Professional Skills: Assessing Conflict

Overview

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Develop the skills to recognize and understand conflict before it escalates. This course helps you identify conflict types, assess reactions, and apply effective resolution strategies. Conflict is unavoidable, but managing it effectively starts with knowing how to assess it. Assessing Conflict, developed by ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, equips professionals with the tools to evaluate the nature, causes, and potential responses to conflict in workplace. You'll explore practical frameworks for identifying conflict, understanding its dynamics, and navigating interpersonal and institutional disputes. Through interactive exercises, self-reflection, and real-world scenarios, you'll learn how to listen actively, ask strategic questions, and anticipate reactions to create more constructive outcomes. Whether you're addressing team tensions or organizational challenges, this course gives you a foundational conflict assessment toolkit to respond with clarity and confidence.

Syllabus

Identifying the nature of conflict

This module introduces you to the fundamental aspects of conflict, helping you understand its various causes and manifestations. You will learn to identify different types of conflicts and assess their underlying dynamics, which is crucial for effective resolution. By exploring real-world scenarios and practical tools, this module will equip you with the foundational knowledge needed to approach conflict situations with clarity and insight.

Recognizing reactions to conflict

Understanding how individuals and groups react to conflict is a critical skill for effective conflict management. This module will guide you through recognizing and interpreting different emotional and behavioral responses to conflict. You will learn to identify common reaction patterns, assess their impact, and develop strategies to navigate these reactions constructively, fostering a more productive environment for resolution.

Listening actively for interests

Active listening is a cornerstone of effective conflict resolution, enabling you to uncover the true interests and needs behind stated positions. In this module, you will develop advanced active listening skills, learning to listen purposefully and empathetically. By mastering these techniques, you will be able to understand what others truly mean, even when their words may suggest otherwise, paving the way for more meaningful and sustainable solutions.

Asking questions

Asking the right questions is an art that can unlock deeper understanding and facilitate breakthroughs in conflict situations. This module will teach you how to formulate insightful questions that build towards a comprehensive understanding of the conflict. You will learn to balance different question types and use them strategically to gather information, clarify perspectives, and guide discussions towards constructive outcomes.

Course conclusion

This concluding module provides an opportunity to provide feedback on your learning experience and acknowledge your successful completion of the course, preparing you to apply your new skills in real-world scenarios.