Controversy with Civility

Controversy with civility is when a group is able to deal with differing opinions with understanding, respect, and a willingness to learn from each other. When there are many diverse people in a group, it is almost impossible to avoid having opposing opinions, so it is important to be able to work together even when that happens. This concept is very important when working in groups because you should not let small things get to you and ruin the progress that your group has worked toward so far. The ability to get past the different opinions of others gets you much further in group work. 

I have been lucky enough that I have not been in many groups where we have a lot of controversies. As nice as that has been, I feel like I am not very prepared for when I finally do get into a group where there is controversy. I am not a fan of conflict at all and I try to avoid it at all costs. Even when people are sharing their own personal opinions and they differ from mine, I often find it difficult to speak up and say what I think because I do not want to upset those around me. I think I have the civility part of this concept down, where I am extremely understanding and accepting of others and their beliefs. Even though I can typically be respectful of others, I fear that they will not respond in the same way when I share my own opinions. In the future when I eventually do reach a point of controversy within a team, I hope that I am more fearless when it comes to agreement/disagreement. I want to feel confident that no matter what, I have to stick to my own beliefs even if that causes controversy within the team and I have to hope that they would respond in the way I have, with acceptance and respect. 

Controversy can be a really helpful way to learn more about your teammates and grow your respect for them, but it has to be handled the right way. If the controversy is handled poorly and the team starts to turn against each other, then the goal is not met and the work cannot be completed properly, so it is important to know how to handle controversy with civility to avoid having that happen to your group.