{"id":47229,"date":"2026-01-05T07:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T11:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=47229"},"modified":"2026-01-09T17:45:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T21:45:44","slug":"organizational-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/organizational-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Through Organizational Conflict: The 8 Steps + More"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-3-steps-for-assessing-adaptive-challenges\/\">Adaptive challenges<\/a> often pit values and perspectives against each other. In <em>The Practice of Adaptive Leadership<\/em>, Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky advise that you don\u2019t suppress this conflict\u2014instead, openly discuss it so everyone can see all disagreements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Openly discussing organizational conflict not only helps get everyone on the same page, but it\u2019s also an important way to surface potential problems. Let&#8217;s look at a number of ways you can encourage competing parties to discuss their perspectives openly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p><em>Originally Published: September 3, 2021<\/em><br><em>Last Updated: January 5, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-managing-organizational-conflict\">Managing Organizational Conflict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Organizational conflict is uncomfortable, and as a result, many people and organizations respond to it using the following ineffective methods:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Inaction.<\/strong> The organization encourages people to maintain the status quo. As a result, the organization doesn\u2019t change or adapt.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fight or flight.<\/strong> To avoid tolerating the conflict and finding a resolution, some factions leave, and others bluster or blame.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rely on leaders.<\/strong> Often, people and organizations expect leaders to fix the conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-8-steps-for-resolving-conflict\">The 8 Steps for Resolving Conflict<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are eight steps to successfully bringing up and powering through organizational conflict:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Do your research.<\/strong> Before bringing up the conflict, talk to all the parties involved, find out their political alignment, and develop informal authority with them. Even in this early stage, you\u2019ll probably encounter antagonism: When you meet with your \u201cenemies,\u201d they may not treat you nicely, and your allies may judge you for even talking to enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Set the scene. <\/strong>Create an agenda for the meeting in which you\u2019ll announce the conflict and come up with rules that help people feel safe (for example, expectations of confidentiality). At the beginning of the meeting, tell everyone to focus on work, not personal issues. As a warm-up, you might get the team to practice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/conflict-resolution-methods\/\">dealing with conflict<\/a> by looking at a case study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. In the meeting, invite people to state their perspectives. <\/strong>Ask everyone for their opinion on the adaptive challenge and to state their values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/thanks-for-the-feedback\/preview\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Thanks for the Feedback<\/em><\/a>, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen write that it\u2019s crucial for both individuals and organizations to listen to feedback, as the ability to succeed is directly tied to the ability to seek, understand, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/incorporate-feedback\/\">incorporate feedback<\/a>. Hearing how you\u2019re doing from others is often the only way you can know how to improve\u2014or <em>what<\/em> to improve.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. State the conflict. <\/strong>Articulate the differences between the values everyone has just stated. This is when people will start to get uncomfortable because they realize losses are inevitable. If they try to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-conflict-in-relationships\/\">avoid conflict<\/a>, keep it at the forefront by reminding them what you\u2019re all trying to do\u2014make a necessary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/adaptive-change\/\">adaptive change<\/a> for the better.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Use whatever communication style is appropriate when addressing the conflict. If your natural communication style isn\u2019t appropriate when dealing with a particular person, use a different one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, if you\u2019re normally calm but you need to yell at someone to keep them in the room, do it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>5. Encourage reflection on loss. <\/strong>Ask everyone to think about how the losses they might suffer, and others might suffer, will affect them and their constituents. Ask how everyone can respond to the losses. You can give them anywhere between hours and months to reflect on and come to terms with their losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>6. Establish experiments.<\/strong> With the help of the group, come up with experiments for both managing the adaptive change and for handling constituents, particularly those who have experienced loss. Everyone should agree on the experiments and commit to sharing the results at a later time so they can learn from each other\u2019s difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7. Set up peer consulting.<\/strong> As the parties start to address adaptive change by experimenting and talking to their constituents, they should share the difficulties they encounter with each other so everyone can learn and adapt their experiments to address resistance. The goal is for everyone to share each other\u2019s problems and work together, regardless of which side of the conflict they were originally on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>8. Don\u2019t judge people for their reasons for eventually agreeing to your initiative. <\/strong>Your goal is to make an adaptive change, not to make everyone pure of heart\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter if someone only supports your initiative for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/human-motives\/\">selfish reasons<\/a> (Shortform example: The change harms an enemy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Managing Feedback<\/strong><br><br>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/thanks-for-the-feedback\/preview\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Thanks for the Feedback<\/em><\/a>, Stone and Heen write that most organizations, when encouraging their team to seek and absorb feedback, train how to <em>give<\/em> feedback better. However, Stone and Heen argue that they should instead train how to <em>receive<\/em> feedback better. In any feedback transaction, <strong>it\u2019s the <em>receiver<\/em> who controls whether any piece of feedback is understood, accepted, and adopted,<\/strong> so training people to manage their resistance to negative feedback and to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-find-insight\/\">find insight<\/a> in feedback that feels wrong can significantly enhance a group\u2019s ability to improve.<br><br>While Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky don\u2019t specifically frame their advice through this lens, their recommendations align with this mindset. The techniques they suggest are largely aimed at encouraging people to listen to the views of others with open minds. By doing things like reminding people of their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/team-purpose\/\">shared purpose<\/a> and asking them to consider the losses of others, leaders are encouraging people to step out from their narrow perspectives and see problems from other points of view.\u00a0<br><br>Stone and Heen also advise that you get people to step out from their own perspective, noting that instinctively, <strong>everyone sees themselves as the main character of their own story,<\/strong> and sees everyone else as supporting characters (or worse, villains). By getting people to understand situations from other viewpoints, we can start to overcome that instinct, which can help us see value in other people\u2019s opinions. Pairing people and giving them a shared goal can help foster wider perspectives as well, as it forces people to work with\u2014not against\u2014others who may hold different opinions on the problem.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-strengthen-cohesive-forces-with-an-off-site-retreat\"><strong>Strengthen Cohesive Forces With An Off-Site Retreat<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Even amid conflict, every group of people has forces that bring them together.<\/strong> Imagine these forces like the shell of a pressure cooker\u2014they create a structured internal space (in which people can work at an adaptive challenge) that can withstand a certain amount of pressure (conflict).