E.L.C. members delve into conflict resolution techniques
Dr. Lavon Gray returned to Meridian Community College to speak with members of the MCC Foundation’s Eagles Leadership Convocation (E.L.C.), sharing perspectives on leadership and communication to this year’s cohort.
The theme of his talk: Choose to Defuse: Conflict Resolution in the Heat of Battle."
A seasoned sports official and respected leadership expert, Dr. Gray serves as the chief executive officer of the Blue Hen agency, an organizational consulting firm which serves businesses and nonprofits. He is the author of five books, including Never Wrestle with Pigs: A Survival Guide for Dealing with Difficult Personalities.
Drawing from more than 30 years of officiating experience, Dr. Gray used real-world scenarios from the field to connect leadership theory with everyday challenges. “I don’t love conflict, but it doesn’t bother me to navigate it. What I realized I had taken things that I had learned on the athletic field as an official and I applied them in the way I dealt with people at work or family. And I think it helped me navigate conflict,” he said.
Dr. Gray added, “There’s a universal truth in life, that conflict is a reality of life. It touches most everything we do.”
But that’s not all. Conflict is costly. “Statistics tell us that on average, each worker spends about 2.8 hours a week engaged in conflict. In lost work hours in a year, there is $359 billion in lost work hours involved in conflict.”
He said, “You have to have a way to navigate conflict.”
Conflict often shows up when others don’t meet the expectations we’ve set in our own minds, Dr. Gray noted. “We can’t assume people are going to be at our level. We have to meet them where they are and help them get to where we need them to be,” he said.
Members of the Class of 2026 include Veronica Fox, Jawanda Huggins, Eric Jones, Chris King, Parker Manley, James Runnels, Rhonda Smith, Crystal Sterling, and Dr. Tommy Winston. The Eagles Leadership Convocation is a yearlong professional development program directed by the Meridian Community College Foundation.
The next E.L.C. session is scheduled for Feb. 4 and will feature Kassi Rushing, a communications and people strategist, who will lead a discussion on Behaviors of Inclusive Leadership and Growing an Engaged Team.
To learn more about the Eagles Leadership Convocation, visit meridiancc.edu/elc.