The Leader’s Role in Resolving Conflict

All organizations, regardless of size, mission, source/s of funding or years of operation, experience conflict. In this presentation, Tom Pomeranz details basic principles and innovative strategies to deter and resolve organizational conflict. Tom identifies the sources of conflict, providing examples of how they evolve. He discusses intergenerational conflict, individual vs individual, individual vs group, group vs group and organization vs organization and the approaches to resolve their conflicts.

During this session Tom also delineates the phases in which conflict can evolve and the importance of addressing it at its earliest stages. The five classic styles of leadership are detailed and their effectiveness in resolving conflict. Tom emphasizes throughout the presentation that the resolution of conflict demands the presence of personal power which is given to a person by others because they are perceived as capable, competent and caring individuals. It is only through personal power that conflict can be resolved. It cannot be resolved by simply using positional authority.