StretchLearn Course

Turn Conflict into Collaboration

Proven frameworks for diagnosing, de-escalating, and resolving workplace disagreements — at any level.

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Conflict is inevitable in any team, but how it is handled determines whether it becomes destructive or a catalyst for growth. This course teaches you to diagnose conflict using the Thomas-Kilmann model, facilitate resolution conversations with structured mediation techniques, and embed norms that make disagreement productive rather than corrosive. Grounded in research from Harvard Negotiation Project, Crucial Conversations, and organizational psychology, every lesson delivers a framework you can use the next day.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Classify conflict by type and source using the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

Facilitate a structured resolution conversation using the Interest-Based Relational (IBR) approach

Apply de-escalation language and active-listening techniques to reduce emotional intensity

Distinguish between positions and underlying interests to unlock integrative solutions

Design team agreements and norms that prevent recurring conflict patterns

Coach peers through disagreement without taking sides or escalating the issue

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Understanding Conflict

Map the landscape of workplace conflict — its types, sources, and the predictable patterns that make it escalate or resolve. Build a shared vocabulary before picking up any resolution tool.

3 lessons

Why Conflict Happens and What It CostsContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

The Thomas-Kilmann Model: Five Conflict StylesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Conflict Escalation: Glasl's Nine-Stage StaircaseContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: De-escalation and Active Listening

Reduce emotional intensity before attempting any resolution. Master the communication techniques that signal safety and buy the conversational space needed to solve the actual problem.

3 lessons

The Neuroscience of Conflict: Why Logic Fails Under ThreatContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Active Listening: The EARS FrameworkContent · 45 min

LMS Access

De-escalation Language ScriptsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Interest-Based Resolution

Move from positional bargaining to interest-based problem-solving using Harvard Negotiation Project frameworks. Discover the integrative solutions that satisfy both parties' real needs.

3 lessons

Positions vs Interests: The Orange StoryContent · 45 min

LMS Access

The Interest-Based Relational (IBR) ApproachContent · 45 min

LMS Access

BATNA: Your Best Alternative and Why It MattersContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Building a Culture of Constructive Disagreement

Move beyond individual conflict incidents to design team norms, structures, and feedback habits that make productive disagreement the default — not the exception.

3 lessons

Designing Team Conflict NormsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

The Feedback Loop: SBI and Radical CandorContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Coaching Others Through ConflictContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

conflict resolutionleadershipcommunicationmediationteam dynamicsde-escalationnegotiationworkplace culture