Author Mark Gerzon starts by outlining the three types of leaders—demagogues, managers and mediators—and gives historical examples of each. Aspects of all three types of leaders, to varying degrees, lurk not just in the pages of history but in each office or even cubicle. Each of the three types has a distinctive way of handling conflicts.

The worst kind of leader is a demagogue. Demagogues use fear to lead. They dehumanize opponents and turn them into scapegoats.

Less destructive but more common are managers. Often with disastrous results, managers define themselves by their turf. They pursue only the interests of their group and tend to be paralyzed by conflict. Gerzon uses the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as an example of the downfall of managers. State, local and federal officials were too focused on their own turfs to work together.

But the real meat of this book is about the mediators, the best type of leader. The mediator acts on behalf of the whole, not just one sector. Mediators build trust and bridges across dividing lines. They seek out innovation and opportunity in order to transform conflict.

Demagogues created the system of apartheid; managers maintained it; but it took a mediator, Mandela, to abolish it.

Gerzon’s chief example of a mediator is Nelson Mandela. Mandela wasn’t a champion just for black South Africans but for all South Africans regardless of tribal or racial identity. Demagogues, Gerzon said, created the system of apartheid; managers maintained it; but it took a mediator, Mandela, to abolish it.

Gerzon describes eight tools that mediators use to transform conflict into opportunity:

Integral vision—seeing the whole, taking in the situation and not just jumping into action

Systems thinking—understanding the elements and relationships within the conflict

Presence—the capacity to apply all of one’s mental, emotional and spiritual resources to transforming the conflict

Inquiry—asking the right questions

Conscious conversation—creating an environment where participants can communicate with each other with respect, fairness and openness

Dialogue—an inquiry-based, trust-building way of communicating

Bridging—the process of building partnerships that cross the divisions in an organization

Innovation—the creative, social or entrepreneurial breakthroughs that create new options for moving through conflict.

This book should prove especially helpful for new supervisors, managers who feel hamstrung by office politics or anyone who wants to retreat at the first sign of a workplace conflict.