Your book illustrates five styles of conflict management by drawing parallels from the animal kingdom. Which animal do you most closely resemble?

Read the following descriptions and click on the animal that best illustrates the way you typically deal with conflict.

Because the relationship is of little consequence and their goals are also of low importance, turtles withdraw from conflicts and avoid any type of confrontation. Turtles often see resolving the conflict as hopeless, and they feel helpless about changing the situation.

Because they value their goals highly and give low priority to retaining relationships, sharks respond to conflict by attacking, overpowering, and intimidating others, forcing them to accept their solution to the conflict. Sharks consider conflicts to be contests in which one person wins and the other loses, and they want to win.

To teddy bears the relationship is extremely important, and thus they're willing to give up their own goals. They have a high need to be accepted and liked, and they avoid conflict because they believe that they can't address conflicts without damaging relationships.

Foxes are moderately concerned with achieving their goals and maintaining a good relationship. Consequently, they seek compromise. They're willing to give up part of their goals if the other person will too; in that way both sides gain something.

Owls value their goals as well as the relationship with the other person. Consequently, their solution is to confront the other person to seek a solution that achieves the goals of both themselves and the other person.