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Conflict Resolution

When handled correctly, conflict isn’t a threat to your culture-it’s the collaboration you need to drive innovation, clarity, and growth. Learn how to turn conflict into a competitive advantage with these resources.

Resources for Conflict Resolution

25 Resources
team of three people collaborating at desk
Blog
Why Teamwork Breaks Down Despite Verbal Agreement, and What to Do about...
Why Teamwork Breaks Down Despite Verbal Agreement, and What to Do about It
Blog • 6 Min
Why Teamwork Breaks Down Despite Verbal Agreement, and What to Do about It
Dear Crucial Skills, Over the past year, a team in our organization fell apart, and we’ve identified differing priorities around shared values as a root cause. While team members agree on the same values in principle, they prioritize and apply them differently in day-to-day work. How can I help this team...
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Relationship Intelligence eBook cover
eBook
Relationship Intelligence: How to Build and Rebuild Relationships at...
Relationship Intelligence: How to Build and Rebuild Relationships at Work
eBook • 49 mins
Relationship Intelligence: How to Build and Rebuild Relationships at Work
Despite investments in engagement and culture initiatives, many organizations overlook the most powerful driver of team performance: the quality of personal relationships. In this ebook, you'll learn the skills you need to establish healthy, productive relationships that boost engagement and better results.
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woman and man in office talking looking defensive
Blog
Why Do We Put Up with Bullies? From Avoidance to Accountability
Why Do We Put Up with Bullies? From Avoidance to Accountability
Blog • 6 Min
Why Do We Put Up with Bullies? From Avoidance to Accountability
My manager is a bully, and everybody talks about it but not to her! She has regular outbursts at whoever is closest, sends a tirade of emails, on and on it goes. Her employees are on antidepressants, unable to manage the feelings with being treated that way on a regular basis. I am removed from the firing...
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young executive pointing finger at employee in meeting
Blog
Caught Off Guard, and Trying to Recover
Caught Off Guard, and Trying to Recover
Blog • 5 Min
Caught Off Guard, and Trying to Recover
Dear Crucial Skills, I was unexpectedly called into a meeting with senior leaders and colleagues who criticized a new process I had introduced. The conversation became heated, and I felt unprepared, cornered, and reactive, especially as they challenged the process without notice or supporting facts. Feeling...
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woman with arms defensively crossed talking with man at work
Blog
Why We Do What We Do in Conflict, and How We Can Be Better
Why We Do What We Do in Conflict, and How We Can Be Better
Blog • 7 Min
Why We Do What We Do in Conflict, and How We Can Be Better
When I first started working with the SDI back in the 1990s, I made a mistake that turned into a learning opportunity. I had an appointment with a senior training officer at a large corporation. She had completed the paper version of the SDI in advance (this was the era of mailing paper assessments and using...
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two men talking in business office
Blog
Clarifying Expectations with a Passive-Aggressive Boss
Clarifying Expectations with a Passive-Aggressive Boss
Blog • 4 Min
Clarifying Expectations with a Passive-Aggressive Boss
I work at a small company with a senior director whose communication style feels passive-aggressive. Instead of clearly assigning tasks, he frames requests as questions (e.g., “Would I be able to…”), then later complains to supervisors when the work doesn’t match what he apparently wanted. Employees...
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5 Keys to Managing Conflict
eBook
5 Keys to Managing Conflict
5 Keys to Managing Conflict
eBook • 4 mins
5 Keys to Managing Conflict
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Businesswoman arguing with colleagues
Blog
Working with Difficult People: How to Increase Understanding
Working with Difficult People: How to Increase Understanding
Blog • 8 Min
Working with Difficult People: How to Increase Understanding
There is an assistant director in my department who is awful to work with. She makes her team nervous to fail, so they are dishonest with her about the status of projects. I've voiced this concern to my director, whom we both report to, but nothing has changed. I want to have an honest conversation with this...
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confident and stern female ceo with group of executives
Blog
What to Do When Your Boss Is a Bully
What to Do When Your Boss Is a Bully
Blog • 7 Min
What to Do When Your Boss Is a Bully
The manager in our department is widely regarded as a bully. Her behavior includes frequent outbursts directed at whoever is nearest, followed by long, accusatory emails. This has become a normalized management style, and it’s taking a serious toll—several team members are now on antidepressants due to...
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concerned male employee touching temple while sitting with laptop at office desk
Blog
My Coworker Drives Me Nuts. Do I Talk to Him or Let It Go?
My Coworker Drives Me Nuts. Do I Talk to Him or Let It Go?
Blog • 4 Min
My Coworker Drives Me Nuts. Do I Talk to Him or Let It Go?
I have a coworker that I just can’t stand. He is good at his job, but I struggle to get along with him because he’s so opinionated and narrow-minded. He has an opinion about everything and can’t fathom any other viewpoint. I’d rather go to the dentist than be in a meeting with him. What am I supposed...
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man in meeting, nervous
Blog
Triggered by a Coworker? Consider This
Triggered by a Coworker? Consider This
Blog • 3 Min
Triggered by a Coworker? Consider This
How do you keep working with members in your team when they verbally attack you and management doesn’t advocate for you or validate the incident? I literally feel a panic attack coming on when I know I will be in a meeting with a certain person.
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mature man looking disgusted in office meeting
Blog
When You Disrespect and Dislike Your Boss
When You Disrespect and Dislike Your Boss
Blog • 4 Min
When You Disrespect and Dislike Your Boss
