When Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has," she was forecasting the single most powerful strategy for addressing challenges within a community.

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NSDC is committed to this approach to re-energize schools, honor the expertise of professionals within those schools, tap the talents of educators, refine and align professional practice to standards, and ultimately improve results for students. Yet, commitment and thoughtfulness alone are insufficient to produce what Mead describes. It takes skillfulness in collaboration.

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Below the surface of any successful team is attention to developing a set of skills that members use to advance the success of the team. One skill set that distinguishes sophisticated teams from those that are less developed is conflict resolution.

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Teacher leaders can move a team from a novice state to a more advanced state by assisting teams with developing constructive strategies for addressing conflict. Strategies require developing a common knowledge base, surfacing assumptions members hold about conflict, establishing and applying a process that is explicit, and practicing skills related to open and honest communication.

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Conflict is either constructive or destructive within a team. What determines how conflict affects a team is the skillfulness and attitudes of team members. When members believe conflict is bad and feel uncomfortable acknowledging it or inadequate addressing it, they will strive overtly or covertly to suppress it. Neither is healthy for the individual or the team.

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To create an appreciation for conflict and to handle it constructively rather than destructively, team facilitators might open the door for dialogue about team members' views about conflict. In this form of interaction, members withhold judgment or the need to reach agreement in order to seek understanding. The outcome of dialogue is not action, but rather appreciation. In dialogue everyone has a voice and is encouraged to speak openly and honestly.

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When team members gain a deeper understanding of how they individually view conflict, they can leave dialogue and move to discussion to consider how to work together to address conflict.

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Taking time to focus on how a team addresses conflict before it arises can dramatically accelerate the team's effectiveness. To support teams in becoming highly productive, teacher leaders facilitate dialogue and discussion about conflict before conflict becomes debilitating. When teams learn to address conflict constructively, they will learn too to appreciate what they are able to accomplish as a team that no one individual is able to achieve alone.

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Joellen Killion is NSDC's deputy executive director.