23 Apr This week you’ve learned about the manager’s role in conflict resolution and the behavioral skills needed to engage conflict constructively. Now it’s time to apply these concepts to a real leadership challenge.
Think of a conflict between two employees (or coworkers) that you witnessed or were involved in. This could be:
A disagreement about work processes or responsibilities
Interpersonal tension affecting team dynamics
A performance issue creating friction
Competing priorities or resource conflicts
Address the following:
Describe the situation briefly (2-3 sentences):
Who was involved?
What was the conflict about?
What was your role (manager, coworker, observer)?
Apply the “conflict ownership” framework (using Mitchell & Gamlem Chapter 9):
Whose conflict was it? Who should have been responsible for resolving it?
Did the situation require managerial intervention? Why or why not?
If intervention was needed, what role was most appropriate?
Coach (helping someone develop skills)?
Counselor (addressing performance or behavior issues)?
Mediator (facilitating resolution between parties)?
Decision-maker (making a judgment call)?
Analyze the behaviors (using Runde & Flanagan Chapter 4):
What constructive behaviors were present (perspective-taking, creating solutions, expressing emotions appropriately, reaching out)?
What destructive behaviors escalated the conflict (blaming, attacking, avoiding, dismissing)?
Give at least one specific example of each.
Propose a better approach:
If you could replay this situation, what would you do differently?
What specific constructive behavior from Runde & Flanagan Chapter 4 would you use?
How would this change the outcome?
For Your Peer Responses (100-150 words each to 2 classmates):
Offer an alternative perspective on whether intervention was needed and what role would have been most effective
Identify a constructive behavior from Runde & Flanagan that your classmate didn’t mention but could have helped
Ask a probing question that helps them think more deeply about conflict ownership or behavioral strategies
Avoid generic responses like “Great post!” or “I agree.”
Tips for Success:
✅ Be specific about roles: Don’t just say “someone should have intervened.” Explain whether coaching, counseling, mediation, or decision-making was needed.
✅ Use behavioral examples: Instead of “they were destructive,” say “Person A blamed Person B repeatedly, saying ‘This is all your fault’ rather than using ‘I statements’ to express concerns.”
✅ Connect to frameworks: Show you understand the readings by explicitly referencing conflict ownership, the four constructive behaviors, and destructive behaviors to avoid.
✅ Be honest about mistakes: If you were the manager and didn’t intervene when you should have (or intervened when you shouldn’t have), own it and explain what you learned.
Example of Strong Integration:
Instead of: “Two coworkers were fighting and the manager should have done something.”
Try: “Two team members, Sarah and James, disagreed about project priorities. Sarah wanted to focus on client deliverables; James insisted we needed to update internal documentation first. As their supervisor, I initially stayed out of it, thinking they should resolve it themselves (conflict ownership). However, the tension affected the entire team’s productivity, and neither had the authority to make the final call—this was MY conflict to resolve as the decision-maker (Mitchell & Gamlem, p. XX). When I finally intervened, I made the mistake of immediately announcing my decision without hearing their perspectives. This was a destructive behavior—’demeaning others’ by dismissing their input (Runde & Flanagan, Section 4.4). A better approach would have been to use perspective-taking: meet with each individually to understand their underlying interests, then facilitate a conversation where we could create solutions together (Runde & Flanagan, Section 4.2). I could have said, ‘I hear that you both care deeply about our success. Sarah, you’re concerned about client satisfaction. James, you’re concerned about long-term efficiency. Let’s explore options that address both concerns.'”
