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Frameworks & Tools · 6 min read

CDP — the Conflict Dynamics Profile: how leaders actually behave under fire

Developed at Eckerd College, the CDP is the only major assessment focused exclusively on workplace conflict behavior — measuring 15 constructive and destructive responses, and what triggers them.

What it is

The Conflict Dynamics Profile measures how a person responds to conflict across 15 behaviors — eight constructive (perspective taking, creating solutions, expressing emotions, reaching out, reflective thinking, delay responding, adapting, and emotional self-control) and seven destructive (winning at all costs, displaying anger, demeaning others, retaliating, avoiding, yielding, hiding emotions, and self-criticizing). It also identifies the 'hot buttons' that predictably trigger each leader.

Unlike the TKI, which measures style preference, the CDP measures actual behavior — and gives leaders specific, observable targets to change.

Why we love it

  • Conflict is where leadership credibility is made or lost — and the CDP is the only instrument that maps it with this much specificity.
  • The hot-button mapping is uncannily accurate. Leaders often gasp when they see, on paper, exactly what makes them lose their composure.
  • It is excellent for executive teams in transition, post-merger leadership integration, and any team where 'we just can't get past this issue' has become the refrain.
  • It pairs powerfully with FIRO-B (what people need) and EQ-i (how they self-regulate) for a full picture of a leadership team's interpersonal system.

Three takeaways

  1. 01

    Most senior leaders have one or two destructive responses they do not see in themselves — almost everyone else does.

  2. 02

    Hot buttons are predictable. Once a leader can name theirs, the recovery time between trigger and response can shrink from days to minutes.

  3. 03

    Constructive conflict behavior is a learnable skill, not a personality trait.

Three things to implement this week

  • Use the CDP at the start of any executive team engagement where the team reports 'we avoid the hard conversations.'
  • Have each leader publicly name their top hot button to the team and ask the team to flag it in the moment, without judgment.
  • Pick one destructive behavior per leader for a 90-day focus, with peer feedback at 30/60/90 days.