Peter T. Coleman

<article-ideainbrief class="article-ideainbrief">
 <h4 class="ideainbrief-title">Idea in Brief</h4>
 <div class="ideainbrief-contents">
  <h5>The Problem</h5>
  <p>Conflict and incivility in the workplace are rising, fueled by society’s increasing polarization. The result is disengagement and lost productivity. Leaders need to manage the disputes, but many struggle to do so.</p>
  <h5>The Solution</h5>
  <p>To navigate thorny situations, leaders must develop conflict intelligence—a blend of self-awareness, social skills, situational adaptability, and systemic thinking.</p>
  <h5>The Way Forward</h5>
  <p>Diplomats and peace negotiators offer inspiration and examples of proven conflict-resolution strategies that can transform tensions into opportunities, creating organizations that thrive amid complexity and change.</p>
 </div>
</article-ideainbrief><p class="mag-icon-leadership-w30">The past few years have been exhausting for many Western organizations. Civil strife seems to be widespread, with clashes over racial, gender, and income inequality; rising authoritarianism; immigration; climate change; and foreign wars deepening the divides in an increasingly polarized society.</p>

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<p>As civil strife grows around the world, clashes are on the rise in the workplace too. Incivility on the job is getting worse, and each day it costs companies billions in lost productivity and absenteeism. To navigate the discord, today&#8217;s business leaders need to develop <em>conflict intelligence,</em> writes Coleman, a Columbia professor and expert on conflict resolution. Like emotional intelligence, conflict intelligence involves empathy, self-regulation, and social awareness, but it also includes situational awareness and understanding the social dynamics and systemic forces that influence disputes.</p>
<p>Drawing examples from the work of peacemakers, diplomats, and business executives, Coleman highlights seven strategies that conflict-intelligent leaders use to manage volatile situations: laying the groundwork for better communication and trust, fostering collaborative relationships through meaningful joint ventures, balancing firmness with creative solutions, using adaptive approaches, leveraging the broader context, investing in the long term, and being opportunistic.</p>
<p>Leaders who use these tactics do more than tamp down disagreements, Coleman notes. They also create company cultures where employees feel more safe, satisfied, and creative and can handle uncertainty and stress better.</p>

The Conflict-Intelligent Leader

As civil strife grows around the world, clashes are on the rise in the workplace too. Incivility on the job is getting worse, and each day it costs companies billions in lost productivity and absenteeism. To navigate the discord, today’s business leaders need to develop conflict intelligence, writes Coleman, a Columbia professor and expert on conflict resolution. Like emotional intelligence, conflict intelligence involves empathy, self-regulation, and social awareness, but it also includes situational awareness and understanding the social dynamics and systemic forces that influence disputes. Drawing examples from the work of peacemakers, diplomats, and business executives, Coleman highlights seven strategies that conflict-intelligent leaders use to manage volatile situations: laying the groundwork for better communication and trust, fostering collaborative relationships through meaningful joint ventures, balancing firmness with creative solutions, using adaptive approaches, leveraging the broader context, investing in the long term, and being opportunistic. Leaders who use these tactics do more than tamp down disagreements, Coleman notes. They also create company cultures where employees feel more safe, satisfied, and creative and can handle uncertainty and stress better.

The Conflict-Intelligent Leader

Summary.

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