I don’t respect my boss as a leader. I know he has his own struggles, but I just don’t like him as a leader. I am fully aware of and even ashamed of my bad behavior. I like my job and my position, but I can’t stand him. What do you recommend? I am the worst version of myself when I interact with him.
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team of professionals sharing ideas in boardroom
Blog
What to Do When Personality Differences Hinder Teamwork
What to Do When Personality Differences Hinder Teamwork
Blog • 7 Min
What to Do When Personality Differences Hinder Teamwork
In my experience, it is easier to work on teams with people who are alike.  When people are really different, it seems like there is much more friction on the team. I am now a manager of a team that has a lot of different types of people, and I don’t know how I can create a cohesive, well-running team...
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boss talking over employee's shoulder
Blog
What to Do When You Think You’re Being Micromanaged
What to Do When You Think You’re Being Micromanaged
Blog • 5 Min
What to Do When You Think You’re Being Micromanaged
When my coworker follows up on my projects, I usually answer fine. But sometimes I get the sense that he’s checking up on me and checking my work, and I lose patience and lash out at him. How can I deal with this situation?
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professor and student walking down hallway talking
Blog
Addressing Harassment and Advocating for Yourself
Addressing Harassment and Advocating for Yourself
Blog • 5 Min
Addressing Harassment and Advocating for Yourself
I’m a university instructor and I have a student who's experiencing harassment from her roommate. Housing services won't provide a room change despite available vacancies. The stress is affecting her performance in school. What can I do to help her?
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Build High Performing Teams
eBook
Build High Performing Teams
Build High Performing Teams
eBook • 4 mins
Build High Performing Teams
Using real-world data from organizational case studies, this eBook shows how teams that communicate openly and address conflict directly outperform peers in trust, engagement, and productivity. It outlines six proven practices for building collaborative, results-driven cultures. Each example demonstrates...
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Portrait of Modern multi ethnic business team
Blog
The Quickest Way to Improve Teamwork
The Quickest Way to Improve Teamwork
Blog • 4 Min
The Quickest Way to Improve Teamwork
Little of consequence happens in the world without cooperative activity. The primary ability that enables human beings to thrive is our capacity to work together toward common goals. So, it’s no wonder that the various teams in our lives (work teams, marriages, families, parent/teacher organizations, etc.)...
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people in a meeting arguing
Blog
How to Help Team Members Resolve Conflict with Each Other
How to Help Team Members Resolve Conflict with Each Other
Blog • 6 Min
How to Help Team Members Resolve Conflict with Each Other
How would you manage two team members who refuse to work together after missing project deadlines and blaming each other for the failures? Without knowing what caused the underlying conflict, what steps would you take as their supervisor?
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two women talking in business setting
Blog
How to Correct a Coworker
How to Correct a Coworker
Blog • 6 Min
How to Correct a Coworker
I have a coworker who has consistently misspelled my name for six months. It’s displayed correctly on my desk and my email signature, and yet this persists. How can I approach him about this without provoking defensiveness?
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Preventing Conflict – SDI
eBook
Preventing Conflict – SDI
Preventing Conflict – SDI
eBook • 4 mins
Preventing Conflict – SDI
This eBook explains how applying SDI® (Strength Deployment Inventory) insights helps teams prevent conflict by understanding motivational values and triggers. Through case studies, it shows that when team members recognize strengths and overdone strengths, conflict drops and collaboration increases. The...
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Civility in a Divided Democracy
eBook
Civility in a Divided Democracy
Civility in a Divided Democracy
eBook • 12 mins
Civility in a Divided Democracy
Unfortunately, today’s political discourse is highly polarized and, for many of us, often downright frightening. Learn skills you can use today to have constructive conversations about political issues, even with those whose beliefs are drastically different.
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young man sitting in meeting with other people
Blog
How the SDI Contributes to Psychological Safety
How the SDI Contributes to Psychological Safety
Blog • 6 Min
How the SDI Contributes to Psychological Safety
Psychological safety depends on trust in each other’s intentions, and the SDI assessment can help people bring their best self to a conversation so they feel safe to contribute to the Pool of Shared Meaning. Whether it be a team or a 1:1 relationship, open and productive dialogue depends on an atmosphere...
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business woman mentoring a younger employee
Blog
How to Coach a Know-It-All
How to Coach a Know-It-All
Blog • 5 Min
How to Coach a Know-It-All
I have a new employee on my team who is very knowledgeable but shares her knowledge in a very know-it-all fashion. I’m concerned this will lead to a disconnect between her and the rest of the team. I want her to develop good relationships with our team members, but I've noticed that her tendency is driving...
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Open Office Secrets
eBook
Open Office Secrets
Open Office Secrets
eBook • 4 mins
Open Office Secrets
People have intense and pervasive frustrations with their boss, and yet they don’t feel safe or able to give their manager feedback. Instead of speaking up, they vent to each other. The good news is, there are a handful of skills people can use to confront a misbehaving manager. In this ebook, learn the...
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Unafraid
eBook
Unafraid
Unafraid
eBook • 10 mins
Unafraid
Do you feel afraid to speak your mind at work, at home, or in your community? We studied positive deviants who were less fearful and more confident in similar circumstances and found the six communication principles they're using to reduce their fear without losing their voice.
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