Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument® (TKI)

Conflict when managed well is a powerful catalyst and is essential to organisational performance 

Conflict is not necessarily bad.  Conflict arises in organisations because their employees obviously have different experience and mindset.  They must work together, reach agreements on goals and make decisions about how to achieve them in spite of their differences.  It is essential to manage conflict in a way that sets a foundation for a healthy debate.  Being able to reconcile differences and to handle conflict constructively is key to drive positive change and improve performance.

The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument® (TKI) is the leading assessment tool for handling conflict and identifies the five conflict management styles or modes. One of the reasons for the Thomas-Kilmann’s popularity is that it shows how each conflict mode can be useful for dealing with conflict in a wide range of scenarios. The TKI® allows people to appreciate the value of their own conflict styles and also learn the value of other styles as well. Using the Thomas-Kilmann assessment allows people to focus and build on their strengths.

What Does the TKI® Measure?

The TKI® measures conflict across two dimensions:

1. Assertiveness, the extent to which an individual attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns; and

2. Cooperativeness, the extent to which an individual attempts to satisfy the other person's concerns.

The two dimensions of behavior define five methods of dealing with conflict:

1. Competing, 

2. Collaborating, 

3. Compromising, 

4. Avoiding, 

5. Accommodating

The TKI® Addresses Conflict in the Workplace Promptly and Productively

• Measures individual and team approaches to conflict – applied within five conflict handling modes.

• Quick to complete.

• Easy to understand.

• Provides a personalized analysis of results.

• Delivers results you can trust, backed by research.

• Identifies your conflict-handling modes from your highest preference to lowest across the five modes.

• Identifies preferred responses to conflict and their implications to decision making and conflict.

• Identifies strategies for each of the five modes and scenarios for when they are best used.

• Includes specific question to assess when you might overuse or underuse a conflict style.

• Creates a positive and constructive environment – for teams and individuals.

View a sample TKI Conflict Mode Instrument Report (PDF)

The TKI® is Extremely Useful for Team Building

The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument® is widely used for helping both new and established teams at all organizational levels – from front line staff to senior management teams.  

The TKI® used with new created teams helps team members get acquainted with each other’s conflict styles, identify potential challenges, and set goals for how they should handle conflict as a group.

With established teams, the TKI® helps team members make sense of the different conflict behaviors that have been occurring within the team, identify the team’s challenges in managing conflict, and find constructive ways to handle those challenges.

Reasons to Use the TKI®

• Easy to complete, the questionnaire is short, it only takes a few minutes to complete and has only 30 questions to answer. It can be completed online or in paper.

• Facilitates your Company to open a productive discussion about conflict.

• Can be used either as a stand-alone tool by individuals or in a group assessment or as part of a group training programme.

• Offers a pragmatic, situational approach to Conflict Resolution, Change Management, Leadership Development, Communication, Employee Retention and much more.