Koru Logo
Team Intelligence Toolsa project by Koru Consulting GmbH

Team Check: Conflict Escalation Analysis

Do you know where your team really stands — or are you just guessing?

In most leadership teams, it's not the loud conflicts that do the damage — it's the ones nobody talks about. In 7 minutes, you'll know where you really stand. 40 questions, developed on the basis of Friedrich Glasl's escalation model and reviewed with him personally.

The most expensive illusion in leadership teams

"Everything's fine with us." That's the sentence I hear most often from teams where things are anything but fine. Conflicts in leadership teams rarely show up as loud arguments. They show up as meetings without results, decisions nobody really stands behind, and good people who quietly leave. The tricky part: the better a team works on the outside, the longer the damage stays invisible.

Why it pays to look early

70%

of all team conflicts escalate because they're recognized too late

Source: Glasl, Konfliktmanagement

30–50%

of leaders' working time goes into friction and unresolved conflicts.

Source: KPMG conflict cost study

9 stages

make up Friedrich Glasl's well-known escalation model. Up to stage 3, you can usually resolve a conflict yourselves. Beyond that, you need help from outside.

Source: Glasl's model of escalation stages

What you'll have in hand after 7 minutes

  • Your escalation level according to Glasl, in black and white instead of a gut feeling.
  • The answer to the most important question: can you sort this out yourselves, or do you need someone from outside?
  • Concrete next steps that fit your level.
  • A plain-language result you can discuss right away with your co-founders or fellow executives.

40 questions, 7 minutes: then you'll know your escalation level.

1

Answer 40 short questions

Simple: yes, partly or no. No preparation needed. Just your honest answers.

2

Understand your tensions

Based on Glasl's escalation model, you get a clear assessment — and understand what it means.

3

Take away concrete recommendations

Actionable recommendations that fit your team's escalation level.

7 minutes, and you'll know where you stand.

Find out whether you can sort it out yourselves or need support

Frequently asked questions

We keep escalating in meetings – is that bad?
No, that's first and foremost a signal that something isn't working, and it happens in every team. What matters is how you deal with it as a team, whether you can talk about it, and whether the issue matters for the organization's development, or whether you risk sliding into an escalation spiral. The Conflict Escalation Check shows you in 5 minutes where your team actually stands, and whether you can resolve it yourselves or need outside support.
How do we notice that we're escalating right now?
Typical signals: blame starts piling up, agreements stop holding, people talk more about each other than with each other. Direct communication drops, people prefer email. Shared lunches or coffee breaks stop happening. And team meetings get louder and run longer. When several of these show up together, it's worth a closer look.
What are Glasl's escalation stages – explained briefly?
Imagine two colleagues arguing about how a task should get done. At first, they just disagree. But bit by bit, the argument gets more heated. At some point, it's no longer about the task at all, it's about who wins and who loses. That's exactly the kind of development Friedrich Glasl's escalation model describes. Stages 1–3 (win–win): People argue, but a shared solution is still possible. Stages 4–6 (win–lose): Trust is lost. It's increasingly about power and about winning. People look for allies. Stages 7–9 (lose–lose): In the end, both sides lose. The wish to hurt the other side is so strong that people accept their own losses. In detail, the stages are: 1. Hardening – "We just see this differently." 2. Debate and polemics – "I'm right!" 3. Actions, not words – "Talking won't help anyway!" 4. Images and coalitions – "The other side is wrong. My colleagues see it just like I do!" 5. Loss of face – "Now everyone should see how impossible you are!" 6. Threat strategies – "If you don't back down, then …!" 7. Limited destructive blows – "Now I'll pay you back!" 8. Fragmentation – "You're going to lose everything!" 9. Together into the abyss – "What matters is that you go down too, no matter the cost!" In short: at first people argue over an issue. Later they fight each other. In the end, all they want is to hurt each other.
At what stage is a conversation within the team no longer enough?
As long as both sides can still win, you can usually sort it out yourselves, or with support from a trained person inside the company. Between stages 3–4 it turns into an us-against-them dynamic, positions harden, and you often need a neutral outside perspective. The check shows you exactly where you stand.
We're co-founders in conflict – what now?
The earlier, the better: get a neutral outside perspective before the conflict hardens into fixed positions. Ideally as soon as you notice the mood getting worse and meetings getting louder more often. In my experience, founding teams usually come too late. I get requests like "Sandra, we keep escalating in our meetings", and from the story, it sounds like stage 2–3. On closer inspection (e.g. through individual interviews), it turns out the conflict is already at stage 4 or 5. Which means valuable time has already been lost. The Conflict Escalation Check shows you in 7 minutes where you stand and what helps next.

Professionally grounded – practical in use

40 questions, developed and reviewed with Friedrich Glasl personally. His escalation model is the gold standard in conflict research — these questions make it practical for leadership teams (you'll find links to the books further down). Once again, a heartfelt thank-you to you, dear Friedrich Glasl, for your wonderful support and expertise!

Good to know

The check gives you a well-founded assessment — not a therapeutic diagnosis. Every conflict has its own story, and no questionnaire can capture every nuance. But: a clear assessment is the most important first step toward taking the right action — whether you can sort things out internally or outside support would make sense.

Show sources and background