Conflict Resolution Training for Leaders, Managers & Employees
Turn workplace tension into productive conversations. Our expert-led conflict resolution training workshop gives leaders, teams, and HR professionals the practical tools to resolve disputes, strengthen communication, and protect psychological safety at work.
Diversity Builder’s Conflict Resolution Training for Leaders teaches managers and employees to identify, de-escalate, and resolve workplace disputes using the Thomas-Kilmann conflict model, Glasl’s nine-stage escalation framework, and emotional intelligence-based communication.
- Formats: Live webinar (up to 25), onsite workshop, 1:1 coaching, self-paced online
- Duration: 2 hours (webinar) to 4 hours (onsite), with multi-session options
- Built for: Managers, HR, team leads, and frontline employees in any industry
- Outcomes: Reduced escalations, faster resolution, improved retention, healthier team dynamics
- Certificate: Issued by Diversity Builder, Inc. upon completion
Conflict is an unavoidable part of the workplace; it can result in positive or negative outcomes depending on how a leader or employee approaches the subject. Conflict resolution training supports positive outcomes when there is dissention between two or more people in the workplace.
A widely-cited report from CPP Global found that 85% of employees are faced with conflict resolution, costing US companies a stunning $359 billion each year.1 While most employees and leaders would like to resolve conflicts with optimal outcomes, they’re often held back by misunderstanding where conflict comes from or not having the skills to address disagreements.
Conflict may arise from talking about politics at work or from microaggressions or unclear communication, generational differences, exclusive practices, or differences in work styles.
Training is available as a live trainer-led webinar or onsite in-person program.
How can leaders and employees in the workplace settle conflict in a constructive way, leading to improved team dynamics and productivity?
Conflict Resolution Course Description
Conflict resolution training, led by Diversity Builder, Inc. will build foundational knowledge about conflict, starting with what conflict is, cover and how it emerges in the workplace, how conflict may escalate if unaddressed, and how to resolve conflicts with emotional intelligence and powerful communication techniques. Realistic examples and guided discussions help learners examine and address potential sources of conflict, giving them the tools to work harmoniously with coworkers and teams.
Training Objectives
- Understand what conflict is and its causes
- Pinpoint difference between being direct and being confrontational
- Be aware of how conflict can result in team dysfunction for leaders
- Recognize emotions behind the conflict
- Assess your workplace conflict resolution style
- Know key strategies in communicating with empathy when managing conflict
- Identity when to have a challenging or crucial conversation
- Know how to adjust your approach to conflict resolution resulting from different conflict styles of employees of leaders
- Recognize the 5 Stages of Conflict
- Know effective conflict resolution strategies
- Identify follow-up strategies after a challenging conversation
Inquire about Conflict Management Training
The Real Cost of Unresolved Workplace Conflict
Most workplace conflict doesn’t start as a shouting match. It starts as a missed deadline, a passive-aggressive Slack message, or a feedback conversation that never happened. Left alone, those small frictions grow into team silos, formal grievances, and lost talent.
HR leaders we work with consistently see the same patterns:
- Managers avoid difficult conversations until the situation reaches HR.
- Teams stop speaking up because past disagreements weren’t handled well.
- High performers leave — not because of the work, but because of unresolved tension with a peer or manager.
- Cross-functional projects stall when departments protect turf instead of collaborating.
Our workplace conflict resolution training is built to interrupt that pattern early, with practical skills your people actually use the next day.
40%
3x
85%
23+
Who Should Attend This Conflict Resolution Workshop
We deliver tailored versions of the program for every level of the organization, because the conflict a CEO navigates is not the same one a frontline supervisor handles.
Senior Leaders & Executives
Executive-level conflict management training for board dynamics, cross-functional disputes, and high-stakes negotiation
Employees & Teams
Conflict resolution training for employees and full teams, practical scripts for peer disagreements and difficult customer conversations.
Managers & Supervisors
Conflict management training for leaders and supervisors who handle day-to-day team friction, performance issues, and peer mediation.
Government & Public Sector
Conflict resolution training for federal and local government employees, customized for regulated environments.
HR & People Teams
HR conflict resolution training covering investigations, formal mediation, and coaching managers through complex cases.
Customer-Facing Roles
Customer conflict resolution training and de-escalation techniques for service, sales, and support teams.
What is conflict, and how does it show up in the workplace?
What is conflict? Conflict can simply be defined as a strong difference in opinion. It results from different perceptions, values, opinions, and assumptions. It is a process of working through opposing views in order to reach common goals or a mutual purpose.2
Conflict arises when a person’s wants are not matching up with their reality. Put another way, conflict happens when there’s a difference in values, perceptions, or assumptions between two parties. Conflict management training will focus on bridging these differences as well as how to bring people together through finding a shared purpose or goal.3
How Conflict Contributes to Dysfunctional Teams
Conflict is arguably one of the largest contributors to underperforming or dysfunctional workplaces, taking a toll on employee well-being and even their health. A study released in 2022 found that managers on average spend more than 4 hours per week dealing with conflict. The same study found that dealing with conflict at work has a direct impact on a person’s job satisfaction and sense of inclusion.4 The presence of unresolved conflict often contributes toward dysfunction among workplace teams.
