The General Manager of an adult vocational school, employing hundreds of educators at branches around the U.S., sought help with increasingly complex challenges managing their adult student body. Educators were reporting problems in dealing with adult learners, surrounding a variety of issues, leading to more conflicts, greater student dissatisfaction, and higher instructor turnover. During a particularly polarizing period, the school’s GM foresaw even more challenging circumstances ahead and needed help training her instructor staff on more effective techniques for de-escalation, conflict resolution, and student care.

We surveyed the lead instructors at each of the many schools across the U.S. on some of the most common problems and themes they were experiencing with students. Based on that data, we modified our training workshop and designed custom practice scenarios to create a highly relevant and effective workshop for educators. We then delivered this interactive, instructor-led training workshop online (distance learning through Zoom) to multiple cohorts of educators around the country. Each cohort trained once per week over the course of 4 weeks, covering: 

• De-escalation Skills for Student Care 
• De-Escalation Skills for Identity-based Conflicts 
• Mediation Skills for Leaders: How to Help Others Resolve Conflicts Effectively 
• Open discussions on how to apply these skills in real-world scenarios 
• Multiple skillset practices, learning tests, and roleplay 

• More than 300 educators trained
• Training satisfaction reported at an average of 92% (Highly Satisfied) across multiple measurements
• Skillset tests improved by 45%, indicating that retention of the material was high and the capacity to apply it greatly increased
• 8-week post-training check revealed retention and application of material

The Chief Operating Officer of a private vocational school in the Midwest U.S. sought help to solve a growing tension among staff, namely between the Campus President and the Director of Education. Factions had emerged, with some supporting the President and some supporting the Director. The executive team were receiving numerous complaints from faculty and administrative staff regarding conflicts they were witnessing. Eventually, this tension spilled over into students’ experiences, with several students filing complaints against the Director for rude behavior.

We set out to discover where the conflicts truly lied, both from top-down and bottom-up approach. Our Lead Peacebuilder built his team and began analysis and conflict mapping through one-on-one and group interviews, facilitated dialogues, and a mixed methods survey. He then presented results and themes to all involved, outlined a proposed a strategy for culture transformation, and facilitated a discussion around the strategy in order to get input and buy-in from all involved. Some of the agreed-upon initiatives included:

• Executive coaching on-site for the Campus President, the Director of Education, and several program directors
• Facilitated small group coaching sessions for program directors
• Facilitated dialogues between select program directors and the Director of Education
• Facilitated dialogues between the President and Director • Monthly analysis, reporting, feedback, and adjustment

• Factions disappeared as the Director of Education and President became more aligned.
• Employee satisfaction increased by 33% after 3 months and 76% over 9 months.
• 360-degree leadership assessments increased by 22% over 3 months and 68% over 9 months.
• Staff and student complaints diminished significantly