Respond to conflict early with - without escalation, avoidance, or burning out your team.
A practical, restorative-first course for leaders who need a repeatable way to handle hard conversations, behaviour issues, and fractured working relationships, while protecting trust, fairness, and good processes that hold up to scrutiny.
96%
Report immediate, practical application to their work
99%
Would recommend this course to others
99%
Feel the content is engaging & delivered by a skilled facilitator.
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Eligible for Continuing Education Credits with CPHR Alberta
​It starts as:
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A comment that lands wrong
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A performance frustration that flares up into personal issues
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A team split or division
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A behaviour nobody wants to address (until it's too late and it causes an incident that can't be ignored.
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Leaders need tools to navigate these situations - they can't be avoided, but an immediate turn to a formal process doesn't always feel right. A tough conversation could find the middle ground, but how do you navigate that conversation? This course provides you with a roadmap for navigating situations like these by teaching you a structured, restorative-first approach that helps you respond early, clearly, and credibly. Available through the Authentik Academy, or experience our content through Athabasca University's PowerEd!
What you get
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A repeatable step-by-step process for everyday conflict
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Identify what’s actually driving the conflict (needs, harm, patterns), not just the argument
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You know how to choose the right path: informal resolution vs. formal process, and navigate the difference with defensible, fair processes.
Course Snapshot
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Format: self-paced, scenario-based modules that start with basics and build knowledge.
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Built for: supervisors, managers, frontline leads - anyone who leads people!
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Access: available on Authentik OR Athabasca University PowerEd.
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Outcome: clearer conversations, faster resolution to conflicts, and fewer repeat issues
Who is it for?
This course is built for leaders who deal with conflict as part of the job—and want a practical, respectful way to handle it early.
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People leaders & supervisors who need a repeatable way to address issues before they escalate
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HR / Student Services / Conduct / Case managers who want language, structure, and defensible process
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Frontline team leads who need confidence in hard conversations without damaging relationships
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New or emerging leaders who want practical tools to enhance their leadership skills
Outcome
By the end of this course, you’ll have a simple, repeatable approach for handling conflict early—without escalating people or avoiding the conversation. You’ll know what to say, what to document, and how to move toward resolution with clarity.
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Run a structured conflict resolution conversation from start to finish
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Identify what’s really driving the conflict (needs, harm, patterns) and address those needs with a Restorative Justice lens
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Choose the right path: informal resolution vs. formal process
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Document cleanly and consistently (so decisions are defensible)
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Repair trust after conflict and reduce repeat issues
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Handle difficult behaviour with fairness and confidence
Conflict rarely starts as a "Big Incident".
The Course
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8 modules of structured information delivered via a total of 25 videos.
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Scenario-based learning activities to practice the skills being taught in the course.
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A globally recognized digital credential (CanCred) to show your skills 
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Optional continuing education credit hours (for eligible professionals) 
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Support that’s actually support: Video Call tutorials with a course facilitator & real feedback on assignments 
What you'll learn
You’ll move through:
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Learning to use a simple 3-question model to resolve conflict: What happened? → What’s the impact? → What needs to happen to make it right?
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Identify the real harm (not just the story): separate “what happened” from the true impact so you respond to what actually matters.
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Lead with restorative first (and still keep your formal options): start with a restorative approach that can transition to more formal action if needed.
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Apply procedural fairness / administrative justice in workplace decisions: follow policy, roles, timelines, representation, and appeals so decisions hold up.
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Avoid common leader traps that destroy trust: “gotcha” moments (Columbo Syndrome) and partial-accountability dynamics (Speeder’s Gambit)—and how to respond with clarity instead.
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Understand the full restorative conference flow, from pre-conference to agreement, to understand how the “core questions” model works.
F.A.Q
Is this for “small conflicts,” or serious issues too?
Both. It’s designed for everyday conflict and early intervention, and it also helps you recognize when an issue needs a more formal path.
Will this help me with documentation and defensibility?
Yes. You’ll learn a clean documentation pattern and the basics of procedural fairness so your decisions hold up.
How fast can I actually use this?
Immediately. The core structure is built to use in your next hard conversation, and sets you up to start practicing conflict leadership and resolution right away.
Is this self-paced?
Yes. It’s self-paced, and you also get scheduled support sessions and access to a course facilitator.
Do you offer team or organization pricing?
Yes. If you’re looking for group seats or organization training, book a consult and we’ll recommend the best fit.
Why take it through Authentik Academy vs. Athabasca University’s PowerEd?
The content is the same—the difference is where you take it.
PowerEd is the best choice for most people if you want a university learning platform and you like exploring a wide range of professional development topics beyond Authentik’s specialty area.
Choose Authentik Academy if you plan to take more courses with us and want your learning kept together inside our platform.
Meet Your Instructor
Craig Whitton has spent nearly two decades working in real-world conflict, conduct, and crisis situations—helping leaders respond early, stay fair, and get to resolution without escalating the problem. He’s taught restorative and conflict management training for professionals throughout Western Canada and the United States since 2018.
This course is the distilled experience of Craig's two decades on the job, and gives you a repeatable version of what works in practice: clear questions, a structured conversation flow, and decision-making that holds up under scrutiny.
