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| Rise With Us managing director AJ Williams (left) and CEO KJ Williams | |
At the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association fall show in Spokane, Wash., this weekend, Sunday's brunch keynote focused on "Conflict, Care, and Community in Bookstore Workplaces," presented by Rise With Us co-founders AJ Williams and KJ Williams. "Disagreements and conflict are normal, but how we engage and navigate difficult conversations and the effort we put into resolving conflict is what sets us apart as people committed to equity and justice," said KJ Williams. When managing a bookstore, they said, there must be clear guidelines for how employees are expected to navigate conflict with both customers and coworkers.
To create those guidelines, Rise With Us developed the ALIGN framework, which stands for Anchor, Lens, Intention, Growth, and Navigation; by anchoring your values prior to engagement and addressing the lens through which you perceive the situation, you can enter conflict with intentions that align with your beliefs, they continued. KJ Williams explained that one's subconscious can drive a triggered response: "You are reacting not just to the moment but reacting to everything that shaped you." Such responses may not be an authentic representation of your values, she said, so it's important to be aware of your triggers and biases. With informed intentions, booksellers addressing conflict can identify areas for growth and improvement and subsequently navigate their instinctual, knee-jerk responses. "Who do you want to be," KJ asked, "and how do you want others to perceive you?"
Fear of cancel culture and the risk of increased hostility deter many from engaging in conflict. "Left unmanaged, [conflict] drains trust, time, and talent," said KJ. "Conflict always costs something," and the cost increases the longer it is unaddressed. By investing in conflict instead of avoiding it, the workplace environment can develop "resilience and connection" and further strengthening the community. "Conflict shapes our culture," said AJ. It's up to the individual to determine if the outcome is "an asset, liability, or a loss." --Madison Gaines