Kung Fu Fighting - Getting Good at Conflict with Alice Driscoll and Louise van Haarst

Most of us avoid conflict. We fear tension, fallout, or damaged relationships. But what if conflict wasn’t something to shy away from? What if it could be smart - a pathway to stronger relationships, higher trust, and better team performance?Highly RelationalSeason 4 - Episode 2Kung Fu Fighting - Getting Good at Conflictwith Alice Driscoll and Louise van HaarstIn this episode, host Robert Digings is joined by Louise van Haarst and Alice Driscoll, co-founders of The Power House and co-authors of Smart Conflict: How to Have Hard Conversations at Work. Together they share how leaders and teams can move from conflict avoidance to conflict competence.Between them, Alice and Louise have spent thousands of hours coaching leaders, boards, and teams. They argue that organisations don’t need less conflict - they need more, but of the right kind. In their work and new book, they show how to shift from destructive relational conflict to productive task conflict.In this conversation, we explore:🔄 Why reframing conflict as opportunity unlocks better collaboration🧭 The Five R’s model - Reflect, Regulate, Readiness, Respond, Repair—and how to apply it💬 Why repair is always possible, even when conversations go badly⚖️ How to balance accountability with empathy in today’s workplace🚦 The difference between relational conflict (“me vs. you”) and task conflict (“us vs. the problem”)🌱 Why awareness of conflict styles matters and how teams can use diagnostics to build shared language💡 Practical ways to bring smart conflict into your next team meeting or one-to-oneTheir message is simple but powerful: conflict is inevitable, but with the right tools, it can become one of the most valuable resources for growth, creativity, and resilience at work.Alice Driscoll:www.linkedin.com/in/alice-elizabeth-driscollwww.thepowerhouse.companyLouise van Haarst:www.linkedin.com/in/louise-van-haarstwww.thepowerhouse.companyRobert Digings:www.linkedin.com/in/robertdigingsTeam Development Consultant and Executive CoachRobert has been working with teams and their challenges for over 20 years. He has discovered that the biggest improvements come when a team has the courage to do the challenging work of developing deep personal connections and a real sense of belonging.In this business podcast Robert explores the insights, experience and advice from other experts in the field of human collaboration, be they leaders, authors, coaches or consultants.Production credits:Studio Engineer at Premiere Podcast Studios - Freddie ScraggPost Production - Shaun LawsonSeries Producer - Julie Allen© 2025 Highly Relational LimitedFind Highly Relational on all your favourite podcast apps or YouTubeIf you are enjoying the listen, hit subscribe and leave us a review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.