No one conflict-management style or method will fit every conflict. Instead, effective conflict managers consider and evaluate how to best serve the parties involved and help them reach a desired outcome. In deciding which process to use, the parties and their advisors should consider their goals, motives, and needs; any current or on-going relationships; financial and time constraints; the need for privacy; the predictability of the legal outcome; and the existing power imbalances. You are now equipped to select both the best individual strategy and the best method or process to handle a specific conflict, because in this chapter, you learned:

In the next chapter, you will learn more about conscious conflict ownership, negotiation, and listening. That chapter is about skill development. When you are done, you will be much better equipped to handle the conflicts around you, both at home and at work.