Most of us would not find it hard to think of an example of a time when someone has come to us to vent about someone else. Have you ever tried to help and found things got a little messier? You are not alone. Here’s a simple scenario: Jim walks into your office… Read more →
Conflict
On Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance. That word has come up a lot over the past year in different contexts and I thought I should spend some time reflecting on it. Leon Festinger, an American social psychologist, proposed that, as human beings, we strive for psychological consistency and when we encounter a situation where we hold two… Read more →
Big Ears, Big Heart
The biggest communication problem is that we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply. (Unknown) … Read more →
Leveraging HR Partnerships to Optimize Organizational Health: Best Practices in Conflict Management
The call was like many others that our mediation firm has received over the years. A Senior HR leader was calling about a particular department that had been experiencing acute tensions on the team. What had initially started as interpersonal strain between a manager and a few staff had proliferated over time and was… Read more →
Let Them Fight
13 years ago, I took my second son, then a newborn, to the office to meet my coworkers. I will never forget how ecstatic one of my colleagues was at the news we had two little boys. Boys are the best, Adrian exclaims. His eyes dance with life. They will grow up to be… Read more →
Where Does Mediation Fit in a Workplace Complaint Process? 4 Considerations
Recently I fielded a call from an HR manager who was contacting me because the outcome of a workplace investigation recommended mediation. This is actually not that unusual. Workplace investigators (both internal HR specialists and external consultants) commonly recommend mediation after a respectful workplace or harassment complaint has been filed, investigated and determined. There is often a… Read more →