A few days ago when I was at my pilot’s house, we were talking about many things in and out of ballooning. One of the things we were talking about was conflict on a chase crew. Our crew doesn’t have that much conflict on it, but let’s face it, every chase crew has some form of conflict at some time. The conflict could be very visible, or it could be a "stealth" conflict. Conflict in the sport of ballooning can exist in many ways.
Conflict in a crew can happen if one member of the team Is not pulling his weight or when a person yells at another member of the crew for whatever reason. Intracrew conflict can also happen when one member begins giving orders or suggestions about what needs to be done. One form of Intracrew conflict that has happened with me occurs when one member who is giving advice is younger than the person receiving the advice. I started crewing when I was four years old; by the time that I was about fifteen, I knew quite a bit about ballooning. After awhile, I was able to anticipate things that needed to be done. Well, people who were in their late twenties or early thirties had a hard time taking advice from a kid, even though I was usually right. If this is happening on your crew, you need to be positive to the "kid." Now that I am in my early twenties, these types of things still happen to me but not as often.
What has helped me to cope with the people who found it difficult to believe and to trust me was that my pilot and my crew chief were always giving me the confidence that I needed. They would tell me that I was making the right decisions, and that some day people would not doubt the things I was telling them. My advice to young and experienced crew people is that you cannot doubt the decision you make on a chase, because someday you are going to rely on your ability to make decisions without people doubting you.
Conflict can also happen between other crews. I am sure this has happened to many teams: you are laid out on the field and a person from another crew thinks that you are short on crew (and you’re not); he decides to pitch in and "help" you. While the intentions are good, your new helper is in the way doing more harm than good. That very helpful person, whether he is aware of it or not, is causing conflict. He is causing conflict between himself and the crew he Is trying to help.
Not only can conflict happen on set up, but conflict between crews can happen during an inflation. I am sure this has happened to many people. During an inflation, members from other crews come over to watch; then, one person takes it upon himself to help someone with the lines. This crew member doesn’t ask the person he is helping whether he or she needs help-he just jumps in. Doing something like that will cause a major conflict between crews.
A conflict is not only limited to the chase crew. Conflict can happen between pilots, too. Conflict between pilots can happen if a pilot is not flying safely. Conflict between pilots has been known to happen when two or more pilots are making their approach into the target. One pilot could be concentrating more on throwing the baggie closest to the target than about flying the balloon. Few things create more conflict than a near collision!
I cannot tell anyone how to solve conflict in their crews or how to solve the problem itself, but I think it is important to remember a couple of things. First, pilots-since it’s your balloon team, you should make sure that everyone on your crew is happy and that there are no conflicts among the crew. Second, ballooning is supposed to be fun. Having fights is not the best way to have fun. So, if there are some people who do not like crewing with someone else, crews, tell your pilot, and, pilots, try not to pair those people up with each other.
I think that the best advice I can give on how to avoid conflict is communication. Talk to the person with whom you are having a conflict. Then, you won’t turn those stealth conflicts into big conflicts down the road. When talking to the person who has the conflict, don’t call him or her on the phone. Instead, talk to that person face-to-face so that you can judge their nonverbal response. By resolving little conflicts before they become big ones, you can become the best possible crew.