ADR Vantage, Inc.ADR Vantage, Inc.ADR Vantage, Inc.
In our professional field, we engage in a practice of reflection to support continual learning and development. Reflection is also a valuable way to learn from mistakes, gain perspective, generate ideas and acknowledge and celebrate achievements. As we close the year, our team has come together to share their reflections…
Last month my colleague posted a blog and hosted a webinar exploring the question of whether the language we use to talk about conflict limits the outcomes in conflict resolution and whether the term Conflict Engagement might open more possibilities. This subject, combined with some very unsatisfactory recent mediations, has…
Having been a mediator for nearly eleven years, I can’t say that I have seen it all, but I’ve certainly found myself amid plenty of intense conflicts. I’ve sat calmly at a table while people a foot away from me stood screaming into each other’s faces, or pounded on the…
Listening or active silence is like a “wonder drug” for communication. Staying silent but attentive to conversations, staying curious and asking questions to draw out others and clarify meaning, and sharing our own views as a reflection of what has been said, opens new possibilities. It helps people feel their…
In this quiet month of August, it’s a good time to reconsider the art and practice of listening. Let’s kick it off with a proposal to update the phrase “Active Listening” to “Deep Listening” or listening to understand. This differs from the transactional way we too often listen when, rather…
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, and what it teaches about the role of mindset in our embrace of the new, sometimes hard, and always unknown of transition. Those are the very conditions that often trigger a fixed-mindset in which it’s…
Change isn’t necessarily hard. That might sound counter to common knowledge because we’ve all experienced change that feels grueling. Even changes that are well-conceived strategic initiatives are met with opposition and resistance, resulting in protracted implementation phases. The pain point in change is usually not in accepting the new, but…
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” The quote above is likely advice meant for leaders. It has been attributed to two U.S. presidents, as well as several religious leaders, and one author. Since its source can’t be proven, whoever said it first…
Public Service Recognition Week (May 7-13) leads off the month; Memorial Day (May 29) caps it off; and a tribute to our teachers (May 9) and mothers is in between (May 14). What a great month to reflect on how we recognize the contributions of the people who work with…
What image comes to mind when you hear the word “resilience”? Perhaps you think of a plant growing from a crack in the sidewalk or a bouncing ball or a tree bending in the wind. These are common images associated with resilience and they focus on its often undervalued gifts…