Team & Conflict Management in Peace Operations - Working in and Leading Multicultural Teams

Good cooperation and mutual support within the team and between staff members and their superiors are among the prerequisites for ensuring team resilience, a productive working environment and ultimately the successful implementation of the mandate. Core skills include intercultural communication, conflict management, self-reflection, leadership as well as team building and trust building. The course offers participants the opportunity to test, reflect upon and further develop their knowledge and skills in leadership, teamwork and conflict management.

The course was developed and carried out jointly by the Bundespolizeiakademie Lübeck and ZIF within the framework of the Training Partner Platform (TPP).

Through the course, participants will learn to:

• Recognise and reflect upon the role of culture and cultural diversity in peace operations;

• Communicate effectively and sensitively in culturally diverse settings, including between military, civilian and police mission staff;

• Use tools for team and trust building in mission contexts;

• Analyse interpersonal conflicts and apply techniques to manage them;

• Understand leadership concepts and styles, including commonalities and differences for military, civilians and police; and

• Apply leadership tools to empower and motivate a team.

The course is geared towards civilian, police and military experts who have worked or who will be working in peace operations of the UN, EU, OSCE or other organisations, including election observation missions. 

• Introduction to intercultural competence - pre-course online module (1h 30 min)

• Context, cultural diversity & stereotypes in peace operations

• Effective intercultural communication

• Management of interpersonal conflicts

• Self-motivation and motivating others

• Team development and trust-building

• Leadership of multicultural teams

All these topics are adapted to the context of international peace operations or similar deployments.

Previous experience in a peace operation is desirable.

ZIF Trainings:

ZIF trainings are practice-oriented and reflect the operational reality of peace operations and (post-)conflict areas through exercises, role plays and scenario-based courses. Moreover, our trainings focus on the main areas of competence outlined in the ZIF Concept "Civilian Expert". Additionally, we base our courses on contemporary concepts of adult education and peer learning. We try to create a joint learning space where participants and the training team can exchange freely and critically, and which provides room for self-reflection. Another important goal of our courses is to encourage a change of perspective. One way of achieving this, is by mainstreaming the comprehensive approach (civilian, police, military), which is made possible through our cooperation within the German Training Partner Platform.