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  • Introduction
    • 🥳Welcome to the playbook
    • 📒Project background
    • What is co-operative care?
    • 🛠️How to use the playbook
    • A word from...
      • Equal Care
      • Clapton Care Commons
  • Start and Grow
    • 🚠Overview
    • 🌍Foundation
      • Founders
      • Find the others
      • Feasibility
      • Formation
    • Have a go
    • Find (more) money
    • Share the power
    • 🎋Grow
      • Recruit workers
      • Start teams
    • Sustain
  • Technology
    • Equal Care's Platform
    • Equal Care's technology journey
    • Choosing technologies
      • Social Care Platform Vendors
  • Fundraising
    • Fundraising options
    • Community Share Offers
      • Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
    • Commons Contribution
    • Restrictions on investment
  • Equal Care's Model
    • Our Purpose
    • How we work
    • Sociocracy
    • Circles
      • Long term decisions
      • Everyday decisions
      • Circle records
      • Consent
      • Proposals
    • Teams
      • Why we use the Teams model
      • Who's in?
      • Team Starting
        • The role of a Team Starter
        • 1. Starting a Team: The First Contact
        • 2. Beginning the Relationship
        • 3. Finding the Right Match
        • 4. Supportive Conversation & Trust Assessment
          • 4a. Example of a Supportive Conversation
          • 4b. Example of a Trust Assessment
        • 5. Profiles and promises
          • 5a. The Getting Support Promise
          • 5b. The Getting Support Profile
          • 5c. Worker and team member profiles
        • 6. Building a team
          • 6a. Finding and welcoming new members
          • 6b. Trialling new team members
        • 7. Getting Organised: Roles and Hats
        • 8. Stepping Back: Team Independence
      • Dealing with conflict and change
        • Conflict support
        • How to leave a team well
    • Hats
      • Team Hats
      • Circle Hats - Process
      • Circle Hats - Operational
        • Care Commons Organiser
        • Peer supervisor
    • Platform
    • Co-production
      • Implementing co-production
      • Context of co-production in social care
      • Governance for co-production
      • Ownership for co-production
    • Care Commons
    • Radical Candour
  • Evaluation framework
    • Introduction
    • Commons-based Care: the Context
    • Scope
      • Three Domains of Care Outcomes: Process, Change, and Maintenance.
      • Three Domains of Outcomes in Equal Care
      • Mapping Equal Care Outputs to Outcomes Domains
      • Social Climate as a Key Evaluative Lens
    • Evaluation Challenges
    • Methods
      • Social Climate Survey
      • Community Mapping
      • Interviews and workshops
      • Group activities
      • Community needs assessment
        • Locality analysis
    • Data Analysis
      • Interviews Outcome Domains
        • Growth Outcomes
        • Well-being, Relationships & Belonging Outcomes
        • Systems Maintenaince & Co-production Outcomes
      • Community Network Map: Analysis & Overview
        • Who’s in the Network?
        • Bridging the Gap Between Formal and Informal Care
        • Mapping Care Wealth
        • What We Learned from the Teams
        • The Role of Teams in the Community Care Network
        • Reflections and Future Directions
      • Reflections from the Ground: Insights from Key Circle Leads
        • Circle Outputs: Experiences & Learnings from the Clapton Circle.
        • Teams Outputs: Experiences & Learnings from the Clapton Circle.
        • Platform Outputs: Experiences & Learnings from the Clapton Circle.
        • Commons Outputs: Experiences & Learnings from the Clapton Circle.
          • Care Commons Organiser Role Description
    • The Toolbox
      • Theory of Change
        • What is a Theory of Change?
          • Using a Theory of Change
        • Co-producing our Theory of Change
        • Observations about ToC Outcomes
        • How to use our interactive ToC
          • Orientation to ToC Tool: The Kumu Platform
            • Using the focus function in Kumu
            • Using Basic Control Functions
            • Toggling Between views
          • 1. Outputs Dimensions and Outcome Domains
          • 2. Coop Output Dimensions - a deeper dive.
          • 3. Coop Outcomes Domains. A deeper dive.
        • Using ToC tool to understand our model of care: Key Outputs.
        • Using ToC tool to understand our model of care: Key Outcomes
        • Using ToC tool to see how we measure outcomes
        • Using ToC tool to understand the impact of specific features of the coop
          • Circle ToC
          • Platform ToC
          • Teams ToC
          • Commons ToC
        • Using this tool for Strategy and Planning
      • Equal Care Coop's Social Climate Survey
        • About Equal Care's Social Climate
          • Why Measure Social Climate?
        • Interpreting Growth Measures
          • Low Score Interpretation
          • Medium Score Interpretation
          • High Score Interpretation
        • Interpreting Systems Maintenance and Co-production Measures
          • Low Score Interpretation
          • Medium Score Interpretation
          • High Score Interpretation
        • Interpreting Well-being, Relationships & Belonging Measures
          • Low Score Interpretation
          • Medium Score Interpretation
          • High Score Interpretation
        • Using the Social Climate Survey: Resources and Challenges.
        • List of Survey Items for all Stake Holders
      • Community Care Mapping Tool
      • Interview Templates
      • Atlas Care Maps
      • Co-Production Capacity Assessment Tool
        • 10 capacities for co-production
        • Using the tool
  • Service Specification
    • Care as a common pool resource
    • Service Spec
    • Service Map
  • Cost Model
    • Introduction
    • Resources
    • Fair wages
    • Cost Models in Social Care
  • Resources
    • Co-op operations
      • Communications
        • Roles
        • Tone of Voice
        • Digital Inclusion
        • Social Media
      • Learning
        • What you need to know
        • Peer to peer learning
    • Documentation
    • Care and Support Rates
    • Co-op rules & bylaws
    • Care Mapping with Atlas of Care
      • Care Mapping for Relationship-Centred Care
      • Care Mapping for new Teams
      • Care Mapping for Evaluation
    • Glossary
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On this page
  • First things first: Talk
  • When support is needed
  • If it’s serious or unresolved

