Synopses & Reviews
Praise for Building Conflict Competent Teams
"Conflict happens on the best of teams. Building Conflict Competent Teams shows team leaders as well as team members how to constructively tackle the challenges that come when people disagree. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to lead, or belong to, a high performing team."
Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The One Minute Manager® and The One Minute Entrepreneur
"Runde and Flanagan have put together a clear, well-written guide to the nature and sources of conflict that arise in teams and, more important, how to maximize the chances that conflict turns out to be the good thing that teams thrive on instead of the bad thing that destroys team performance."
Douglas K. Smith, author, The Wisdom of Teams
"Building Conflict Competent Teams is full of stories that illustrate the power and purpose of conflict. It's a field guide to those of us who understand that constructive conflict can lead to innovation and, potentially, competitive advantage."
Jan McKenzie, director, training and development, the Weather Channel Companies
"An inspiring, comprehensive, and practical resource for team leaders, this book unveils the diamonds hidden beneath conflict's rocky surface."
Mark Gerzon, author, Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities
"Runde and Flanagan get to the hidden core of why some teams and organizations manage the inevitable conflict that comes with change better than others. Organizations that equip their teams with the knowledge and skills to engage conflicts as opportunities will be the ones that emerge as leaders in their industries. This book is required reading for those who wish to learn how to turn the energy of conflict into a positive force." Ira Fialkow, executive vice president, shared services and human resources, Rinker Group Limited
Synopsis
Understanding how to cool down, slow down, and engage the naturally occurring conflicts among team members is critical to the ultimate success of a team. With this book, your team and its members will gain a deeper understanding of how conflict emerges and how to respond in ways that will leverage conflicts to their advantage. Team members will learn the importance of establishing a safe team climate, agreeing on processes to guide interactions, and use of constructive communication skills in order to develop a conflict competent team.
As the authors say, conflict is not to be avoided, but embraced and explored. This often results in new, previously unimagined opportunities, solutions and results. The authors include stories, interviews, and examples that provide entertaining and thought provoking insights. They dedicate one chapter to techniques and processes for addressing team conflict that has gone awry. Runde and Flanagan also include useful tips and tools for assessing your team?s current state of conflict competence and suggestions for addressing the challenges of today?s virtual and geographically dispersed teams.
Synopsis
Building Conflict Competent Teams
Successful teams know that conflict is not to be avoided but embraced and explored. In fact, conflict often results in new, previously unimagined opportunities, solutions, and results.
Building Conflict Competent Teams provides team members with the skills to engage the inevitable conflicts and develop conflict competence. The authors demonstrate why conflict emerges within teams and how to respond in ways that will leverage conflicts to a team's advantage. Filled with stories, interviews, and examples that provide entertaining and thought-provoking insights about the nature of conflict within teams, this resource contains a wealth of techniques and processes for addressing team conflict that has gone awry. Runde and Flanagan also include useful tips and tools for assessing a team's current state of conflict competence and suggestions for addressing the challenges of today's virtual and geographically dispersed teams.
Building Conflict Competent Teams is a guide for anyone who wants to develop the self-control, self-awareness, and constructive behavior patterns that will enhance their team experience. Keep up with new developments in conflict competence at the authors' Web sitewww.conflictcompetentleader.com.
About the Author
Craig E. Runde is director of new program development at the Leadership Development Institute at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Tim A. Flanagan is director of custom programs at the Leadership Development Institute at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) is a top-ranked, global provider of executive education that develops better leaders through its exclusive focus on leadership education and research. Founded in 1970 as a nonprofit, educational institution, CCL helps clients worldwide cultivate creative leadershipthe capacity to achieve more than imagined by thinking and acting beyond boundariesthrough an array of programs, products, and other services. Ranked among the world's top providers of executive education by BusinessWeek and the Financial Times, CCL is headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., with campuses in Colorado Springs, Colo.; San Diego, Calif.; Brussels, Belgium; and Singapore. Its work is supported by more than 500 faculty members and staff.
Table of Contents
Preface.
1. A Team in Conflict.
2. Where Conflict Comes From, and Why It Is So Hard to Manage.
3. Creating the Right Climate.
4. Constructive Communication.
5. Techniques for Staying on Track.
6. Special Cases: Global and Virtual Teams.
7. Getting Started on the Road to Conflict Competence.
Epilogue.
Resources.
References.
The Authors.
Index.