Conflict Is for the Birds: Understanding Your Conflict Management 2nd 3d

Louise Karch is a career consultant with Carswell Partners in London, Ontario.

The authors, who have been providing conflict-resolution training for
more than 15 years, define conflict as occurring “whenever our
assumptions or expectations don’t match with someone else’s
assumptions or expectations.” They divide people into five types of
conflict management styles and give each style a bird’s name
(Woodpecker, Parakeet, Ostrich, Hummingbird, and Owl). Robert Blake and
Jane Mouton’s Managerial Grid, written in the 1960s, is cited as the
inspiration for their five-type model.

To identify the relative strengths of their individual conflict styles,
readers are asked to complete a 10-page Conflict Management Styles
Questionnaire. The remainder of the book delves into each bird’s
conflict-resolution style. The authors explain how to deal with people
whose styles match as well as differ from your own.

The book’s cute bird drawings are in keeping with the authors’
quixotic approach to their subject. Although some readers may find that
approach too precious, Conflict Is for the Birds manages to enlighten as
much as it charms.