Mediation and Conflict Resolution Officer Martin Stillman, MD, JD, explains why conflict is an opportunity – not a threat – and shares communication techniques every healthcare sales professional can use to resolve challenges with confidence.
Conflict is inevitable in healthcare. Whether it’s a disagreement between colleagues, tension with a patient or competing priorities within an organization, difficult conversations are part of doing business. Yet many professionals receive little formal training on how to navigate conflict effectively. Dr. Martin Stillman believes that’s a missed opportunity – not only for solving problems, but for strengthening relationships and creating healthier organizations.
As Mediation and Conflict Resolution Officer for Hennepin Health System, Dr. Stillman is called upon to resolve conflicts across departments and leadership teams. After seeing early success, he realized there were additional approaches that could be effective besides simply stepping in to mediate.
“We could have more widespread impact if leaders were given tools to address conflict more efficiently and confidently themselves,” he said.
With support from hospital leadership, he developed the Conflict Resolution and Facilitation Training (CRAFT) program, which was first taught within his health system before expanding to healthcare organizations nationwide. Dr. Stillman credits his organization’s chief medical officer with championing the work through a simple philosophy: “Let’s build capacity, not dependency.”
Today, Dr. Stillman is nationally recognized for helping healthcare professionals approach conflict with confidence rather than avoidance. A practicing internist, attorney and mediator, he believes conflict resolution is a learnable skill that can improve communication, teamwork and leadership.
In the following interview with Repertoire Magazine, he shares practical strategies for turning difficult conversations into productive ones – and why the ability to navigate conflict may be one of the most valuable professional skills anyone can develop.
How has the unique combination of being a physician, attorney and mediator shaped the way you view conflict in healthcare?
Dr. Martin Stillman: I find that each aspect of training plays a role. My legal training gave me skills for appreciating different positions and perspectives along with their respective strengths and weaknesses. My ongoing medical practice keeps me in touch with myriad issues that engender conflict in healthcare and promotes my passion for patient care. Finally, my mediation training, experience, and coaching have allowed me to bring it all together by approaching conflict in healthcare more skillfully, both in practice and in teaching conflict resolution.
What is it about conflict that you think people most often misunderstand?
Dr. Stillman: Without conflict, there is the risk that nothing changes. This includes changes that are necessary to move people and/or organizations forward. When people begin to shift their framework and see conflict as an opportunity, good things can come from that. I’ve been involved with many cases where individuals or groups have had substantial, challenging conflict. When they learn techniques to approach conflict resolution differently and work to see themselves through difficult challenges together, a positive and strong foundation begins to develop. This foundation then makes the next conflict they face more manageable.
What are the most common causes of conflict you see in healthcare organizations today?
Dr. Stillman: I’ve learned that causes of conflict in the workplace vary greatly and much has been written about categories of workplace conflict in general (such as differences in resource allocation, disagreements on structure and control, lack of goals and values alignment, and not feeling appreciated or heard). While the causes can vary, I find the effects of unresolved conflict on individuals and institutions to be fairly consistent and common. For individuals, these effects include increased stress and anxiety, along with difficulty concentrating both in and outside of work. At the institutional level, they show up as reduced teamwork, productivity, and retention.
How can conflict resolution skills be a differentiator for Repertoire readers?
Dr. Stillman: Becoming efficient, or at the least more self-aware and comfortable, with conflict resolution, could make representatives both feel better in their work and be more effective in resolving challenges they face.
Even taking steps to learn how to discuss differences in healthy ways can make a difference. One study from the international journal Social Science & Medicine found that those whose differences of opinion were resolved through discussion were less likely to report stress, poor general health, or absences from work due to exhaustion or sickness compared to those who reported that no attempts were made to resolve the conflict.
What are some of the more valuable lessons you’ve learned as a Mediation and Conflict Resolution Officer?
Dr. Stillman: I continue to expand my knowledge as this work continues, but here are a few lessons I’ve learned:
Many conflicts rarely go from 0 to 60 without prior fragments of conflict going unaddressed. Spend time putting out small fires, or better yet, help the participants of the conflict learn how to put out small fires themselves. This greatly reduces the risk of debilitating blazes.
It’s rarely “about the money”. More commonly, people want to be heard, valued and relevant to achieving common goals.
Keep asking “Why” when trying to understand what’s behind someone’s stance or position until you arrive at an answer you can do something with to address their concern. For example, if you ask someone why they feel this way about something, and they respond: “Because it’s important to me,” you’re not done. Your next question should be “Why is it important to you?”
When nobody will move, and breaking impasse feels unobtainable, encourage commitment by those involved to try something different for an agreed upon specified trial period. When making a change feels like it will be forever, people are afraid to be wrong and find it difficult to change. When people feel there is commitment to reexamine the issue after a defined period of time, there can be movement.
If you could teach every healthcare sales rep one communication skill tomorrow, what would it be?
Dr. Stillman: Being an effective communicator involves being an effective listener. And being an effective listener involves seeking to understand. When there is a conflict, our instinct is to immediately and passionately try to prove our point and why we are right.
Effective communicators start with trying to understand why the other person feels the way they do in order to help arrive at resolutions that might work for both of them.
To learn more about Dr. Stillman’s work visit https://healthcaremediator.com.
Key Takeaways
- Conflict is an opportunity, not just a problem: When approached with the right mindset and skills, conflict can strengthen relationships, improve teamwork and drive meaningful organizational change.
- Conflict resolution is a learnable leadership skill: Healthcare professionals and sales reps can become more confident and effective by developing practical communication and mediation techniques rather than avoiding difficult conversations.
- Listening to understand is the foundation of resolution: Asking thoughtful questions, uncovering the interests behind positions and making people feel heard are often more important than proving who is right.
- Addressing small conflicts early prevents bigger problems later: Resolving minor disagreements before they escalate improves employee well-being, teamwork, productivity, and retention while creating a healthier workplace culture.