Conflict Competent Leadership American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai, China June 4, 2008

1. Conflict Competent LeadershipAmerican Chamber of CommerceShanghai, China June 4, 2008 Leadership Development Institute Craig E. Runde

2. “Conflict exists at the root of some of our best ideas and at the core of some of our worst failures.”

3. An initial word about culture • Cultural differences can be a source of misunderstanding and conflict • They can also complicate its resolution • A variety of cultural influences can affect conflict – national culture, regional culture, corporate culture, etc.

4. Conflict Competent Leadership • Recognizing the value of conflict competence • Creating new attitudes about conflict • Understanding conflict and your current responses to it • Developing strategies to manage emotions and engage conflict constructively • Championing organizational conflict competence

5. Recognizing the value of managing conflict effectively • Poorly managed conflict costs organizations both in terms of out of pocket costs and missed opportunities • Cost factors • Performance issues

6. Conflict Attitudes A few questions…

7. Exploring Conflict Dynamics • Defining conflict - Situations in which people have apparently incompatible goals, interests, principles, or feelings • Inevitability of conflict – Research from the Center for Creative Leadership finds that 85% of leaders experience conflict on a regular or constant basis

8. Exploring Conflict Dynamics • Research over the past 15 years has demonstrated that there are two major types of conflicts in organizational settings. • Task conflict occurs when people have differences about issues and the focus remains on solving the problem • Relationship conflict happens when people focus more on personalities and the emphasis is on finding fault

9. Exploring Conflict Dynamics • Task conflict typically results in enhanced creativity, improved decision making, and better outcomes • Relationship conflict results in poorer outcomes, frayed relationships, and less commitment • Task conflict can and often does transform into relationship conflict

10. Exploring Conflict Dynamics So key questions for leaders are: • Does my organization have enough good conflict? • How can I ensure that my organization gets the benefits of task conflict without experiencing the harmful effects of relationship conflict?”

11. Exploring Conflict Dynamics • The answer to these questions lies in changing the way people respond to conflict • To understand how to change, we first have to understand how and why we currently respond the way we do

12. A TEST

16. ANOTHER TEST!

17. 1000 40 1000 30 1000 20 1000 10 4100

18. Path of Conflict

19. Hot Buttons • Behaviors in others that irritate or upset you • Example Hot Buttons: • Unreliable • Hostile • Unappreciative • Aloof • Micro-managing • Self-centered • Abrasive • Untrustworthy

20. Conflict Responses • Affected by fight or flight instincts • Shaped by cultural norms • Some behaviors will tend to enflame or prolong conflict (destructive) • Some behaviors will lower tension and lead to more effective resolution (constructive) • Need to understand what responses you currently use as well as the cultural context in which you use them

21. Approaching Conflict Effectively • Cool Down • Slow Down • Engage Constructively

22. Cooling Down • Understand your Hot Buttons • Reflection (awareness) • Reframing (cognitive reappraisal)

23. Slowing Down • Delay Responding • Plan Ahead of Time • Use Time Out to Cool Down

24. Engaging Constructively • Listening • Speaking • Collaborative Problem Solving

25. Championing Conflict Competence Once a leader has developed his or her personal conflict competence, he or she can more effectively: • Serve as a coach, mentor and model • Champion change that supports effective conflict management implementation throughout the organization

26. Thank You! Craig Runde rundece@eckerd.edu 1-800-753-0444