Chapter 6: From Disruption to Connection: How Mindful Conflict Management Builds Bridges During the Pandemic and Beyond

Even in the best of times, workplace conflicts can disrupt relationships , hinder productivity, and leave us feeling anxious about our leadership abilities. Most of us have learned that conflict is negative and needs to be either passively avoided or aggressively confronted so that we can put it behind us and move on. In fact, when people think of conflict, words such as fight, argument, struggle, and antagonism come to mind. Who wants to invite that negativity into their life? As a result, it is not surprising that many leaders avoid engaging in conflict situations. They may tell their employees to “go work it out,” or they may ignore the situation altogether hoping it will simply go away (Wilkin, 2020a).