Successful conflict management in change processes

Typical triggers of conflicts in change processes

• Digitization projects, new software systems, and changes to work processes.
• Organizational changes, new roles, and unclear responsibilities.

Understanding and applying psychological mechanisms

• System 1 and System 2: Automatic Responses and Deliberate Action.
• Understanding resistance and anger as protective and warning responses.
• Self-regulation and psychological safety as the foundation for constructive conversations.

Clarity through systematic conflict diagnosis

• Sources of conflict: visible positions, interests, and threatened needs.
• Degree of Escalation: Dynamics, History, and Recurring Patterns.
• Dimensions: intrapersonal, interpersonal, intra- and intergroup, and systemic.
• Conflict strategies according to Thomas-Kilmann: Assertiveness, Accommodation, Avoidance, Compromise, and Cooperation.

The SCARF Model from Neuroleadership: Identifying the Causes of Conflict

• Status: Recognition, competence, self-worth, and potential loss of face.
• Certainty: Clarity, guidance, and predictability.
• Autonomy: Influence, Decision-Making Leeway, and Reactance.
• Relatedness: Trust, Belonging, and Social Connection.
• Fairness: justice, equal treatment, and perceived gains and losses.

Targeted conflict management

• Identify, assess, and contain conflicts early on.
• Select interventions appropriate to the cause of the conflict.
• Conducting conflict resolution discussions in a structured manner using the SBI model.
• “Choose your battle”: Not every conflict needs to be completely resolved.