Conflict Resolution and Adaptability Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Line Managers, Project Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-IS-027

Before you join: Participants should have experience working with colleagues, clients, suppliers or stakeholders where priorities, opinions or working styles differ.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Workplace conflict can delay decisions, damage working relationships, increase absence and turnover, and expose organisations to grievance, conduct and reputational risk. It often becomes harder to resolve when people make assumptions about intent, avoid difficult conversations, or react rigidly to changing priorities. Professionals need practical ways to address disagreement early, stay composed under pressure, and adapt their communication when stakeholders, evidence or constraints change.

This course develops the judgement and techniques needed to diagnose conflict, prepare for constructive conversations, and reach workable agreements. Participants use the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, Interest-Based Relational approach, SCARF model and SBI feedback method to identify conflict patterns, separate positions from interests, regulate emotional responses and choose proportionate interventions. The programme also covers adaptive communication, resistance, difficult behaviours, mediation principles, escalation decisions and recovery after conflict.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with case analysis, facilitated group work, structured simulations and peer feedback. Cases reflect common situations in government, banking, NGOs and corporate settings, including competing project priorities, cross-functional tension, performance concerns, supplier disputes and change resistance. Participants leave with a personal conflict-style profile, conflict diagnosis template, conversation preparation plan, stakeholder adaptation map, mediation checklist and 90-day application plan.

The course is suited to managers, project leaders, client-facing professionals and specialists whose work depends on cooperation across differing priorities, authority levels and communication styles.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose conflict sources, escalation patterns and stakeholder interests using a structured conflict analysis.
  • Apply the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument to select appropriate response strategies.
  • Prepare and conduct difficult conversations using the SBI feedback method and interest-based questioning.
  • Use adaptive communication techniques to respond to changing stakeholder needs and resistance.
  • Regulate emotional responses through trigger recognition, reframing and de-escalation techniques.
  • Facilitate interest-based discussions that produce clear agreements, actions and follow-up arrangements.
  • Decide when to resolve, escalate, refer or formally document a workplace conflict.
  • Create a 90-day conflict resolution and adaptability application plan for a live work situation.

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence initiating conversations that have previously been avoided
  • Clearer judgement about when to accommodate, collaborate, compromise or escalate
  • Stronger emotional control during criticism, resistance and high-stakes disagreement
  • More effective communication with people who have different priorities and working styles
  • A practical plan for resolving a current workplace conflict or relationship issue

For your organisation

  • Earlier resolution of disagreements before they disrupt delivery or become formal complaints
  • Better cross-functional cooperation during change, restructuring and competing priorities
  • More consistent manager handling of difficult conversations and team tensions
  • Reduced rework, delay and relationship damage caused by unresolved conflict
  • Clearer escalation, documentation and follow-up for conflicts requiring formal support

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify the type, source and escalation level of a workplace conflict.

  • Conflict signals distinguished from disagreement, misconduct, grievance and performance concerns
  • Task, process, relationship and values conflicts classified using diagnostic questions
  • Escalation ladders mapped from tension through polarisation, stalemate and withdrawal
  • Conflict costs estimated through delay, rework, attrition, complaints and risk
  • Psychological safety assessed without excusing harmful conduct or avoiding accountability
  • Early intervention thresholds set for managers, peers and project leads

Participants can recognise personal triggers and use practical techniques to remain constructive under pressure.

  • Personal conflict triggers identified through behavioural patterns, assumptions and stress responses
  • Amygdala hijack recognised through physical, cognitive and behavioural warning signs
  • Cognitive reframing used to test interpretations before responding to provocation
  • Pause techniques applied before replying to criticism, blame or hostile language
  • SCARF model used to identify status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness threats
  • Emotional boundaries maintained while acknowledging legitimate concerns and differing perspectives

Participants can select a conflict response style that fits the issue, relationship and risk.

  • Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes compared: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating
  • Response styles matched to urgency, power, relationship value and decision consequences
  • Overused conflict modes identified from personal habits and organisational norms
  • Competing used appropriately when safety, ethics or non-negotiable standards require action
  • Avoiding distinguished from purposeful delay, cooling-off periods and information gathering
  • Collaboration assessed against time constraints, stakeholder readiness and available authority

Participants can move a discussion from fixed positions towards shared interests and options.

  • Positions separated from underlying interests, needs, concerns and constraints
  • Interest-Based Relational approach applied to protect people while addressing problems
  • Open questions used to uncover priorities, evidence, assumptions and decision criteria
  • Active listening demonstrated through paraphrasing, summarising, labelling and checking meaning
  • Common ground identified without concealing material disagreements or accountability requirements
  • Options generated against agreed criteria before selecting workable commitments

Participants can prepare and lead difficult conversations with clarity, respect and accountability.

  • SBI feedback structured around situation, behaviour and observable impact
  • Conversation objectives defined alongside boundaries, evidence, risks and desired commitments
  • Neutral opening statements reduce defensiveness without diluting the core message
  • Facts separated from judgements, labels, rumours and unsupported assumptions
  • Questions invite accountability after missed commitments, poor conduct or repeated errors
  • Closing agreements specify actions, owners, dates, support and review arrangements

Participants can adapt their communication approach when circumstances, stakeholders or information change.

