Abstract
We may view public organisations as abstractions or as physical buildings with computers, desks and chairs in them. As an alternative, thinking of organisations as social arenas, as comprising individuals in relationships engaged in communicative action constrained and enabled in figurations of power, can be helpful in understanding the messiness we sometimes encounter. Human activity is then what constitutes organising, which can play out in ambiguous, unpredictable and sometimes conflictual ways. This chapter investigates how conflict may come to rework meaning in process consultancy interventions in the public sector. It explores, by way of example, a workshop in the Swedish organisation Star, a long-term client of mine, which is a state-controlled organisation running large infrastructural projects. The specific case involves reflecting on facilitating an unexpectedly tumultuous workshop.