Tag: Conflict

Cooling Hot Buttons

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

Cooling Hot Buttonshot-button Image

Conflict pushes our emotions in many directions.

“Anger” is, after all, just one letter away from “Danger”. Leaders, who are in control and professional, often reflect on their responses before, during and after conflict.

The phrases below represent comments from coaching sessions in which people lost control and used destructive behaviors during conflict at work.

“I was so mad. I was seeing red.”
   “I couldn’t take it anymore and blew up.”
      “S/he really knows which buttons to push.”
         “I went over the edge with anger and just lost it.”

The Conflict Dynamics Profile (CDP) is a tool that gauges hot buttons, as well as, constructive and destructive responses to conflict.

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Strategies for Building Communication During Conflict

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

Strategies for Building Communication During ConflictCommunication Conflict Image

“I’m sorry, if you were right, I’d agree with you.”

Robin Williams

One of the first steps toward resolving conflicts is to understand that each of us has power over whether or not a conflict becomes negative. Transforming how we think about conflict can help harness the direction and flow that conflict brings.

Carefully handled conflict can help us to shift from debate to dialogue, being at odds to being in a partnership.

In debate (e.g. position based approaches), we declare our positions.

In dialogue (e.g. interest based approaches), we recognize and satisfy interests with both parties looking for common ground.

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Understanding Your Approach to Conflict

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

Understanding Your Approach to Conflict

  Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down Conflict Image

People make critical decisions and choices during conflict. Taking responsibility means acknowledging how you may have contributed through actions, words and behaviors.

The Conflict Dynamics Profile® is an instrument that provides people with a honest appraisal of constructive and destructive behaviors, as well as, conflict hot buttons. The CDP® has been developed based on the concept of conflict as “dynamic” – with a beginning, middle and end – an active process.

Some behaviors heighten the process and cause it to escalate and erupt; other behaviors can interrupt the process, reduce the conflict and transform it into a problem-solving mode.

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Type and Conflict

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

Type and Conflict

  Type and Conflict Image

Conflict describes many different types of interactions. These challenges occur every day in our personal and professional lives. Since you can’t escape them, learning how to handle conflict is critical.

Recent research by Damian Killen and Danica Murphy have revealed that the last two preferences (Thinking or Feeling; Judging or Perceiving) of the Myers-Briggs Psychological Type Theory have significant bearing on people’s focus and response to conflict.

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Conflict and Type

Posted on by Jan Hovrud

Conflict and Type

  Conflict and Type Image

When conflicts become reoccurring or frequent, type is a useful tool for building a clearer communication picture.

Not surprising when people are in conflict they most naturally fall back on their strongest preferences.

The table below provides information on how you may self-reflect on your responses to conflict or to identify the preferences of others are using in a conflict.

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