As CEOs and other organizational leaders continually look to increase morale, productivity, and well-being across their teams, workplace conflict remains a silent, costly drain on company culture and the bottom line. According to the report Workplace Conflict and How Businesses Can Harness It to Thrive, U.S. employees spend an average of 2.8 hours per week navigating conflict, which adds up to $359 billion in lost productivity. That number is from 2008. The actual cost is likely far higher in today’s polarized social climate.
Even more alarming, roughly 60% of employees have never received basic conflict resolution training. Despite this, many companies still treat conflict as a soft issue or interpersonal nuisance, not the core performance and cultural threat that it is. Dr. John Eliot, psychologist, Texas A&M professor, and co-author of How to Get Along With Anyone, told me that “people either want to stick their head in the sand or pretend they don’t have any conflict. The word itself makes people uncomfortable.”
Why Traditional Workplace Conflict Training Falls Short
Most traditional workplace training programs miss the mark. They focus on superficial behaviors such as communication tips, active listening, or surface-level scripts while ignoring the root cause: how people respond under pressure. Eliot and his co-author, Dr. Jim Guinn, identified five core conflict personality styles. “These styles aren’t about your best self,” Eliot told me. “They’re the habits you fall into when you’ve been punched in the nose.”
You may show up collaboratively on a calm day, but under pressure, you default to a pattern—and so does everyone else on your team. Real solutions begin by addressing those patterns. Below are the five styles.
1. The Avoider (aka “The Golfer”)
At first glance, “avoider” may sound like a liability. It’s not. Eliot compares this style to Rory McIlroy lining up a putt to win the Masters: focused, composed, blocking out distractions. Avoiders are methodical, big-picture thinkers who prefer to work independently and without fuss. They don’t enjoy small talk, resist micromanagement, and find continuous and needless detail work draining. Leaders should know that avoiders thrive with autonomy and trust. But if you overload them with minutiae or force them into chatty collaboration, they’ll mentally check out.
2. The Competitor (aka “The Linebacker”)
These are your action-takers. They move fast, solve problems, and get things done. Competitors are direct, decisive, and thrive in high-stakes situations. “They don’t care how it’s done; just get it done,” Eliot said. They’re perfect when you need speed, risky when you need strategy.” Leaders must be cognizant of these people, as they’re impatient, impulsive decision-makers who tend to bulldoze others. Competitors often need help slowing down and seeing the long game.
3. The Analyzer (aka “The GM”)
Analytical, measured, and data-driven, these individuals won’t move until they understand the full picture. “The analyzer refuses to act until they know everything,” Eliot said. “They’re the ones who will be most frustrated by vagueness or people skipping steps.” Analyzers can bring rigor but equally suffer from analysis paralysis, especially when pressured to act quickly.
4. The Collaborator (aka “The Sports Agent”)
These are the glue of your team. Collaborators are relationally driven, empathic, and excellent at raising morale and culture. They want everyone to feel heard and included. “They’ll talk to everyone at the water cooler but struggle to get to the bottom line,” Eliot noted. The tradeoff is that they may resist hard decisions, struggle with time management, and feel uncomfortable when conversations become too personal or direct.
5. The Accommodator (aka “The Point Guard”)
Think of your most reliable, team-first player. Accommodators are selfless and steady. “They’re like Sherpas,” Eliot said. “Happy to carry the load—but if you keep piling it on, they’ll burn out or quietly resent it.” Their generosity often makes them targets for overwork. Leaders must check in proactively and ensure they’re not being taken for granted.
How CEOs Can Use This Workplace Conflict Framework
The goal isn’t to fix people or fit them into boxes. It’s to build awareness in yourself and your team and then lead accordingly. “Each style has a best and worst teammate,” Eliot told me. “It’s not about profiling for a role—it’s matchmaking for chemistry.” For example:
- If you’ve got a competitor, pair them with an analyzer to balance speed with strategy.
- If you’ve got an accommodator, keep an eye out for overload and ensure their contributions don’t go unseen.
- If you’ve got an avoider, don’t micromanage. Trust them with big-picture thinking and let them work independently.
Leaders can immediately start building stronger and higher-performing teams by:
- Identifying their conflict style under stress
- Learning their team’s default patterns
- Pairing teammates based on complementary strengths
- Normalizing conversations around conflict and triggers in team check-ins
Workplace Conflict Is An Opportunity
Today’s workplace increasingly merges people’s work with personal beliefs, political views, and cultural identities. Teams are now more prone to misunderstanding and conflict than ever before. The best-performing organizations don’t avoid workplace conflict. They anticipate, understand, and build systems to work through it constructively. “Conflict allows you to improve a relationship—if you understand the people involved,” Eliot said.
CEOs don’t need to construct perfect workplace harmony. But they can build cultures grounded in curiosity, respect, and strength-sharing. Eliot referenced a quote from Denzel Washington’s character in Remember the Titans that sums up workplace conflict and team-building culture well: “You don’t have to like each other—but you will respect each other.”