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RelationshipsFramework-based· Two-axis conflict-handling model

Identify Your Conflict Style, Free 20-Question Assessment

Take the free Conflict Style assessment online. Discover your default conflict approach: standing firm, solving together, meeting halfway, sidestepping, or giving way. 20 questions on how you handle disagreement.

20 questions2 min
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The basics

What is the Conflict Styles?

Conflict researchers have long described five broad ways people handle disagreement, based on two questions: how firmly you pursue your own needs, and how much you work to meet the other person's. Your default sits somewhere on that map, and knowing where makes it easier to choose on purpose.

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The five styles are: Standing Firm (assertive, uncooperative, winning matters most), Solving Together (assertive, cooperative, finding the best solution for everyone), Meeting Halfway (moderate on both, splitting the difference), Sidestepping (unassertive, uncooperative, steering clear of the conflict), and Giving Way (unassertive, cooperative, yielding to others). Each style fits 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.

Closely related
What you get

What You'll Discover

Your conflict style profile across all five styles
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

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📚Scientific validation

Conflict Styles is grounded in published psychometric research:

Conflict Styles

This tool is a JobCannon-original, simplified 20-item self-report built on a widely used two-axis idea of conflict handling (how much you press for your own concerns, and how much you work for the other party's). It uses its own wording and labels and carries no independent reliability data of its own.

Thomas, K. W. (1976). Framed conflict handling as five orientations defined by two things: concern for your own outcomes and concern for the other party's. Conflict and conflict management. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (pp. 889-935). Rand McNally

De Dreu, C. K. W., & Weingart, L. R. (2003). Meta-analysis found both task conflict AND relationship conflict correlate negatively with team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 741-749 source

  • Standing Firm (assertive, win-focused), Solving Together (assertive and cooperative, solution-focused), Meeting Halfway (moderate, give-and-take), Sidestepping (unassertive, steering clear), Giving Way (unassertive, yielding). Each style involves a trade-off between assertiveness and cooperativeness.

  • No single style is universally best. Standing Firm is appropriate in emergencies; Solving Together is best for complex, high-stakes issues; Meeting Halfway works under time pressure; Sidestepping suits trivial issues; Giving Way is right when preserving the relationship outweighs the outcome. The goal is using the right style for each situation.

  • Understanding your default style helps you recognize when it is working against you. People who sidestep too often miss chances to speak up for themselves. People who stand firm too often damage relationships. Awareness is the first step to choosing more flexible, situationally appropriate responses.

  • The two-axis idea behind it (assertiveness and cooperativeness) has decades of research in organizational psychology. This test is JobCannon's own short self-report: it describes your habitual tendencies, has no independently published reliability data, and is meant for self-reflection rather than hiring decisions.

Take the Conflict Style Assessment Now

Discover your Conflict Styles profile. 20 questions, 2 min.

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For hiring teams

Use this after the hire, not to make it

What each person defaults to when a disagreement gets hot, so the team can name it before it costs a quarter.

JobCannon for teams

Explore all results in depth

Already taken the test, or just curious? Read the in-depth guide for any result — strengths, challenges, career matches, famous people, and FAQs. See every result on one page.

Standing Firm, Your Conflict Style
Assertive, direct, pursue your goals with intensity
Solving Together, Your Conflict Style
Creative problem-solving, win-win solutions, deep trust
Meeting Halfway, Your Conflict Style
Middle ground, split the difference, pragmatic balance
Sidestepping, Your Conflict Style
Withdrawal, postponement, sidestep the issue entirely
Giving Way, Your Conflict Style
Prioritize others' needs, preserve relationships, self-sacrifice