ATD Blog
Five Strategies for Dealing With Conflict
Use five conflict management strategies—avoidance, accommodation, competitive, directive, and collaboration—to impct productivity, morale, and interpersonal relationships.
Mon Oct 12 2026
Despite your best efforts, conflict is inevitable.
The good news is that conflict isn’t always bad. Constructive conflict, when people work together to resolve an issue, can be healthy and productive. Differences of opinion are natural, and when conflict centers on an organizational issue, it doesn’t need to get personal—as long as everyone focuses on what is best for the institution.
Actively apply conflict management
Leaders and managers can trust the conflict resolution process if stakeholders commit to finding the best solution. However, they may need to take a more active role if the conflict shifts from what is best for the organization to personal attacks.
In “Analysis of Conflict Management Styles and Organisational Performance,” Marwa Al Kabbini and Serene Daltai offer five conflict management strategies: avoidance, accommodation, competitive, directive, and collaboration. Let’s take a closer look at how each of those styles affect productivity, morale, and interpersonal relationships.
Avoidance. This strategy involves being unassertive, downplaying disagreement, withdrawing from the situation, or staying neutral. Use this approach when team members are positively focused on the issue, problem, and objective. If asked to intervene, you will. Otherwise, trust the group to resolve the constructive conflict.
Accommodation. Another way to reduce conflict is toplay down differences and highlight similarities. Sometimes called smoothing, use this approach when team members seem to be saying similar things—just in different ways. For example, when I taught in Greece, I often had to provide clarity in certain situations because English was not their first language. I often found the issue wasn't conflict, but ineffective communication and a lack of understanding.
Competitive. Sometimes the best way to resolve conflict is tofacilitate ways for team members to compete for the best solution. As a leader, you ask the team to show why their solution is the best course forward for the organization. Team members prepare a business case that demonstrates why their solution is more desirable.
Directive. Directive conflict resolution strategies use an autocratic approach. As a team leader, this method makes the most sense when team members engage in destructive conflict and personal attacks. In those situations, insist that team members refrain from targeting one another’s integrity or character, and remind all parties to accept and talk through differences of opinion. After all, we are all on the same team and want what’s best for the organization.
Collaboration. These strategies seek input from all team members in an environment where everyone feels free to express their opinions. Personally, I prefer a collaboration strategy because it requires interpersonal skills. Effective collaboration works through conflict differences, solves problems, and helps the team move forward to achieve a “win-win” result.
In the final analysis, you (and only you) are the best judge to assess any conflict you encounter.
Harness the case study method
When teaching graduate and undergraduate leadership and management courses, I lean toward applying the case study method. This approach lets students apply leadership and management concepts to real organizations. Students collaborate to:
Identify the main issues or problem.
Brainstorm plausible options to address the problem and detail action steps.
Assign an affordability factor to each option by asking questions such as: How much would it cost to implement this option?
Select the best option and justify why it is the “best.”
Propose the group or individual recommendation to address the main issue going forward.
As the instructor, I observe each group, assess their stage of team development, and listen to group meetings. I look for productive interaction and their progression through the forming, storming, norming, and performing stages. Groups can ask me to join as a guide at any stage. Students may also ask me to join groups and provide verbal assessment and feedback.
Students can submit written drafts of their proposals and receive feedback. To make the feedback effective, I assess their stage of group development, articulate it clearly, and provide verbal and written opinions and advice.
As a director or manager, you can use this approach to effectively collaborate with your team when working through a specific problem. Focus on interpersonal skills (effective listening for effective communication), respecting differences, and reinforcing group synergy toward the objective.
Review an example
I once conducted training for an audience of experienced military leaders at the Pentagon when an unexpected IT failure occurred. The conflict? Should I continue directed training without slides or online materials, or should I postpone the training?
Well, I continued the class and applied a collaboration conflict management strategy. The class formed groups to consider two rhetorical questions:
“As leaders, do you feel that followers will come to you with any issue without fear of retribution? Why or why not?”
“Do you feel that you can go to your boss with any issue without fear of retribution? Why or why not?”
Using the case study method, we had a lively discussion. Groups discussed the questions and appointed leaders who would share their findings.
Context proved to be a deciding factor for this IT failure class experience. I was a proven Air Force leader, and participants recognized and accepted me as their leader. This recognition facilitated followership and led to the successful class. A less experienced instructor, more dependent on slides, might choose an avoidance strategy and postpone the class.
Try it for yourself
Applying the five conflict management strategies depends on the situation and the people involved. There is no single best way to proceed.
Use your best judgment to assess the group’s stage of development (forming/storming/norming/performing) and consider the situation before landing on a conflict resolution strategy. Determine also whether constructive or destructive conflict is occurring. Maybe you will encounter both. With that knowledge, you can choose the most effective conflict resolution strategy to best serve the team and the organization.
Seek feedback as you proceed. Actively listen to all sides involved in the conflict and try to show you understand. Keep the discussion collaborative, and encourage everyone to respect different points of view. Be directive when necessary to stop destructive conflict.
You may have already used these strategies and likely have examples of your own you could share. Keep those in mind the next time you need to resolve a conflict—whether personally or professionally.
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