When to use it
A useful fit
Use the idea to reflect on a response to a disagreement and consider alternatives before acting automatically.
Know the limits
Do not turn a brief guide into a personality test or claim that it substitutes for the proprietary instrument.
How to use it
- Clarify what each party needs and what is negotiable.
- Consider whether time, safety, authority and willingness permit joint problem solving.
- Choose a response, state its limits and review whether it resolved the issue or merely delayed it.
Worked example
A team disagrees about a release window. Rather than immediately splitting the available time, the lead asks what each side must protect. They discover that a rehearsal can resolve the operational concern before the release decision.
Illustrative scenario by fannarmaximus; not an official exam question.
Common pitfalls
A quick compromise can divide the difference while leaving the underlying need unmet.
Attribution & sources
Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann developed the Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. This page describes the general idea independently; no instrument items, scoring keys or proprietary figures are reproduced.
The citations below identify authoritative references for this topic. They do not imply endorsement or reproduce the bodies’ competence lists.
- Thomas, K. W. (1976). Conflict and conflict management. In M. D. Dunnette (ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (pp. 889–935). Chicago: Rand McNally.
- Kilmann, R. H. & Thomas, K. W. (1977). Developing a forced-choice measure of conflict-handling behavior: the "MODE" instrument. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 37(2), 309–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447703700204