Making Conflict Work: Harnessing the Power of Disagreement

Coleman, professor of psychology and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and Ferguson, a psychologist and executive coach, examine the challenges and opportunities inherent in conflicts with authority figures and subordinates, and provide a practical guide to redirecting energies from conflict toward the achievement of goals. Grounded in more than 15 years of research, Coleman and Ferguson’s findings offer insight into the strategies and skills necessary for managing work disputes and show how to make conflict work for you instead of against you. They identify power-conflict traps and study the role of dominance, the “most common conflict-management strategy employed by power holders [which] can backfire” on the one in charge and demoralize the dominated. They also discuss problem-solving techniques such as pragmatic benevolence, strategic appeasement, selective autonomy, and principled rebellion. The authors include helpful self-development checklists and self- and organizational assessments throughout. Full of valuable advice, this book will help readers develop better strategies for workplace disagreements. Agent: Jessica Papin, Dystel & Goderich. (Sept.)