Leadership Assessment Conflict Resolution and Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, which style involves high assertiveness and high cooperativeness?
- Avoiding
- Competing
- Collaborating (Correct answer)
- Accommodating
Correct answer: Collaborating
The collaborating style seeks a solution that fully satisfies both parties, requiring high investment in both asserting one's needs and understanding the other's.
Question 2: What is the difference between 'task conflict' and 'relationship conflict' in leadership?
- Task conflict concerns deadlines; relationship conflict concerns roles
- Task conflict involves disagreements about work content; relationship conflict involves interpersonal tensions (Correct answer)
- They are the same thing
- Task conflict is always destructive; relationship conflict is always productive
Correct answer: Task conflict involves disagreements about work content; relationship conflict involves interpersonal tensions
Task conflict about ideas or methods can be productive, while relationship conflict rooted in personal tensions is typically harmful to team performance.
Question 3: A leader who helps two conflicting parties reach a mutually acceptable solution without imposing a decision is acting as a:
- Arbitrator
- Mediator (Correct answer)
- Adjudicator
- Autocrat
Correct answer: Mediator
A mediator facilitates dialogue between conflicting parties to help them reach their own agreement, unlike an arbitrator who imposes a binding decision.
Question 4: Which conflict resolution approach is most appropriate when a quick decision is critical and the issue is non-negotiable?
- Collaborating
- Avoiding
- Compromising
- Competing (forcing) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Competing (forcing)
The competing or forcing style is appropriate in emergencies or when non-negotiable standards must be upheld, despite potential relationship costs.
Question 5: What is 'conflict avoidance' and when is it counterproductive?
- Proactively preventing conflict through clear norms — always beneficial
- Deliberately sidestepping conflict — counterproductive when issues are significant and will worsen if ignored (Correct answer)
- A formal dispute resolution policy
- A legal term for workplace arbitration
Correct answer: Deliberately sidestepping conflict — counterproductive when issues are significant and will worsen if ignored
While sometimes appropriate for trivial issues, avoiding significant conflicts allows problems to fester and escalate over time.
Question 6: A win-win conflict resolution outcome is best achieved through which approach?
- Compromise where both parties give something up
- Collaboration where both parties' core needs are fully addressed (Correct answer)
- Avoidance of the conflict entirely
- Competing until one party concedes
Correct answer: Collaboration where both parties' core needs are fully addressed
Collaboration seeks solutions that satisfy both parties' underlying interests, creating outcomes better than simple compromise.
Leadership Assessment Conflict Resolution and Management 1
According to the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, which style involves high assertiveness and high cooperativeness?