1) Individual Orientation Guide

Through active listening and corresponding note taking, the elicitive conflict worker can first focus the narrative on one of the levels and on one of the primary themes of the episode. From this central point and aware of the three-dimensional system made up of themes, layers and levels, the conflict worker can then create an own mind map following his/her intuition and creativity. The principle of resonance with the conflict parties ensures that intuition and creativity of the conflict worker do not become self-referential. The principle of correspondence gives the map a structure, without forcing or restricting it thematically. From the perspective of the episode, the deeper layers are to be found in the lower hierarchies. In praxis, a dysfunction in the deeper layers can be found behind the surface of the narrative.

Here we can offer an ideal application template. During conflict work, themes can be included in every of the main fields. This facilitates the selection of the path that will be followed behind the general theme, while the dotted lines connections show that no theme stands alone by itself. There are direct and indirect effects on all sides. Nevertheless, there will certainly be a densification in one of the fields, which at the same time, can in itself be made into the main theme in an independent new map, that can be drawn as to show all subtle aspects and influences. If the process is unsuccessful, it can be repeated and tried once again, just as we need to find a new path when the one chosen does not take us to our desired destination.

Download the mind map “ECM Model as Ideal Application Template”

The concept of orientation opens up the question of how much one can determine and decide where the dysfunctional system should move itself towards recovering the dynamic equilibrium, without turning the conflict image map into a prescriptive tool. Elicitive Conflict Mapping does not provide solutions to the restoration of equilibrium, but it sees the way towards it as the goal and enables moments of openness that can potentially lead towards that recovery as a practical consequence of its holistic approach that includes all layers of the human.