The 4 types of workplace conflict, and how to navigate them

Every conflict takes place in one of four distinct terrains. Once you recognise which environment you’re in, you can choose the most effective way to shift towards a more productive zone, or stay where you are, writes Tim Duggan.

The Four Terrains of Conflict are the Swamp, the Summit, the Minefield and the Arena. The terrain you’re in depends on the two most important variables that can predict how any single conflict is likely to play out: how much trust you have with the other party and how aligned your underlying values about a topic are.

This is what the Four Terrains of Conflict looks like: When you have low trust and similar values, you’re in the Swamp. When you have high trust and similar values, you’re at the Summit. When you have low trust and different values, you’re in the Minefield. When you have high trust and different values, you’re in the Arena. The intersection of trust and values represents one of the most critical dimensions of conflict management, yet it’s also one of the most under-explored.

The Swamp

The Swamp is when you have similar values but low trust with the other party. From a distance it might look like a lush, green field – after all, you have similar values on the surface – but this can be deceptive as there is no trust in the Swamp, so the ground beneath you isn’t solid. When you attempt to move, every step is met with the feeling of being stuck and going nowhere.

When you’re in active conflict in the Swamp, it can feel like the harder you work, the deeper you sink. This manifests itself as corrosive behaviour like micromanagement, infighting and the inability to rely on other people to execute tasks. When the conflict is passive, it turns into indifferent behaviours, like apathy, ‘checking out’ and not caring about the outcome even though you think you should.

The Summit

This is a very productive terrain where you have similar values and high trust with the other parties. This is the ultimate zone for clarity and outcomes. As you’re aligned

on the two factors of values and trust, it’s a place of high performance, where you have collective goals.

When you’re in active conflict at the Summit, your behaviour is collaborative, a high-energy state where solutions are co-created and mutually solved in real time. You don’t need to stop and explain every action because your joint vision is calibrated by similar values. Even when you’re passively in conflict in this terrain, your communication is intentional and the other party understands the meanings behind your actions.

The biggest challenge when you’ve made it to the Summit is how to maintain discipline without slipping back into a less productive terrain. This requires constant work to avoid complacency from creeping in.

The Minefield

The Minefield occurs when you have different values and low trust with the other party. The Minefield is a zone of survival and danger, where the lack of trust makes the terrain unstable, and the divergence in values means that every difference of opinion is a potential blow-up. It’s difficult to focus on the bigger picture when you’re tiptoeing through the Minefield trying to not set off any explosions, so lots of energy is wasted on survival rather than progress.

When you are engaged in active conflict in the Minefield, the behaviour is combative. This presents itself as open hostility, character attacks, small slights that escalate and the ability to set off a big disagreement at any stage through the wrong words or actions. When you’re in passive conflict here, your behaviour is inhibited. You don’t feel comfortable sharing information, so you hold back to avoid making any sudden movements as though you are walking on eggshells. When your values aren’t aligned, you withdraw to feel secure.

The Arena

This is the final terrain when you have different values and high trust with the other party. This is a highly desired environment – especially in the workplace – where real progress is made, even with people who don’t always share your values. The Arena is the place to navigate differences and throw opposing ideas against each other with full force and still trust that it will be met with reciprocal energy by the other side. It’s the definition of ‘good conflict’, where arguments clash in a healthy, productive and innovative way.

When you’re engaged in active conflict in the Arena, you compete in constructive and innovative ways. Even when you’re only passively engaged here, the behaviour is intuitive because of the trust that’s been accrued over time. You leave the Arena stronger than you were when you entered, with better solutions than either party would have achieved on their own.

Problematic vs productive terrain

There are many existing frameworks that plot individual behavioural responses to conflict, such as determining your level of assertiveness versus cooperativeness, or if your focus is on your own agenda or the relationship. The Four Terrains of Conflict does something fundamentally different. It maps the landscape of the conflict itself, not how someone reacts to it.

Knowing which terrain your disagreement is taking place in, or your current state, is pivotal to getting the outcome that you want, and so is knowing where you want to get to, or your future state. When you are clear in moments of tension or conflict, it’s easier to move from a problematic terrain into a productive one.

This is an edited extract from Clear in Tension: How to get better at conflict by Tim Duggan.

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