Conflict Competency Trainings

These courses can be custom made for your organization, or you may choose from our standard trainings: We often recommend short trainings over a period of time compared to “one and done” trainings. This is especially true when you are wanting to spur a change in behavior.

Conflict is part of every workplace.
What matters is how people move through it.

The Conflict Lab offers interactive conflict competency courses through a partnership with Next Element Consulting. These trainings help organizations move beyond avoidance and reactivity toward clarity, responsibility, and stronger working relationships.

The goal is not to eliminate conflict. The goal is to build the capacity to handle it well.

Participants leave with shared language, increased self-awareness, and practical tools they can apply immediately in real workplace situations. The Next Element training series is designed to build progressively, with each course deepening previously developed skills.

In addition to the courses below, The Conflict Lab provides customized training for individuals, teams, and organizations. These offerings combine universal principles of conflict competency with client-specific, scenario-based application.

40 Hour Basic Mediation Training

Watch Mediation Training Introduction Video

Fall Mediation Training hosted by Pepperdine Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in collaboration with The Conflict Lab. In addition to comprehensive mediation skills, the training provides an overview of negotiation and conflict theory, Participants are encouraged to develop their own mediation style based on their individual strengths and practice areas. The training includes the sixteen hours of role plays required by the Federal Court ADR program. The course also meets the requirements of CLASP and other court sponsored programs. Course sizes are kept small to allow for individual attention during role plays.

2026 Fall Mediation Training New Dates

  • October: 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 2026 8AM-4PM

View Mediation Training Fall 2026 Flyer

Contact us to reserve your seat for Fall 2026. A $1,000 deposit shall guarantee a spot. Classroom size is limited. To reserve a guaranteed space you may provide a deposit. Members of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania and The Pennsylvania Council of Mediators will receive 10% off. To register or to make inquiries, please email us at [email protected].

Conflict and You ™

3-Hour Foundational Course

Every workplace has conflict patterns. Most people have never been taught how to recognize their own.

Conflict and You introduces the core dynamics that shape how individuals show up under pressure.

Participants will:

  • Understand how “Drama” operates in professional settings
  • Identify personal conflict habits and predictable stress responses
  • Distinguish between productive tension and unhelpful escalation
  • Practice replacing Drama with Compassion
  • Build confidence in everyday conflict conversations

Each participant completes a pre- and post-assessment to measure growth in conflict competency.

Investment: $300 per participant
Includes assessments and light breakfast.

A strong starting point for teams ready to build a shared foundation.

Spring 2026 Offerings:
May 18, 20, and 21 | 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
For registration or questions, please contact [email protected]

Compassionate Accountability ™

3-Hour Applied Course

Accountability often breaks down when conflict feels personal.

This course strengthens the ability to hold clear expectations while maintaining respect and connection. Participants learn to distinguish between negative and positive conflict and develop practical strategies for responding constructively under pressure.

Participants will:

  • Distinguish between negative and positive conflict
  • Recognize how defensiveness and blame escalate tension
  • Stay grounded when conversations become uncomfortable
  • Communicate responsibility without shaming or rescuing
  • Hold others accountable in ways that reduce resistance and increase clarity

Especially valuable for managers, supervisors, and team leads navigating performance conversations and team tension.

Investment: $300 per participant
Includes assessments and light breakfast.

Core Concepts™

7-Hour Advanced Course

For individuals with prior conflict competency training, this full-day intensive deepens practice and application.

Participants will:

  • Strengthen fluency in the Compassionate Accountability framework
  • Work through layered, real-world conflict scenarios
  • Interrupt unhelpful patterns in real time
  • Apply conflict competency principles to leadership and organizational culture

Investment: $600 per participant
Includes assessments, light breakfast, and lunch.

Well suited for leadership teams, HR professionals, and organizations committed to long-term culture development.

Customized Workplace Applications

Conflict rarely shows up in isolation. It surfaces in:

  • Performance conversations
  • Meetings and decision-making
  • Apologies and repair
  • Cross-functional tension and collaboration

Trainings can be tailored to reflect the specific pressures and patterns within your organization. Customization may include deeper assessment analysis and applied case work. Pricing adjusts based on scope.

Who These Trainings Serve

  • Businesses investing in leadership and team effectiveness
  • Higher education institutions navigating complex relational dynamics
  • Nonprofits balancing mission-driven work with accountability
  • HR professionals seeking practical, measurable development tools

Conflict competency is not a soft skill. It is a leadership skill.
It shapes culture, performance, and trust.

An Empowering Leadership Retreat for Women 

Fall Emerge in Pittsburgh – October 23-25, 2025

Twice a year, Selina Shultz and Laura Grisolano curate a group of women for a guided, intensive coaching program to unlock and leverage your inner wisdom so you can lead a more authentic personal and professional life.

All inclusive Retreat Program includes Breakfast and Lunch each day.
Overnight lodging is available at the charming neighborhood boutique hotel,
TRYP Pittsburgh, with a special Emerge rate.

This retreat is by invitation or application only. To apply for this opportunity please contact:

[email protected]

For more information, please click on the link below.

2025 Emerge Retreat

Pittsburgh Emerge Retreat 2025

Hidden Hills, California @ The Golden Ranch Retreat
February 8-11, 2026

California Emerge 2026

Ready to Build Conflict Capacity?

The Conflict Lab partners with organizations ready to move from reactive patterns to intentional practice. To discuss bringing a training to your team, inquire below.

Discuss Training