The journey from conflict to connection and collaboration involves shifting from a defensive, adversarial mindset to one focused on mutual understanding and shared goals. It requires managers and employees to become skilled at emotional intelligence, communication, and trust-building.
Traditional views often frame conflict as a contest with winners and losers. This competitive mindset can lead to short-term victories but long-term resentment.
The modern collaborative approach reframes conflict resolution as seeking a “win–win” outcome where both sides’ needs are acknowledged and addressed.
This requires creative problem-solving, openness to compromise, and a willingness to see the other party as a partner rather than an opponent. You will learn these skills in this program. Sign up today.
When individuals learn to reframe conflict as an opportunity for growth, the very tensions that once divided them can become the forces that unite them. In this way, conflict becomes not an obstacle to be avoided, but a catalyst for deeper relationships and better outcomes.
Even though studies vary in the stated amount of time individuals spend in conflict and misunderstanding, statistics show that managers can spend 18-35% of their time in conflict resolution per week. This is a huge investment of time, the equivalent of many millions of dollars of payroll in moderate-sized to large organizations. Any significant improvement in the efficiency of conflict management by surfacing conflicts quickly and directly and settling them cleanly will produce productivity gains that far outweigh the cost of most conflict management programs.
But conflict management is about more than just saving time. Most organizational conflicts involve disagreements over task-related matters, with people bringing diverse perspectives, information, and expertise to bear on an issue. Too often, some key input is suppressed or ignored, or the conflict leads to deadlock and inaction.
Poorly managed task-related conflicts can easily become personal, generating resentment, antagonism, and hostility. These “emotional” conflicts interfere with work relationships, create stress, polarize teams, and are a major factor in absenteeism and voluntary turnover.
When conflicts are handled constructively, in contrast, these diverse inputs are likely to be considered on their merits and incorporated into better, more innovative decisions.
Here is an outline of what you will learn in this instructive 4-hour session.
Session 1 (45 min) The Ubiquity of Conflict
Through the discussion in this module, you will learn to:
Session 2 (50 min) The Shift from Win–Lose to Win-Win
Traditional views of conflict often frame it as a contest with winners and losers. This competitive mindset can lead to short-term victories but long-term resentment.
In this module you will learn how to:
Session 3 (60 min) Communication as the Core Factor
The majority of workplace conflicts are rooted not in the actual issues at hand, but in miscommunication or poor communication habits. Differences in communication styles such as direct vs. indirect or detail-focused vs. big-picture, can create misunderstandings that spiral into full-blown disputes.
In this module you will refine communication skill and learn how to:
Session 4 (45 min) Build Openness into the Culture Where Employees Have Learning Conversations
Collaboration doesn’t mean the absence of disagreement-it means a commitment to work through differences together. In a collaborative, open culture, people approach conflict with curiosity rather than defensiveness, asking, "What can we learn from this?" rather than, "How can I prove I’m right?"
In this module you will learn how to:
