Mediating Underwater: Rethinking Mediation to Make It Inclusive for Neurodivergent Clients.
This blog post is based on a presentation I gave at the Australian Dispute Centre conference in Sydney in May this year. Navigating a Sea of Conflict Put your hand up if: You can swim. You’ve ever been caught in a rip. You’ve ever been
Caught in the Gossip Trap: When Social Pressure Replaces Constructive Feedback in the Workplace
“One obvious sign you’re living in a gossip trap is when the primary mode of dispute resolution becomes social pressure.” —Erik Hoel, The Gossip Trap I came across this quote after the first session of our Workplace Conflict Practice Group, where we explored the dynamics
Reflecting with Purpose: How Conflict Practitioners Can Build a Sustainable Reflective Practice
We often talk about the importance of reflective practice in conflict work—but sometimes we are not clear about why it is so beneficial, what it actually looks like in action, and why is it sometimes so hard to do? In recent Conflict Leadership Program sessions,
Are Mediators Ever Liable? Rethinking Accountability in Our Practice
By Dr Samantha Hardy Inspired by Jennifer L. Schulz (2023). Mediator Liability 23 Years Later: The “Three C’s” of Case Law, Codes, & Custom. Ottawa Law Review / Revue de droit d’Ottawa, 55(1):151–186. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7202/1112508ar A Quiet Assumption For many of us working in
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: What mediation romantics can learn from the Model T, by Nancy Welsh
While this article is about the development of mediation as a field in the U.S. most of the points made apply equally to the Australia context. Welsh describes the idealised introduction of mediation in the 1970s as a “democracy-and-self-determination-enhancing, social justice ethos” which then became
Why Good Conflict Management Is Essential for Psychosocial Safety
Imagine walking into a workplace where people feel anxious, silenced, or wary of one another. Collaboration slows. Creativity wanes. Absenteeism creeps up. Resignations start to pile in. What you’re witnessing isn’t just poor culture—it’s a breach of psychosocial safety. For leaders navigating an increasingly complex