Take the free Conflict Style assessment online. Discover your default conflict approach, competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, or accommodating. 20 questions based on the Thomas-Kilmann model.
No signup needed — your result appears instantly.
Competing (assertive, win-focused), Collaborating (assertive + cooperative, solution-focused), Compromising (moderate, give-and-take), Avoiding (unassertive, sidestepping), Accommodating (unassertive, yielding). Each mode involves a trade-off between assertiveness and cooperativeness.
No single style is universally best. Competing is appropriate in emergencies; Collaborating is best for complex, high-stakes issues; Compromising works under time pressure; Avoiding suits trivial issues; Accommodating is right when preserving the relationship outweighs the outcome. The goal is using the right mode for each situation.
Understanding your default mode helps you recognize when it is working against you. Heavy avoiders miss opportunities to advocate for themselves. Heavy competitors damage relationships. Awareness is the first step to choosing more flexible, situationally appropriate responses.
Yes. The TKI has decades of research supporting its reliability and validity for measuring conflict behavior in organizations. It is used by HR professionals, mediators, executive coaches, and organizational psychologists worldwide.
Take the free Conflict Style assessment online. Discover your default conflict approach, competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, or accommodating. 20 questions based on the Thomas-Kilmann model.
The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) is the world's most widely used conflict-style assessment, employed by organizations and mediators globally. Developed by Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann, it identifies five conflict modes based on two dimensions: how assertively you pursue your own needs and how cooperatively you address others'.
The five modes are: Competing (assertive, uncooperative, winning matters most), Collaborating (assertive, cooperative, finding the best solution for everyone), Compromising (moderate on both, splitting the difference), Avoiding (unassertive, uncooperative, sidestepping conflict), and Accommodating (unassertive, cooperative, yielding to others). Each mode is appropriate in certain situations; the goal is versatility.
JobCannon's 20-question Conflict Style Assessment reveals your default conflict profile, the situations where each of your modes serves you well, where your default becomes a liability, and how to develop greater conflict flexibility for more effective professional and personal relationships.
Your conflict mode profile across all five Thomas-Kilmann dimensions
Which situations call for your natural conflict style and which require adaptation
Where overusing your default mode creates problems in relationships
How to shift modes strategically to get better outcomes
How your conflict style shows up in workplace negotiations and team dynamics
When I disagree, I push hard to get my way.
Competing
20 questions, 10 min. Auto-advance — no manual Next.
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Take the free Conflict Style assessment online. Discover your default conflict approach, competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, or accommodating. 20 questions based on the Thomas-Kilmann model.
No signup needed — your result appears instantly.
Competing (assertive, win-focused), Collaborating (assertive + cooperative, solution-focused), Compromising (moderate, give-and-take), Avoiding (unassertive, sidestepping), Accommodating (unassertive, yielding). Each mode involves a trade-off between assertiveness and cooperativeness.
No single style is universally best. Competing is appropriate in emergencies; Collaborating is best for complex, high-stakes issues; Compromising works under time pressure; Avoiding suits trivial issues; Accommodating is right when preserving the relationship outweighs the outcome. The goal is using the right mode for each situation.
Understanding your default mode helps you recognize when it is working against you. Heavy avoiders miss opportunities to advocate for themselves. Heavy competitors damage relationships. Awareness is the first step to choosing more flexible, situationally appropriate responses.
Yes. The TKI has decades of research supporting its reliability and validity for measuring conflict behavior in organizations. It is used by HR professionals, mediators, executive coaches, and organizational psychologists worldwide.