Moreover, another study of almost 1500 workers dealing with work-related stress from various kinds of conflict found that the majority of respondents reported strong feelings of anger, depression, and/or work-related stress disorders.5 These issues were true for workers across various industries, ranging from entry-level positions to leaders and executives. Because conflict negatively impacts both managers and their employees, costing an organization valuable time and potentially talented workers, there are clear benefits to conflict resolution training in the workplace.
[2] Kazakos-Tate, Katerina. Conflict Resolution Management training (Diversity Builder, Inc.)
[3] Kazakos-Tate, Katerina. Workplace Conflict Resolution Management training (Diversity Builder, Inc.)
[4] PR Newswire. New research: Time spent on workplace conflict has doubled since 2008. (2022, October 18).
[5] Castellini, Giovanna, et. al. (2023, January 21). Conflicts in the workplace, negative acts and health consequences: evidence from a clinical evaluation. Industrial Health.
5 Strategies for Effectively Dealing with Workplace Conflict
- Avoidance. If an employee doesn’t consider their goal critical, and they aren’t concerned about building a relationship with the other party, they choose to avoid dealing with the issue. However, the conflict could escalate and become more of a problem in this scenario.
- Competing. When an individual feels that their goal is very important and that relationships with others are not, they compete by being especially assertive or making a unilateral decision. While this can be a smart strategic choice in high-stakes situations, it also risks alienating others.
- Accommodating. If maintaining a relationship takes priority over a specific goal, accommodation (giving the other party what they want) can be wise. However, relying too much on accommodation can result in groupthink and stagnation.
- Compromising. When individuals value both their respective goals and their relationship with each other, they might be willing to compromise. While neither party gets everything they want, they both achieve some of their goals.
- Collaborating. When both the relationship and the goal are highly important, the parties work together to find a satisfying solution. This requires thinking creatively and going beyond the obvious answers, but it’s preferable to the other options because it means that neither party will be left feeling shortchanged.
Conflict Escalation Model
Conflict In addition to understanding when to apply these various approaches, participants will learn to recognize when a conflict is escalating. Friedrich Glasl, an Austrian researcher on conflict, created a nine-stage model of conflict escalation. In this model, conflicts range from initial low-stakes disagreements, which can be easily resolved, to destructive situations in which resolution is nearly impossible. Depending on where a conflict falls on this spectrum in the model, the tools for resolving conflict issues look very different. For example, in the early stages of a conflict in which disagreement is mild, suggesting ground rules for civil engagement and reminding those involved of common goals can realign the parties. If a conflict has grown more hostile, however, the parties involved might need to be reminded that aggression and toxicity will harm both sides equally.9 The training will describe the different stages of conflict escalation within the model so that managers and employees recognize when a conversation is going in a contentious direction. By examining different scenarios, participants will gain critical experience in determining which of the previously mentioned solutions is appropriate in a given situation, empowering them to de-escalate conflicts and turn groups back towards shared goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is conflict resolution training for employees and leaders?
Conflict resolution training is a structured workplace learning program that teaches leaders and employees how to identify, address, and resolve disagreements productively. It combines communication skills, active listening, emotional intelligence, and mediation techniques so that conflict becomes a path to better decisions instead of damaged relationships.
Why is conflict resolution important in the workplace?
Unresolved conflict drains time, lowers engagement, and pushes good people out the door. Training reduces turnover, protects psychological safety, and helps teams focus on results instead of friction. Companies that invest in conflict resolution typically see fewer formal grievances and faster decision-making.
What skills are taught in conflict resolution training?
Core skills include active listening, emotional intelligence, difficult conversations, de-escalation techniques, negotiation, mediation basics, feedback delivery, and bias awareness. Leaders also learn how to coach team members through disagreements without taking sides.
How does conflict resolution improve team performance?
When teams know how to disagree well, they make better decisions, surface issues earlier, and rebuild trust faster after a setback. Training improves collaboration, accelerates project delivery, and protects the psychological safety required for innovation.
Is conflict resolution training suitable for managers and supervisors?
Yes. Managers, supervisors, and team leads are usually the first responders when workplace tension surfaces. Conflict management training for leaders gives them practical scripts, a clear framework, and the confidence to handle disputes before they escalate to HR.
What are examples of workplace conflict resolution techniques?
Common techniques include separating the person from the problem, asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing to confirm understanding, naming emotions calmly, identifying shared interests, and building a written action plan with clear next steps and follow-up dates.
How long does conflict resolution training take?
Most clients choose a half-day workshop (3–4 hours), a full-day intensive (6–7 hours), or a multi-session leadership track over several weeks. Diversity Builder tailors length and format to your team size, industry, and goals.