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Upcoming sessions
Fall session
| Date(s) | November 10, 2026 |
| Time | 8:30am - 4:30 pm |
| Format | In-person |
| Location | James W. Burns Executive Education Centre |
| Cost | $965 +GST |
Registration and fees
For this session, program fees cover all materials, breakfast, and lunch. Materials will be provided at the start of the program unless otherwise noted. For any questions, please contact our team or visit our FAQ page.
Overview and impact
From delivering bad news to managing disputes between employees, managers often face a range of conflict situations and difficult conversations that can be challenging and stressful to navigate.
Conflict is a natural part of any workplace — but left unaddressed, it becomes a leading driver of productivity loss, absenteeism, and low morale. Leading Through Conflict gives managers and leaders the practical skills to handle difficult conversations effectively and guide their teams through disagreement toward workable solutions.
Using role-playing exercises and real-world cases, participants work closely with the program instructor to explore the dynamics of workplace conflict and develop strategies they can apply immediately across a range of situations and organizations. The program is designed to be highly interactive — participants work through realistic scenarios rather than theory alone, so skills are practiced and ready to apply from day one back at work.
At the conclusion of the program, participants also receive a Certificate of Completion from the I.H. Asper School of Business’ James W. Burns Executive Education Centre.
Learning outcomes
Through this program, you will:
- Consider the key factors that turn productive disagreements over ideas into personal friction and conflict
- Understand the "fight or flight" responses that keep people from having necessary but difficult conversations
- Identify your own conflict-handling style and form plans for improving your own effectiveness
- Develop strategies for getting difficult, confrontational people to engage in real problem-solving
- Balance the two priorities of conflict management - communicating to restore relationships, and communicating to build solutions
- Leave more confident and prepared to manage the conflicts and 'difficult conversations' you face in your own job
Participant profile
This program is ideal for managers and leaders who want to better understand their conflict resolution style, build confidence in handling difficult conversations, and develop practical tools for reaching workable outcomes for an advanced level of application.
Return on investment
For you
- Gain a clearer understanding of your own conflict style and how to adapt it to different people and situations.
- Build confidence in initiating and managing difficult conversations before they escalate.
- Develop practical strategies for de-escalating tension and redirecting conflict toward problem-solving.
- Leave with skills you can apply immediately to real situations in your workplace.
For your organization
- Reduce the productivity and morale costs associated with unresolved workplace conflict.
- Equip managers with tools to address disputes constructively before they require formal intervention.
- Foster a workplace culture where difficult conversations are handled with skill and respect.
- Strengthen team cohesion by developing leaders who can navigate disagreement and rebuild trust.
Instructor
Lukas Neville, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Asper Behavioural Management Fellow
I. H. Asper Business School , University of Manitoba
Lukas Neville is an associate professor of organizational behaviour at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. He holds a Ph.D. from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. Dr. Neville teaches in the BComm, MBA, and Executive Education programs at the Asper School, and has facilitated training and workshops for audiences in a range of industries, including telecommunications, health care, and financial services.
His research and teaching interests relate to helping individuals, organizations, and teams recover from conflict and workplace transgressions. His most recent research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, relates to forgiveness in the workplace, and his previous research has been published in journals in the fields of management and organizational psychology.
His teaching has been recognized with a range of awards, including the Reg Litz MBA Luminary Teaching Award, the Associates Achievement Award for Teaching, the University of Manitoba Merit Award for Teaching, and the CSA Golden Shovel.
Discover more
Contact us
James W. Burns Executive Education Centre
2nd floor
177 Lombard Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0W5
204-946-0232
204-946-0262