Gather in groups of three people. Each person needs to come prepared to discuss a conflict situation from their personal work or school experience.

1. Each participant: Come prepared to discuss a conflict situation in which you are currently or were recently involved on a team at work or at school. Describe who is involved (no names necessary, just their relationship with you), what the conflict is about (describe the nature of the conflict, issues, concerns), where it occurred (context), when it occurred (how recent, how frequently), how it unfolded (actions and reactions; how people behave or typically manage the conflict).

2. Discuss the conflict situation in terms of the principles outlined in this chapter. Some possible discussion questions are outlined below. 

a. What type of conflict occurred? Task, relationship, or some combination?

b. What was the root cause of the conflict? Was it driven by differences in personality, areas of expertise, culture, etc.?

c. How emotional was the conflict? Were the emotions positive or negative? How did this influence the team ’s ability to understand and manage the conflict?

d. Did the conflict escalate over time? Did it transform from one type to another? At what point did the team begin to address the conflict? What impact did that have on your ability to manage the conflict?

e. Was everyone in the team equally comfortable in dealing with the confl ict? If no, how did you deal with people ’s differing comfort levels?

f. What approach did the team use in managing the conflict? Was it an appropriate approach? Were there alternative ways for doing so?

g. Was the situation ripe for collaboration?

i. Was there a focus on teamwork? Did team members feel prepared to manage the conflict that arose? Did team members trust and respect one another? Were the communication norms open?

ii. Describe the motives of team members. What were the team members ’ primary motivations regarding cooperation? Were members epistemically motivated?

iii. Did team members engage in effective conflict management behaviors?

h. Did the conflict help or hinder the team ’s performance? Why and how?

i. What role did you play in the conflict? Did you help or hinder its resolution? What were your strengths in handling the situation? What could you do to improve your ability to collaborate through conflict situations?