Smart Conflict: How to Have Hard Conversations at Work - Paperback

by Alice Driscoll (Author), Louise Van Haarst (Author)

Business Book Awards 2026 Shortlisted in People, Culture and Management category

A highly practical, immediately implementable guide to getting good at conflict at work.

The ability to engage with healthy conflict is a crucial element of high performance, and the foundation of collaborative, inclusive and innovative cultures.

Drawing on the latest evidence and thinking from psychology and coaching research, Smart Conflict will equip you with the skills you need to manage conflict with confidence and compassion.

As experienced conflict and leadership team coaches, Alice Driscoll and Louise van Haarst know that not enough conflict, of the right kind, is just as damaging to teams and organizations as having too much of the wrong kind. Whether your default conflict style is avoidant, inflexible or aggressive, this book will give you the tools to embrace Smart Conflict and transform your leadership, your team and maybe your life.

Back Jacket

A highly practical, immediately implementable guide to getting good at conflict at work.

The ability to engage with healthy conflict is a crucial element of high performance, and the foundation of collaborative, inclusive and innovative cultures.

Drawing on the latest evidence and thinking from psychology and coaching research, Smart Conflict will equip you with the skills you need to manage conflict with confidence and compassion. As experienced conflict and leadership team coaches, Alice Driscoll and Louise van Haarst know that not enough conflict, of the right kind, is just as damaging to teams and organizations as having too much of the wrong kind. Whether your default conflict style is avoidant, inflexible or aggressive, this book will give you the tools to embrace Smart Conflict and transform your leadership, your team and maybe your life.

Author Biography

Alice Driscoll and Louise van Haarst are the co-founders of The Power House, a global leadership development business focused on unlocking human and organizational potential. They combine decades of experience coaching leaders, founders, executive teams and boards in household name companies across a wide range of sectors for thousands of hours.

They met at Henley Business School studying for the MSc in Coaching and Behaviour Change and between them hold accreditations with the International Coaching Federation, the European Mentoring and Coaching Council and in Mediation and Conflict Resolution.

Together, they are on a mission to support leaders to build conflict-competent cultures in organizations everywhere.