At Verdunity, we believe that improving our company starts with improving ourselves. As a team, we constantly share resources and tools that can help us grow individually and consequently as a group. More times than not, I also find that these tools can also help our local communities improve as well. As I reflect on the last year, one tool called the Support-Challenge Matrix has had a big impact in my life; I hope it can also impact the way we engage in our local communities.

The Support-Challenge Matrix centers around the value of healthy conflict. I learned about the value of this tool through Giant Worldwide, a company dedicated to improving company cultures and “unlock[ing] the potential of people.” As a company we went through some training videos by Giant. Below is a graphic of the tool - the matrix assesses individuals and cultures based on their level of challenge or support. Most people lean towards either high support or high challenge, and it can require lots of effort to develop one’s ‘low’ characteristic. However, if one can develop into a high support and high challenge person, they can have a great positive impact on those around them. Giant calls these high-challenge, high-support people ‘Liberators’ - these people are effective at making people and cultures to be better because they know how to balance support and challenge.

Which quadrant do you see yourself in? Personally, I’m a high support, low challenge person. I don’t argue for fun - and while that may make me pleasant to be around, sometimes I have a hard time pushing back against the status quo when I need to. As I’ve matured, I’ve realized the need for high-challenge people in my life, and I’ve also tried to develop the challenging side to my own personality. If I truly care about those on my team, I’ll pursue the best for everyone, even if it means challenging myself and others.

In our communities, there are many competing interests that gravitate towards either support or challenge. Groups like city officials/staff, businesses, non-profits, and citizens see the world differently and can come into conflict because of it. This conflict doesn’t have to be negative - in fact, balancing the support and challenge through conflict can improve the local community. I can think of three recent examples of this in my own context:

When Shreveport made its first effort to paint bike lanes in city limits, the initial rollout produced a strong disconnect between the city’s plan and bike advocates’ concerns. Bicycle advocates stayed engaged and effectively supported the City’s intent for better bike infrastructure while challenging what should be done on the ground. Advocates talked with each other, had a clear message of what should be done instead, and reflected that in public comments. As a result, the new bike lanes were more functional and the process built trust between advocates and city staff.
A storage facility that required rezoning was proposed to be built adjacent to a small neighborhood commercial area and residential neighborhood. The planning commission meeting yielded two common complaints about the development: (1) it didn’t fit in the neighborhood, and (2) it would lower property values. A series of articles were published about the development, not only including pushback but also what the neighborhood needed instead. The storage facility was still built, however it included several ground floor neighborhood retail suites that serve the neighborhood well.
A local news organization, Heliopolis, published a Shreveport Progress Report that outlined 10 items that the city should improve. I write for Heliopolis, but forgot about the progress report until I got lunch with Sportran CFO Alan Bright and Planner Jacob Rajlich a few weeks ago. In the course of conversation, they mentioned that they appreciated the challenge presented in the report, and had used the report to guide transit improvements.

These interactions illustrate how important it is for all people and groups in our communities to understand how to negotiate conflict. Community Engagement is a two way street, and in order for a challenge to be accepted it must trust in the support of the other party. Balancing support and challenge through conflict trusts that other perspectives are necessary to building better communities for us all.

Depending on your role, here are a few more ways that you can liberate those in your local communities:

City officials/staff: Resist the temptation to avoid a difficult interaction with citizens who are very vocal or distrusting of the civic process. Sometimes, an in-depth interaction can yield a helpful outcome through a greater understanding from the citizen, or a helpful suggestion that a city or municipality can implement
Citizens: If you don’t understand why a city does something the way it does, ask why. You may learn something new about the city, or you may help the city see it from your perspective.
Business/non-profit: If your organization’s natural tendency is to challenge the government, find a new way to support something that you think is being done right.