birds

New FBI Report Highlights Disturbing Statistics: Tips to Help You Stay on the Path of Inclusion

The FBI recently released its annual hate crimes report, showing that “bias-motivated crimes based on race, religion, disability and gender remain at troublingly high levels.”  The Human Rights Campaign signaled increased attention to the report of hate crime numbers based on sexual orientation that represent almost 17% of all hate…

convo

How to Turn Differing Perspectives into Your Team’s Advantage

As more and more organizations look to enhance their current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, the concept of “psychological safety” is a renewed area of focus. Widely considered to be the “Father of Employee Engagement”, Professor and researcher Daniel Kahn discussed the concept of psychological safety in the workplace…

meeting conflict

3 Tips to Help You & Your Organization Manage Conflict Right Now

70% of workers claim that right now is the most stressful time of their entire professional careers. A global pandemic, working from home, virtual classrooms, and an uncertain economy are all contributing factors to these high levels of stress. Higher stress levels combined with social distancing and remote communications can…

Detour

How Taking a Detour can lead to Greater Fulfillment in Your Work

My 7-year daughter has a good friend who lives right up the street.  Since this friend lives so close, my daughter and I will often walk her home when they are done playing together at our house.  We usually take the same short route to her house but, last night…

repetition to resolution

From Repetition to Resolution

Do you ever feel like you are caught in a conflict cycle with someone else?  You keep having the same argument, or the same thing is repeated, over and over again with no way out? Conflict resolution practitioners know that when someone keeps repeating themselves – mentioning the same issue,…

relax refresh recharge

Mini-Breaks are the New Thing!

The phrase “let’s take a break” has vastly different meanings to different people.  For some it may mean a quick stand and stretch break at their desk or a pause to grab a second cup of coffee down the hallway.  For others, a break means going for a long walk,…

culture

Worst Practices in Workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Seven Things to Avoid

Not all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training efforts are created equal. While recent events have prompted many organizations to focus on improving their DEI efforts, these initiatives often fail over the long term. They sound good and they’re well-intentioned, so why aren’t they more successful? In this final installment…

diversity

Emerging Trends and Opportunities in Workplace Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Recent events in America have revealed a chasm that’s existed for hundreds of years: systemic racism. To address it, many organizations are attempting to create stronger diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) change agendas. We’ve asked three experts to weigh in on recent trends they’ve seen in workplace DEI initiatives and the steps…

conversations

Words and Phrases that Transform Conversations II

Words That Generalize Word choice is often discredited as a major element of good communication, in favor of other elements such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. But the words you use play a crucial role in causing and in resolving conflict. If you introduced your friend…

brainstorming

Breaking the Brainstorming Habit

When I first became a trained mediator in the mid-90s, brainstorming was all the rage. Management journals touted the benefits of hosting in-person, group brainstorming to promote creativity in organizations.  Leadership associations sponsored trainings on how to lead visual brainstorming activities in meetings.  In fact, mediation course curriculums always included…