T5. Mastering Conflict – Coach and Practice
This behaviour develops a leader’s ability to facilitate healthy disagreement that strengthens ideas and relationships.
Behaviour focus
Supporting leaders to make conflict constructive rather than personal, improving team thinking and outcomes.
Purpose
To ensure that challenge leads to clarity and improvement rather than avoidance or division.
| Action Steps | Key Questions | Practice |
| Set expectations for healthy debate. | What ground rules make disagreement safe and productive? | Ask the leader to write three principles for constructive challenge and practise introducing them to the team. |
| Focus on ideas, not individuals. | How can you depersonalise disagreement? | Practise responding calmly to a heated comment by reframing it around the issue, not the person. |
| Encourage all voices. | Who is not being heard, and why? | Practise drawing in quieter members during a mock team discussion. |
| Close conflict with alignment. | How will you end disagreements well? | Rehearse summarising discussion outcomes and confirming next steps. |