Heifetz's Argument Analysis

Heifetz offers three categories in which a person’s loyalties lay, colleagues, community, and ancestors. I have always experienced conflict when it comes to my loyalties to colleagues, community, as well as ancestors. My profession is ministry in a for-profit hospice in addition to the church which overflows into all parts of my life. I am perhaps more devoted to hospice due to the hurt that I have experienced in the church. Hospice affords me the opportunity to do more in ministry then the church. I have always wanted to do God’s will. The community, which I define as the church, sorority, and community services, also views me in a clergy role. In the community, there is also tension due to the fact of my dedication to the sorority over the church. The sorority pushes and allows me to operate in a clergy role when I was mistreated by a local pastor. …show more content…
Therefore, when discord arises, I am very uncomfortable when voices are raised slightly. I look for the exit door just in case the argument gets louder. So, arguments are triggers for me to tune out what’s going on and try to get out of dodge. On the other hand, I am often called upon in the hospice setting to deal with families who are upset and angry. I often have to suppress my feelings to head for the exits. I try and figure out what is the root cause of the anger or the problem. Ninety percent of the time I can tolerated the controversy until it’s over. I worked hard on this and when I taught in the school system I signed up for every workshop I could regarding conflict resolution. Next, Heifetz moves towards understanding your roles. He uses Figure 17-1 as an example as to how a person defines their roles. The writer asked the reader to draw two pie charts. The first pie chart reflects the roles in your life and the second your level of satisfaction in the