The Conflict Intelligence (CIQ) Executive Education Program
Program Description:
Transform Conflict into Your Competitive Advantage
In today's high-pressure business environment, conflict isn't optional—it's inevitable. The question isn't whether you'll face opposition, tension, or difficult conversations. The question is: Will you be ready?
The Conflict Intelligence (CIQ) executive education program from the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution and TC Academy at Teachers College, Columbia University gives you the elite skill set that separates reactive managers from transformational leaders. This isn't theory—it's a practical, research-backed system designed for executives who need to perform under pressure, bridge divides, and drive results through people.
Why CIQ?
- World-Class Expertise: Learn from Columbia University's premier conflict resolution institution, home to 70+ years of groundbreaking research
- Personalized Insight: Gain clarity through cutting-edge assessments including the proprietary Conflict Competency 360
- Immediate Application: Walk away with frameworks and strategies you can deploy the very next day
- Peer Learning: Connect with fellow executives facing similar challenges across industries
- Career-Defining Impact: Master the leadership competency that drives collaboration, innovation, and organizational success
Your CIQ Journey: Four Transformational Modules
| Modules | Focus | What You'll Gain |
| Module 1: Managing Yourself in Conflict | Master your internal landscape—optimize thinking, feeling, and reacting | Uncover the beliefs and triggers driving your conflict responses. Learn to self-regulate under pressure and transform stress into strategic advantage. Walk away with unshakeable composure when stakes are highest. |
| Module 2: Developing Your Interpersonal Conflict Skills | Close the gap between intent and impact using peer feedback | Discover how others truly experience you in tense moments through the Conflict Competency 360 Assessment. Align your self-perception with reality and strengthen every professional relationship. |
| Module 3: Holding Difficult Conversations | Navigate high-stakes dialogue across opposing views with confidence | Break through the barriers of identity, power, and emotion that derail critical conversations. Build trust across divides and turn tension into breakthrough moments that move your organization forward. |
| Module 4: Navigating Power in Conflict | Leverage power dynamics strategically with the Making Conflict Work framework | Master five distinct strategies for engaging across power differences. Adapt fluidly to any situation—whether managing up, leading peers, or guiding teams—and expand your influence at every level. |
The Bottom Line
Conflict competency is the hidden multiplier of executive effectiveness. It's what allows you to build coalitions, drive change initiatives, negotiate successfully, and lead through ambiguity. CIQ doesn't just teach you about conflict—it fundamentally upgrades how you show up when it matters most.
Ready to lead with confidence in every conflict? The Conflict Intelligence Lab is where your transformation begins.
Dates & Registration
Dates: TBA for Summer 2026
Price: TBA
Sign our notification list to be informed of our next offering.
Instructor
Dr. Peter T Coleman is Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University where he holds appointments at Teachers College, and the School of Professional Studies. Dr. Coleman directs the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR), is founding director of the Institute for Psychological Science and Practice (IPSP), and is co-executive director of Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4).
Dr. Coleman is a renowned expert on constructive conflict resolution and sustainable peace. His current research focuses on promoting conflict intelligence and systemic wisdom as meta-competencies for navigating conflict constructively across all levels (from families to companies to communities to nations), which includes projects on adaptive negotiation and mediation; cross-cultural conflict adaptivity; optimality dynamics in conflict, justice and polarization; multicultural conflict; intractable conflict; and sustainable peace.
In 2003, Dr. Coleman became the first recipient of the Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association (APA), Division 48: Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence, and in 2015 was awarded the Morton Deutsch Conflict Resolution Award by APA and a Marie Curie Fellowship from The European Union. In 2018, Dr. Coleman was awarded the Peace Award from Meaningful World, in celebration of their 30th anniversary and the UN’s International Day of Peace, and in 2020 a Lifetime Commitment Award from the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies association. In 2023 he was elected to be 2023 Fellow of the International Association of Conflict Management.
Dr. Coleman edits the award-winning Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (2000, 2006, 2014) and his other books include The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts (2011); Conflict, Justice, and Interdependence: The Legacy of Morton Deutsch (2011), Psychological Components of Sustainable Peace (2012), and Attracted to Conflict: Dynamic Foundations of Destructive Social Relations (2013), and Making Conflict Work: Navigating Disagreement Up and Down Your Organization (2014), which won the 2016 Outstanding Book Award from The International Association of Conflict Management. Most recently he published a book with Columbia University Press on breaking through the intractable polarization plaguing the U.S. and other societies, titled, The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization (2021).
As featured in the Harvard Business Review cover story on power and conflict.
Dr. Coleman has also authored well over 100 articles and chapters, is a member of the United Nations Mediation Support Unit’s Academic Advisory Council, is a founding board member of the Gbowee Peace Foundation USA, and is a New York State certified mediator and experienced consultant. In 2017, he received the International Association of Conflict Management 2017 Best Conference Theoretical Paper Award for his article Conflict Intelligence and Systemic Wisdom: Meta-competencies for Engaging Difference in a Complex, Dynamic World, and in 2018 The Emerald Literati Award for the paper Adaptive mediation: An evidence-based contingency approach to mediating conflict.
Dr. Coleman also founded and edits the MD-ICCCR Science-Practice Blog, the WKCR (89.9 FM) monthly radio program Peace and Conflict at Columbia: Conversations at the Leading Edge, and is a frequent blogger on Psychology Today and The Hill. Dr. Coleman’s work has also been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Chicago Tribute, Nature, Science, Scientific American, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Wired, This American Life, Time Magazine, Fox Business, CBS, Fast Company, Chicago Public Radio, the PBS Newshour and various international outlets.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the Conflict Intelligence (CIQ) program, participants will be able to:
Overall Program Outcomes
- Demonstrate conflict intelligence as a core leadership competency
- Approach conflict with strategic clarity rather than reactive patterns
- Build stronger, more resilient professional relationships
- Increase leadership effectiveness in challenging interpersonal situations
- Apply research-backed frameworks immediately in workplace contexts
Who Should Attend
The Conflict Intelligence (CIQ) program is designed for professionals at all levels who want to transform how they navigate workplace tension and turn conflict into a competitive advantage.
Ideal for:
- Emerging Leaders & Managers: New managers, team leads, department heads, and supervisors building their leadership foundation
- Individual Contributors: Project managers, professionals in client-facing roles, and anyone preparing for leadership responsibilities
- Functional Leaders: HR professionals, sales and account managers, operations managers, product managers, and consultants navigating stakeholder dynamics
Perfect if you:
- Struggle with difficult conversations or avoid necessary confrontation
- Want to understand your reactions under pressure
- Need to build stronger relationships across differences
- Feel surprised by how others perceive you in tense situations
- Aspire to lead with confidence when stakes are high
The CIQ program provides the essential foundation every professional needs to lead effectively in today's collaborative, high-pressure work environment. If conflict feels like an obstacle to your success, CIQ will teach you to make it your strategic asset.
Upon Completion
Participants who successfully complete this program will earn a verified Certificate of Participation and an official Digital Badge—valuable credentials that showcase your commitment to professional growth and can be shared on LinkedIn or digital portfolios. View our sample program badge and certificate below.
Important Notice: This is a non-credit program. Completion does not provide academic credit toward any degree program at Teachers College or other institutions. No transcript credit will be awarded.