Leadership is an important skill that will help anybody in the short or long term. One person who knows this more than most is José “Skip” Sampelayo. He has been with Bellevue College for many years and has led seminars, classes and groups. The most recent seminar that he has led was one on conflict resolution on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
This seminar, titled “Conflict Resolution,” was about conflicts in the workplace and how to resolve them to make progress. During the presentation, many interesting ideas were shared. Some of the key conflict resoultion ideas were to be thought of as steps to success. The first step is to acknowledge that there is a problem and then and brainstorm ways to fix it. Other key points were ideas about how conflict is inevitable in the work place, not all conflicts are bad and some are even beneficial to help the work area. Samplelayo has a very helpful approach to resolving conflicts. “The approach I take is to help with the process, learning and understanding, and a list of skills to help with conflict resolution.”
Other insightful points of this seminar included how to resolve conflicts in the workplace, how to change how we see conflicts and how to prepare for conflicts. Director of El Centro Latino Gabriela Gonzalez attended the event, and reflected that “I really took the process from the seminar. It really helps with resolving conflicts.” Gerald Bunce, a leadership teacher at BC, also attended the seminar. He also had some advice to share about resolving conflicts and leadership “It is easier to eat crow when it is warm…to avoid some conflicts.”
The seminar yielded some incredible information that can be used not only in the workplace, but just in groups to make school easier. The presenter, Sampelayo, gives seminars about once a month about topics to help people learn leadership skills. If students want to keep informed about when these events are happening or to be involved with leadership at BC, there is a Facebook page for their leadership institute. Visit the Bellevue College Leadership Institute Facebook page, visit facebook.com/BCSPLI