Conflict is all around us. With every passing day, conversations around divisive topics seem to be more toxic and less productive. The latest, tragic school shooting has brought the issue of gun control, gun rights, and gun safety into the forefront. But it’s not just this issue that brings out conflict and ultimately the worst in people. Pick any topic and you’ll see corrosive discourse happening daily. And it’s not just in the anonymous annals of social media. People seem more and more comfortable ripping “the other side” out in the open in the analog world.

But there could be a better way.

Conflict is inherent in being human. Conflict over different points of view, personality styles, and even trivial differences like peoples’ favorite sports teams. The ability to manage conflict is critical for all leaders. Rather than let conflict overrun your team and impact interpersonal relationships, successful leaders invest in themselves to learn how to manage conflict. Better yet, they build the necessary foundation to prevent conflict before it rears its head.

Before discussing how to manage and prevent conflict, let’s first discuss the incredibly high cost of conflict within interpersonal relationships, teams, and organizations and WHY managers need to learn to manage conflict.