As I wait for the shipment of my new book on apology to arrive…two excellent pieces on this very topic floated through my digital inbox. Yesterday, Forbes columnist Erika Andersen discussed the role of apology in leadership. I was particularly struck by the connections she makes between respect, responsibility, and courage. She and I are […]
Tag Archives: Conflict
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I arrived at the client’s location and was being given the grand tour, as well as my hosts’ perception of the conflicts I was there to mediate. As we chatted about the upcoming session, one of them smilingly asked, “Are we the worst group you’ve ever worked with?” Almost EVERY group asks me something along […]
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>My friend Kathy (names changed to protect privacy) asked for help in dealing with conflict in one of her project groups. As she told me more about it, I doodled a rough map of the relationships between each of the individuals as well as the different organizations involved in the project. It has been my […]
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>This fall I am teaching two classes through SRJC’s Community Education program. I am really excited about this – I’ve been trying to get on their calendar for two or three years! Now I just need enough of you to go sign up to stay on it! Meetings That Work! (I really prefer the title […]
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>I love this quote by my colleague Laird Schaub, on conflict: “In the end it doesn’t matter to me who started it. I want to know who’s willing to end it.” To me, it really speaks to the difference between mediation and arbitration. A mediator helps the parties hear and understand each other’s point of […]
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I live in a cohousing community and work with many others as a facilitator, trainer, and consultant. The most common issue for which communities hire me has to do with work – or more accurately, how to get members who aren’t doing their agreed-upon share of the work to get with the program. What is […]
>The nature of my work is such that I spend a lot of time listening to people talk about the problems/challenges that are going on in their organization or community. It seems to be human nature to assign some degree of blame to a person or people identified as “difficult.” “If only A would stop […]
>Most of the classes and workshops that I teach are born out of my own desire or need to learn and explore the topic. I learn SO much in the process of developing the workshop…and every time I teach, I learn something new from the interaction among my students. I just updated my calendar of […]
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>I spent Saturday in a workshop on Kinesthetic Modeling (KM), a right-brain, hands-on, 3-D facilitation tool. Like a child with a new toy or a craftsperson with a new tool, I am itching to play with it some more! I first heard of KM from my colleagues Andrea Saveri and Leslie Salmon-Zhu; we used it […]
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>Just signed up for mediator certification training with RECOURSE Conflict Resolution Services, a community-based organization that offers community mediation in Sonoma County. I look forward to volunteering with them afterwards.
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