Becoming a Conflict Competent Leader

CRAIG E. RUNDE is director of the Center for Conflict Dynamics at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida. TIM A. FLANAGAN is co-owner of Custom Leadership Solutions, St. Petersburg, Florida, and senior fellow at the Center for Conflict Dynamics. They are the coauthors of the first edition of Becoming a Conflict Competent Leader, Building Conflict Competent Teams, and Developing Your Conflict Competence.

• Preface to the Second Edition ix1. The What and Why of Conflict Competent Leaders 12. Understanding the Dynamics of Conflict and Your Responses to It 253. Cool Down: Managing Your Emotions 674. Slow Down and Reflect: Taking Time to Consider What Is Happening 835. Preventing Destructive Responses to Conflict 976. Fostering Constructive Responses to Conflict 1557. Developing and Leading Conflict Competent Teams 2238. Creating Conflict Competent Organizations 251Epilogue 271Resources 275References 279The Authors 285Index 287About the Center for Creative Leadership 297

"An amazingly comprehensive collection of designs, options, examples, and techniques on how to move from conflict avoidance to constructive resolution."—Jim Kouzes, coauthor, The Leadership ChallengePraise for Craig E. Runde and Tim A. Flanagan's BooksBuilding Conflict Competent Teams"A comprehensive, thoroughly researched guide to the crucial and inevitable role conflict plays on a team."—Patrick Lencioni, author, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team"Conflict happens on the best of teams. Building Conflict Competent Teams shows team leaders as well as team members how to constructively tackle the challenges that come when people disagree. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to lead, or belong to, a high-performing team."—Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The One Minute Manager and The One Minute Entrepreneur"Runde and Flanagan have put together a clear, well-written guide to the nature and sources of conflict that arise in teams and, more important, how to maximize the chances that conflict turns out to be the good thing that teams thrive on instead of the bad thing that destroys team performance."—Douglas Smith, author, The Wisdom of TeamsDeveloping Your Conflict Competence"A must-have guidebook for the new age of global business. This book shows every leader how to turn feelings of fear into feelings of safety, suspicion into trust, and competitiveness into collaboration."—Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the bestselling book The Leadership Challenge"Craig Runde and Tim Flanagan use their vast experience to give us Developing Your Conflict Competence. Move beyond negative workplace conflict to positive and constructive outcomes with the simple tools and suggestions in this must-read field guide!"—Marshall Goldsmith, bestselling author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There, Succession: Are You Ready, and MOJO