Finally, we conclude with some cautions about the potential downsides of the Compromising style. Overall, this style takes the needs of both parties into account, so it works moderately well in a wide variety of conflict situations. However, the main downside of Compromising is that truly innovative solutions that solve complex problems *permanently*, generally need to delve into the deeper interests and values of the parties involved.

We sometimes see leaders who are overscheduled / overburdened working in constant ‘crisis mode’ and over-relying on a very practical compromising approach for all conflicts. This can push the real team-dynamic issues down the road and perpetuate conflict rather than solve it at its root, which would require the time and attention of the problem-solving approach instead.

We also sometimes see that less empathic or overly task-oriented people over-rely on compromising, where instead they should develop better supportive leadership and listening skills to really hear what is going on for their team. Check out the other sessions or the skills section to add some more tools to your toolbox.