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  1. Equal Care's Model
  2. Teams
  3. Dealing with conflict and change

Conflict support

Helping teams respond to tension or disagreement in a healthy, constructive way

Even in well-functioning teams, conflict is a normal part of working closely together. It doesn’t always mean something’s gone wrong - it might just be that needs have shifted, communication styles are clashing, or something important hasn’t yet been said.

First things first: Talk

The first and most important step is to create space for conversation. This can be between the people involved directly or with a third person present to support — a Coach, a trusted team member, or someone with facilitation experience.

At Equal Care, you don’t need to go through the office or get permission to have this kind of conversation, although help is always available if needed.

What helps:

  • Creating a calm space (not in the middle of a support visit)

  • Being honest about your own experience without assuming the other person’s intent

  • Listening carefully and aiming to understand, not to win

  • Checking for shared agreements and expectations (were roles or boundaries unclear?)

When support is needed

Sometimes things feel too tricky to tackle alone. The Coach is there for this. They can support with:

  • Setting up a safe, structured conversation

  • Helping the team revisit agreements and clarify boundaries

  • Supporting reflective conversations where there's emotional strain or long-running issues

  • Identifying whether something more formal is needed

Other options include asking for help in your Local Circle, reaching out to someone you trust, or raising a concern via the Sharing Stuff form if you’re not sure who to speak to directly.

If it’s serious or unresolved

If a conversation doesn’t lead to resolution, or if something serious has happened (such as a safeguarding concern or ongoing breakdown in trust), Equal Care may bring in our problem-solving process or take formal steps as required by our policies.

This might include:

  • A facilitated resolution process involving more than two people

  • Involvement of the Coach, Safeguarding Officer or HR support

  • A temporary pause or change in the team setup while things are worked through

These steps aren’t about punishment: they’re about making sure everyone’s voice is heard and that safety, fairness and trust are upheld.

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