What are generations? Generations are groupings of people based on their date of birth into time periods of about 15 years. The five most recent generations are: The Silents / Traditionalists (born between around 1925-1945); The Baby Boomers (born between around 1946-1964); Generation X (born between around 1965-1979); Millennials / Gen Y (born between around […]
Intergenerational Conflict Read More »
Goal setting is a standard first step in most coaching models. However, goal setting is not always easy or even useful! In this article I will explore some of the potential downsides of goal setting and consider some possible alternatives. “Knowing how and when to set goals in coaching, knowing how to gauge the client’s readiness to
CRITICAL REFLECTION: Goal Setting Read More »
Many of the challenges that arise when neurodiverse and neurotypical people are involved in conflict are due to each person’s different way of experiencing, expressing and regulating emotions, and also the neurotypical assumptions on which many of our conflict resolution processes are based. With greater understanding and flexible approaches in the way we support diverse people
Neurodiversity, emotions and conflict Read More »
In our Conflict Leadership Program last month, we discussed various challenges in our practice as mediators, conflict management coaches, and conflict management consultants. While there were a number of themes (including working with clients exhibiting challenging behaviours and managing strong emotions), surprisingly, the most commonly mentioned challenges were the limitations that are imposed by the systems
Challenges in our practice – hearing from the practitioners Read More »
The Australian National Mediation Accreditation System Practice Standards refer to power in a number of parts: “A mediator must have knowledge [about] the dynamics of power and violence.” (Clause 10.1(a)(i)) “A mediator must be alert to changing balances of power in mediation and manage the mediation accordingly”. (Clause 6.1) “A mediator must have the ability
CRITICAL REFLECTION: Power balancing Read More »
THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF CONFLICT MATTERS has been written by Carol Bowen, presenter of our webinar about menopause and conflict. In the past ten years of my conflict resolution practice, it became clear to me that there was an increase in my coaching work of people, roughly between the ages of 40 and 55, desperately
Menopause and conflict Read More »
When mediators and coaches first learn how to mediate or coach, they are often taught a particular process with step-by-step instructions. This gives them a framework to follow as they practice and develop their skills. However, rigidly following those frameworks in the long term is likely to be problematic. Firstly, it may indicate that the practitioner
Adapting our box – co-designing a conflict resolution process Read More »
This is the first in a series of short articles that I’ll be sharing in the following months to encourage critical reflection about some of the things that are typically taught in standard facilitative mediation training. These ideas have arisen from my work supervising and mentoring new mediators, who often face challenges when putting their
CRITICAL REFLECTION: Ground rules Read More »
There has been a renewed interest in the intervention of reality testing in mediation in Australia with the release in December 2022 of research conducted by Lola Akin Ojelabi and Alysoun Boyle, funded by the Mediator Standards Board of Australia. The authors note at the start of the report that the phrase used in the
Can we take the “reality” out of reality testing? Read More »
I’m not a skilled jazz musician. In fact, I played the violin for many years and was part of a youth orchestra – there was no room for improvisation in that setting! However, I have always loved jazz. Jazz is a great metaphor for constructive approaches to conflict. There is also so much we can learn from the
Jazz and conflict resolution Read More »
