The Breakthrough Course: Leading and Communicating in Volatile Times

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Save 60% on this course by subscribing to The Understory as a Founding Member 〰️

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What if you could use conflict to get smarter and stronger?

The Good Conflict Breakthrough Course is a self-paced, dynamic course that equips you to lead, communicate, and thrive in today’s volatile climate. Drawing from their extensive conflict reporting and resolution backgrounds, Amanda & Hélène offer distilled, proven strategies that have equipped thousands of leaders to use conflict to get stronger.

Your full color, 56-page customized playbook for managing each new conflict that comes your way.

What You Will Learn

The Good Conflict Breakthrough Course features 6 modules, each broken into 5-minute, high-energy video lessons, for a total of 3 hours of content and 3 hours of accompanying practical skill exercises.

  • The problem, the solution, and what you’ll get from this course. A radical new way to think about discord. (Hint: Conflict is not the problem. High conflict is.)

  • Choose one case-study conflict from your past or present and work alongside Amanda and Hélène to map the hidden players, the four “fire starters” that lead to toxic conflict, and new openings. Get the conflict out of your head and onto paper–where you can see it more clearly.

  • Discover the four root causes driving every difficult conflict, from politics to gang violence to labor disputes. Learn the transformative “looping” technique for listening in conflict–along with 15 revealing questions to ask in difficult conversations.

  • Now that you know what a conflict is really about, you can dig into it constructively. Learn to issue the invitation, manage emotions, and prepare for tough conversations according to what actually works.

  • Identify strategies you can use to make healthy conflict easier–even normal–in your organization. Choose from a menu of evidence-based options (including the “magic ratio,” humor, music, “10% vulnerability,” and food…of course!) to embed healthy conflict into your team’s everyday rituals, habits, and routines.

  • Solidify your new Good Conflict skills with strategies for maintaining these practices and using your playbook effectively. When you finish Module 6, you'll know how to prevent common mistakes, adapt to new and evolving challenges, and prevent relapse into old habits.

The Most Robust Training We've Ever Created

What you’ll get:

  • Complete Access to the Program for 1 Year

  • 6 Modules of Course Content

  • 38 Video Lessons

  • 3 Hours of Video Education

  • Downloadable Audio Files for Each Lesson

  • A full-color, 56-page digital workbook with resources and exercises to help you create your own personal conflict playbook

  • Good Conflict Certificate of Completion

Unlock the tools you need to lead, communicate, and thrive in volatile times.

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We also offer interactive corporate, team and group trainings via The Breakthrough Course LIVE. Designed for lasting culture change with real-time coaching from our co-founders Amanda Ripley & Hélène Biandudi Hofer.

TEAM OFFERINGS

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Leaders and Communicators including CEOs, school superintendents, philanthropists, HR execs, college administrators and faith leaders. Anyone who needs to listen and be heard in our current age of unpredictable conflict.

  • The Good Conflict Breakthrough Course features six modules, each broken into 5-minute, high-energy videos, for a grand total of 3 hours of highly practical content and another 3 hours (or so) of accompanying skill exercises.

  • Your course will be taught by the founders of Good Conflict: veteran journalists and conflict navigators Hélène Biandudi Hofer and Amanda Ripley.

    To read Hélène and Amanda’s bios, click here →

  • We understand the hesitation. It can be hard to prioritize a self-paced course. That’s why we used all of our experience as media creators to make these lessons fast-paced, clear, and entertaining–and it’s why we offer synchronous, live options where participants can engage directly with us and each other each month.

    Conflict can be very isolating. It’s critical to know that you are not alone. This experience is carefully designed to build connections, share wisdom, find commonalities, and cultivate the courage to do conflict differently–together.

  • No one comes to us with a lot of spare time. They always need practical help quickly. That’s why the Good Conflict Breakthrough Course is designed to be taken at your own pace — and broken into efficient, manageable videos, each less than 5 minutes long.

    Teams can take the course on their own timetable and then come together to discuss what they’ve learned with each other–or together with our founders Amanda & Hélène through the Breakthrough Course LIVE. Learn more about this hybrid offering here.

  • It’s a valid concern. Every conflict and organization is a little different. That said, human behavior in conflict is pretty consistent (for better and for worse). The Good Conflict Breakthrough Course provides a foundation in universal principles and proven skills that apply to every conflict, from professional to political to personal. The techniques you’ll learn, from conflict mapping to tactical listening and investigating the understory, can then be customized further, if you’d like, through our live, in-person, or virtual workshops as well as our monthly Q&A sessions and 1-1 coaching sessions.

  • We do offer scholarships for those who would be unable to afford to take the Breakthrough Course otherwise. To request more information about this discounted rate, please click here →.

  • Yes! Companies, schools and nonprofit networks can purchase the course at a discounted rate so that everyone has the opportunity to learn from the same playbook—which is how lasting culture change happens.

    To learn more, click here to view our Teams & Enterprise Offerings page →

  • “Listening and moving beyond assumptions and partisan positioning are the necessary skills in the 21st century. The Good Conflict framework and the wisdom of Amanda and Hélène are essential supports.”

    — Roseanne Haggerty, President & CEO, Community Solutions

  • “Amanda Ripley was exactly what our superintendents needed during these crazy times. She provided them with stories, knowledge, and skills. They felt seen and heard by her—through her words.”

    — Mary M. Bourque, Executive Director, Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents

  • “Hélène brilliantly created a safe, inclusive space for individuals who frequently encounter conflict in serving families together. Her ability to foster open dialogue and help us navigate complex emotions was invaluable. I had a leader at CPS tell me, ‘This was incredible. I want to figure out a way to train all CPS workers in Good Conflict!’’

    —Dr. Ashley Cross, Executive Director, HOPE585

  • “If I could wave a magic wand, I’d make Good Conflict training required in every newsroom. Amanda and Hélène expertly support [teams] in identifying opportunities for change and walking them through practical methods.”

    — Jennifer Brandel, Co-Founder & CEO, Hearken

  • “The Good Conflict team are experts at teaching the skills required to remain open to challenge and debate. Amanda and Hélène modeled the behaviors that any team should seek to build. We had an opportunity to learn the theory, practice the skills, and share our thoughts. It was fun-filled and challenging.”

    — Meridiem Investment Management, London, UK

  • “High Conflict should be required reading for everyone in politics and the media—and for anyone who’s had a squabble with a colleague or a blowup at a family gathering.”

    — Adam Grant, Organizational psychologist at Wharton, #1 NYT bestselling author of THINK AGAIN, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

  • “You get volunteers who are very passionate about something as big as climate change and there's a lot of feelings involved. The techniques from the course are very helpful in terms of making sure people feel heard. You get more emotions. They're more ready to hear you, because they feel like they've been heard.”

    — Alex Marianyi, Volunteer State Coordinator and Congressional Liaison, Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Don’t let conflict derail your mission (and your sanity) any longer.

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Not ready to commit to the Breakthrough Course?
Take our 40 minute Intro Course instead!

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