Leadership Capability Series -
Effective Conflict Resolution

Studies show that 20% of our daily lives* are spent dealing with some form of conflict. During particularly challenging times, the percentage of time devoted to conflict seems to increase, especially during the Denial, Resistance and Exploration phases of change.

Many of your interests and concerns might be threatened during change, and when that occurs you respond by taking a position. Likewise, things your associates care about will also be threatened and they will respond by taking a position as well. Managing conflict constructively starts with understanding and managing your own responses.

Constructive conflict management depends significantly on your emotional awareness and social interaction skills, as well as on your cognitive capabilities.

This module examines reactions to conflict and five approaches to handling conflict. The four tenets of principled negotiation are
outlined and applied.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand personal reactions to conflict
• Examine five approaches to Effective Conflict Resolution
• Discern the difference between positional and principled negotiation as applied to Effective Conflict Resolution
• Improve skills through the four tenets of principled negotiation
• Develop an action plan for the ongoing development of Effective Conflict Resolution Skills

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* Dr. Kenneth Thomas, Dealing with Conflict, CPP, Inc. Palo Alto, CA

Team Capability Series