involved in the conflict may need a gentle reminder of the guidelines and what will happen if they continue to violate them. It's important to approach these situations with kindness and love, while also upholding the culture and standards of the community. While closing the loop with individual members is important, there may also be a need to address the conflict with the community as a whole. Though this may not happen frequently, it's important to have a plan in place to address these situations when they do arise. By doing so, you can ensure that your community remains a safe and positive space for all members.

Handling Conflict in your Community

In building and managing a community, conflict is an inevitable part of the process. As much as we may strive to create a positive environment, there will always be situations where disagreements, misunderstandings, or violations of community guidelines occur. However, it is important to understand that conflict can actually be a healthy and necessary part of a community's growth and development.

By having a plan in place to manage and resolve conflict, community leaders can approach these situations with confidence and a clear sense of purpose. This plan should be regularly updated and refined as the community evolves and new challenges arise. And while conflict may be uncomfortable and even stressful at times, it is important to remember that addressing it in a timely and effective manner can actually strengthen the bonds within a community and foster a deeper sense of trust and respect among its members.