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How to strengthen or create new cohesive forces to help spur adaptive change varies depending on culture, but developing the following attributes will improve the cohesive forces of almost any group:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The same language<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The same values and mission<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experience working with each other<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bonds with peers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trust in authority and the organizational chart<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A safe environment, such as comfortable office furniture and ground rules about conduct<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>An off-site retreat is another effective \u201cpressure cooker\u201d because it provides a new environment and time to work on a problem without daily responsibilities getting in the way. To host an effective retreat, there are some to-dos before and during it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-before\"><strong>Before<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>To prepare for the off-site, you need to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Choose whom to invite.<\/strong> There\u2019s a balance between inviting more and fewer people. If a problem is urgent, you should invite only a small group because it\u2019s easier to solve problems with fewer people (the more people you invite, the more differing and strong opinions they\u2019ll have, and people may feel too overwhelmed to learn from each other).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the problem is adaptive, you should include <em>more <\/em>people because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It builds long-term adaptive capacity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Including more people develops your relationship with them, which will increase your informal authority.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you don\u2019t include enough people, you\u2019ll miss some perspectives, and you might not come up with the best solution. Or, the people who have been left out will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/taking-offense\/\">be offended<\/a> and sabotage your initiative.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re going to invite only a small group, you must keep in mind whose voices you\u2019re missing. No matter who you choose to invite, people at the office will gossip about who made the list and who didn\u2019t.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep in mind the following questions when choosing attendees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Which individuals need to learn which skills to help solve the adaptive challenge?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who represents a faction, and does this faction need to change for the adaptive challenge as a whole to succeed?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who\u2019s so disruptive that if you invited them, they\u2019d stall the whole group?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who will be important to consult in the long-term, but doesn\u2019t need to be involved just yet?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Coach the senior leader.<\/strong> During the off-site, the senior leader should:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be indistinguishable from anyone else to encourage the freest discussion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/a-leader-leads-by-example-not-by-force\/\">Lead by example<\/a>. Everyone will take their cues on how to behave from the senior leader. If she acts the same way she does in the office, people will act the same way <em>they<\/em> normally act in the office. If she treats the off-site like it\u2019s a waste of time (for example, she falls asleep while others are talking), everyone else will treat it that way too.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Conduct preparatory interviews.<\/strong> Talk to the participants individually to discover their perspective on the off-site\u2014why do they think it was called, and do they think the agenda items are important? What do they expect will happen, and how would they define a successful off-site?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-during\"><strong>During<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>During the off-site, do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Pay attention to what happens at the start of the event.<\/strong> This will give you clues about the group\u2019s tone, mood, and defaults.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, if someone jokes that it feels weird not to have the boss at the head of the table, this tells you that people are used to looking to her for guidance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Adopt new norms.<\/strong> Since the off-site has a different purpose (resolve conflict) than office work (daily responsibilities), use different ways of doing work and interacting with each other to reinforce these differences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, if people don\u2019t use first names in the office, try using first names at the off-site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Regulate the intensity and pressure.<\/strong> The conflict has to provide enough pressure and discomfort to motivate people to solve it, but if it gets too intense, people will shut down or run. (Groups that are used to working together, and are used to adaptive pressure, can tolerate higher intensity.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how you can increase the pressure when you see people losing motivation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Push people to focus on the hard questions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bring up conflict.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assign people tough responsibilities that are outside of their comfort zone.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Let people make inflammatory remarks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Call people on their work- and conflict-avoidance. For example, if you notice someone trying to scapegoat someone else, bring up the behavior.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to decrease pressure when you see people starting to get so emotional they can\u2019t function:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Push people to focus on the easy parts of the problems, such as the technical parts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help people get a handle on the problem by breaking it down and assigning roles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep the tough responsibilities for yourself (temporarily).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Let people use work-avoidance techniques or even employ them yourself. For example, you might tell a joke when it seems like people need a break.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/challenging-the-status-quo\/\">Challenge the status quo<\/a> <em>slowly<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-t-take-over\"><strong>Don\u2019t Take Over<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Whenever there\u2019s an adaptive problem, there\u2019s going to be a lot of pressure on you, as the leader, to deal with it yourself. This pressure comes from two sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The people experiencing the problem.<\/strong> They expect leaders to restore balance and give them clear directions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Yourself.<\/strong> Being skilled at resolving problems was probably a part of how you won your leadership position, and you\u2019re used to and comfortable with it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t succumb to this pressure\u2014push people to work through the problem themselves. This is how they build adaptive capacity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adaptive challenges often pit values and perspectives against each other. In The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky advise that you don\u2019t suppress this conflict\u2014instead, openly discuss it so everyone can see all disagreements. Openly discussing organizational conflict not only helps get everyone on the same page, but it\u2019s also an important way to surface potential problems. Let&#8217;s look at a number of ways you can encourage competing parties to discuss their perspectives openly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":47721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,34,14],"tags":[468],"class_list":["post-47229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-communication","category-management","tag-the-practice-of-adaptive-leadership","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Getting Through Organizational Conflict: The 8 Steps + More - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Conflict is a sign of unacknowledged differences in values and points of view. Here are eights steps to resolving organizational conflict.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/organizational-conflict\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting Through Organizational Conflict: The 8 Steps + More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Conflict is a sign of unacknowledged differences in values and points of view. 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