Course Objective & Scope
When disagreement is suppressed, poor decisions pass unchallenged; when it is left unmanaged, relationships suffer. The programme treats conflict as a resource for better decisions: task versus relationship conflict, Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes, Lencioni's fear of conflict, Amy Edmondson's psychological safety, Fisher and Ury's interest-based negotiation and nonviolent communication.
Participants try structured debate techniques such as pre-mortems, rotating devil's advocate and red teaming, and rehearse difficult conversations through role-plays adapted to their organisation.
Who Should Attend?
- Managers handling tension within or between teams
- Team leads and project managers
- HR business partners and employee relations teams
- Specialists involved in intensive stakeholder negotiation
Key Takeaways
- Distinguish task-based from relationship-based disagreement
- Recognise one's default conflict mode and adapt it to the situation
- Surface the interests behind positions
- Challenge decisions systematically with pre-mortems and red teaming
- Lead a tense conversation in a structured way
Curriculum
Types and Impact of Conflict
- Task, process and relationship conflict
- Artificial harmony and fear of conflict
Conflict Modes and Psychological Safety
- The five modes of the Thomas-Kilmann model
- A team climate that enables open challenge
Interest-Based Negotiation
- Positions versus interests
- Generating options and objective criteria
- Expressing needs with nonviolent communication
Structured Debate Techniques
- Pre-mortem and rotating devil's advocate
- Red team review
Difficult Conversation Rehearsals
- Role-plays based on organisational cases
- Observer feedback and escalation criteria
Other Courses in This Category
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Making implicit team norms explicit, writing working agreements on communication, decisions, meetings and availability, and keeping them alive through retrospectives; teams leave with their own charter and agreements.
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Async-first operating principles, written decision documents (RFC/ADR), channel SLAs and hand-off protocols for hybrid and distributed teams; participants build their own hybrid team playbook and communication matrix.
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Stakeholder mapping, RACI/DACI and interface agreements to align goals, roles and hand-offs across functions; managers and team leads leave with a shared team charter for a real cross-functional initiative.
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Meeting audits, purpose-outcome-agenda design, meeting types, asynchronous alternatives and workshop flow planning; teams redesign one of their existing meeting rhythms into a ready-to-use plan.
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Clarifying decision rights with RAPID and DACI, separating reversible from irreversible decisions, consent-based decisions, disagree and commit, and owner-dated action tracking, captured in a team decision protocol.
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