Conflict Approach Archetype Test

Instructions: Choose the answer that best describes how you would naturally react or feel most comfortable responding to each conflict situation. Add up your score with each to find the primary conflict approach.

Someone openly challenges your idea in a group meeting. You:

• Immediately counter their point head-on. (Warrior)

• Calmly outline facts to regain control. (Detective)

• Smoothly shift discussion to a related topic. (Improviser)

• Use humor or charm to ease tension. (Diplomat)

• Speak up for the value of open disagreement. (Idealist)

  Your carefully planned project goes off track. Your first instinct is to:

• Revisit and adjust your plan immediately. (Strategist)

• Adapt your approach on-the-fly. (Improviser)

• Gather your team to brainstorm alternatives. (Collaborator)

• Protect critical parts and minimize damage. (Guardian)

• Take a breath and look for a peaceful compromise. (Peacemaker)

  A friend confides in you about an argument they had with someone else. You:

• Encourage them to confront the person directly. (Warrior)

• Try to understand both sides fully. (Detective)

• Help them figure out their core values. (Idealist)

• Lighten the mood to ease tension. (Improviser)

• Urge them to find a peaceful resolution. (Peacemaker)

  You suspect someone at work is undermining your efforts. Your response is to:

• Document and control the narrative carefully. (Strategist)

• Investigate discreetly to gather evidence. (Detective)

• Adapt your strategy to protect yourself. (Guardian)

• Try to confront the issue diplomatically. (Diplomat)

• Rally your support network. (Collaborator)

  You encounter unexpected resistance to your idea. You:

• Double down and argue more assertively. (Warrior)

• Break down their objections logically. (Detective)

• Offer creative alternatives they didn’t consider. (Innovator)

• Try to win them over emotionally. (Diplomat)

• Let go of the idea to preserve harmony. (Peacemaker)

  In a high-pressure situation, your typical response is:

• Take control and move decisively. (Strategist)

• Stay calm and try a bold, new approach. (Innovator)

• Default to safety and stabilize the situation. (Guardian)

• Step up and unite the group. (Collaborator)

• Hold to your values and don’t back down. (Idealist)

  When criticized, you tend to:

• Push back immediately. (Warrior)

• Look at it objectively and analyze. (Detective)

• Smile, pivot, and move on. (Improviser)

• Reflect on whether it violated your values. (Idealist)

• Find common ground to smooth things over. (Diplomat)

  Faced with a difficult choice, you:

• Think creatively to find an outside-the-box solution. (Innovator)

• Fall back on what you know works. (Guardian)

• Talk it through with others. (Collaborator)

• Break down the facts and weigh carefully. (Detective)

• Act quickly and trust your gut. (Warrior)

  If you sense a conflict brewing, you:

• Step in and mediate early. (Peacemaker)

• Let others talk while you observe and plan. (Strategist)

• Change the energy and redirect the topic. (Improviser)

• Confront it directly before it escalates. (Warrior)

• Focus on the core principles behind it. (Idealist)

  When things don’t go your way, your natural tendency is to:

• Re-strategize and find another angle. (Strategist)

• Shrug it off and adapt. (Improviser)

• Fight harder to win. (Warrior)

• Work through your values and push forward. (Idealist)

• Pull back and maintain the peace. (Peacemaker)

  Someone you care about makes a risky decision. You:

• Warn them and try to talk them out of it. (Guardian)

• Back them but make contingency plans. (Strategist)

• Encourage their bold move with ideas. (Innovator)

• Respect their choice but offer help. (Collaborator)

• Try to understand their deeper reasons. (Diplomat)

  Faced with an unfair situation, you instinctively:

• Stand up and call it out. (Warrior)

• Calmly guide others toward change. (Peacemaker)

• Create an innovative workaround. (Innovator)

• Stick to your moral principles no matter the outcome. (Idealist)

• Rally others for group action. (Collaborator)

  Your team is demotivated after a setback. Your solution is:

• Take control and give them structure. (Strategist)

• Listen and connect emotionally. (Diplomat)

• Spark momentum with something new. (Innovator)

• Reaffirm your shared values. (Idealist)

• Help protect them from more setbacks. (Guardian)

  When unsure about a decision, you:

• Invent a new path instead of choosing. (Innovator)

• Stick to what’s safest and reduce risk. (Guardian)

• Go with the option that feels most just. (Idealist)

• Ask others what they think and decide together. (Collaborator)

• Avoid choosing until it sorts itself out. (Peacemaker)

  A project you're working on faces sudden budget cuts. You:

• Adapt immediately and shift resources. (Improviser)

• Strategically cut what’s least valuable. (Strategist)

• Push for creative alternatives. (Innovator)

• Reassure others and keep morale up. (Diplomat)

• Fight to keep the essentials intact. (Guardian)

  You’re in a room full of disagreement and rising tension. You:

• Speak up boldly to cut through the noise. (Warrior)

• Propose a brand new angle no one considered. (Innovator)

• Help bridge the emotional divide. (Diplomat)

• Watch for the right time to steer the outcome. (Strategist)

• Urge everyone to calm down and find common ground. (Peacemaker)

  You’re assigned a task outside your comfort zone. You:

• Jump in and figure it out through action. (Improviser)

• Ask others to help and work as a team. (Collaborator)

• Build a fallback plan just in case. (Guardian)

• Take your time and observe before acting. (Detective)

• Lean on your values to guide your next steps. (Idealist)

  Your idea is rejected by someone in power. You:

• Refuse to back down and challenge them. (Warrior)

• Adjust the idea to be more strategic. (Strategist)

• Try to understand what matters to them emotionally. (Diplomat)

• Let it go and keep the peace. (Peacemaker)

• Revamp it into something more original. (Innovator)

  You see a friend in a self-destructive cycle. You:

• Intervene and set boundaries for them. (Guardian)

• Sit them down and walk through the facts. (Detective)

• Guide them toward collaboration and support. (Collaborator)

• Try to offer creative outlets and alternatives. (Innovator)

• Stay grounded in shared beliefs and be a moral anchor. (Idealist)

  You’re faced with a complex, unsolvable problem. You:

• Keep pushing no matter how long it takes. (Idealist)

• Break it into steps and analyze carefully. (Detective)

• Invent a wild solution and go for it. (Innovator)

• Protect key pieces and limit the damage. (Guardian)

• Gather a team and solve it together. (Collaborator)