  • Stakeholder communication preferences assessed through authority, expertise, risk and motivation
  • Message framing adjusted for operational, financial, customer and people priorities
  • Ladder of Inference used to surface assumptions behind strongly held views
  • Resistance classified as informational, emotional, practical, political or values-based
  • Change messages revised when new evidence, constraints or stakeholder concerns emerge
  • Communication channels selected according to sensitivity, urgency, complexity and audit trail

Participants can de-escalate tense interactions while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.

  • De-escalation language lowers temperature through acknowledgement, pace and respectful specificity
  • Attack, avoidance, blame and defensiveness recognised as common protective behaviours
  • Boundary statements distinguish unacceptable conduct from legitimate disagreement and emotion
  • Broken-record technique maintains a clear message during repeated pressure or diversion
  • Time-outs used when emotional intensity prevents productive discussion or safe decisions
  • Threats, harassment and discrimination referred through appropriate organisational procedures

Participants can structure an informal mediation conversation and recognise its limits.

  • Mediation roles clarified: facilitator, participants, sponsor, manager and formal adviser
  • Ground rules established for respect, confidentiality, speaking time and decision ownership
  • Joint problem statements drafted without assigning blame or presuming intent
  • Caucus conversations used carefully to clarify concerns and test possible options
  • Agreement terms recorded with actions, dates, measures and review points
  • Mediation limits recognised where power imbalance, misconduct or safeguarding concerns exist

Participants can make sound decisions about escalation, documentation and referral routes.

  • Informal resolution distinguished from formal grievance, disciplinary and investigation processes
  • Escalation decisions assessed against severity, recurrence, risk, authority and policy
  • Contemporaneous notes recorded using factual language, dates, actions and witnesses
  • Confidentiality managed within legitimate reporting, safeguarding and legal obligations
  • Manager responsibilities defined for follow-up, protection against retaliation and record keeping
  • Referral routes identified for HR, legal, ethics, security and employee assistance

Participants can create a practical plan for applying conflict resolution and adaptability methods at work.

  • Team working agreements define communication norms, decision rights and escalation routes
  • After-action reviews identify conflict lessons following difficult projects or changes
  • Feedback loops established to surface emerging tensions before they harden
  • Personal adaptability goals linked to stakeholder feedback and observable behaviours
  • Conflict resolution plan prioritises one live issue, actions, support and milestones
  • Ninety-day review schedule measures progress, setbacks and revised commitments

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode profile
  2. Conflict diagnosis and escalation template
  3. Difficult conversation preparation worksheet
  4. Interest-based resolution planning model
  5. Stakeholder adaptation and resistance map
  6. 90-day conflict resolution application plan

Who should attend

  • Line Managers — address team tension, performance discussions and competing priorities constructively
  • Project Managers — resolve cross-functional disputes affecting delivery, scope and decision-making
  • HR and People Professionals — support early resolution before concerns become formal cases
  • Client Relationship Managers — handle service failures, expectation gaps and difficult stakeholder conversations
  • Team Leaders and Supervisors — maintain accountability while preserving working relationships
  • Technical and Subject-Matter Specialists — influence peers and stakeholders without formal authority

Skills and tools covered

Conflict diagnosisDifficult conversationsAdaptive communicationInterest-based negotiationEmotional self-managementMediation planning

Tools and standards

Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, Interest-Based Relational Approach, SCARF Model, SBI Feedback Model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce conflict and adaptability models, followed by case work, group analysis, structured simulations and guided reflection. Participants apply methods to realistic workplace situations such as project disputes, performance concerns, stakeholder resistance and communication breakdowns. Facilitated feedback focuses on language, behavioural choices and intervention timing. Individual application planning links course methods to a current professional situation, with templates that participants can use after the programme.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience working with colleagues, clients, suppliers or stakeholders where priorities, opinions or working styles differ. Familiarity with normal workplace communication, team meetings and performance conversations is helpful. Participants should be prepared to examine their own conflict responses and discuss realistic professional scenarios. No formal mediation qualification, psychology background, HR certification or prior conflict-management course is required. The course is not designed to replace formal investigations, legal advice, safeguarding procedures or regulated grievance processes.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need normal workplace experience of working with colleagues, managers, clients or project stakeholders. No mediation qualification, HR background or previous conflict-management training is required.

Participants should bring details of one current or recent workplace disagreement they can examine without sharing confidential personal data. A laptop or tablet is useful for completing templates, although paper materials can also be used.

The course is designed for managers, project professionals, HR practitioners, client-facing staff and specialists who work across different priorities and authority levels. It is particularly useful for people who need to address tension without damaging productive relationships.

Negotiation courses focus primarily on reaching agreements between parties, while mediation training usually prepares designated neutral facilitators. This course focuses on everyday workplace conflict, difficult conversations, emotional regulation and adapting communication before disputes become entrenched.

Participants can use the conflict diagnosis template, conversation preparation worksheet and stakeholder adaptation map in live meetings and follow-up discussions. The final application plan identifies one issue, actions, support needed and review dates for the next 90 days.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group exercises, structured simulations, feedback and individual application planning across ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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