My workplace is everywhere
I work across all time zones, in-person and online. I will happily travel across the Maritime provinces of Canada to provide coaching, mediation, and training, as requested by my clients. I happily use online audio/visual media to interact with clients around the (English-speaking) world.
About The Zebra in my Logo?
Did you know that the Plains Zebra of Southern Africa isn’t just black and white?
Look closely.
Hidden in the white is a sandy-coloured shadow stripe. It follows the same contours as the dominant black/white stripes in such an elegant mimicry of the obvious that often new visitors to Africa don’t even notice it until it is pointed out to them.
In conflict resolution, both parties often contribute to the conflict in various ways, including their attitudes, behaviours, level of attentiveness, and life experiences.
To illustrate this concept, we can draw an analogy to the shadow stripe in the Plains Zebra’s coat, which represents the unknown or unseen factors influencing the conflict.
The Work I Do With You Is Represented By The Zebra’s Shadow Stripe.
- Similar to the shadow stripe in the Plains Zebra’s coat, there are often unseen or unknown factors underlying the conflict, such as past experiences, personal biases, or unspoken emotions. These factors can influence how each party perceives the situation and reacts to it.
Attitude and Behavior:
- Each party brings their own attitudes and behaviours into the conflict, which can either escalate or de-escalate the situation. Negative attitudes, such as defensiveness or hostility, can fuel the conflict, while positive attitudes, like openness and willingness to listen, can facilitate resolution.
Level of Attentiveness:
- The level of attentiveness each party displays during the conflict can also impact its resolution. Lack of attention or active listening can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication, prolonging the conflict. Conversely, being attentive and engaged in the conversation can help uncover underlying issues and find common ground.
Life Experience:
- Life experiences shape individuals’ perspectives, values, and communication styles, which can influence how they engage in conflict. Different life experiences may lead to misunderstandings or differing priorities, contributing to the conflict.
My Role as a Mediator
I help you to discover the possibilities in the shadow stripes of your life.
- As a mediator, I help my clients recognize and acknowledge the “shadow factors” influencing the conflict. Through active listening and asking probing questions, I encourage parties to reflect on their attitudes, behaviours, and life experiences that may be contributing to the conflict.
- By shedding light on these hidden dynamics, I facilitate a deeper understanding between the parties, allowing them to see the conflict from different perspectives. This awareness enables myclients to be more constructive in how they approach resolving the disagreement or conflict.
- I guide my clients in reframing their attitudes and behaviors, fostering empathy and respect towards each other. By addressing the underlying issues and working towards mutual understanding, the parties can collaboratively find solutions that meet their needs and interests.
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In summary, my role as a mediator is to help my clients “look closely” so that they can uncover and address the “shadow factors” contributing to the conflict, enabling them to approach resolution with greater understanding, empathy, and constructive engagement.
Once I help you to see what’s in the shadows you discover that the solutions are also there, waiting .for you to find them. I work as your tour guide on this zebra-influenced journey.
Let me help you to break out of the black and white repetitive patterns of your life that stop you from changing the things you want to change. Once you have an eye for what’s in the shadows it it’s amazing how you never saw it before. Awareness is the first step. After that the possibilities are everywhere.
I support you in creating your best solutions.
40+ years of international experience in;
Labour relations (collective bargaining, union recognition, shop steward training, organizing, strategizing, discipline and dismissals, disputes, job evaluation & classification, health and safety)
Change management (organizational change/restructuring, cultural competence, multi-disciplinary teams, joint labour-management initiatives)
Leadership development (Leadership training, facilitation of goal setting/planning workshops, mentoring, coaching)
Conflict resolution (conflict coaching, training in conflict competence, mediation, workplace investigation)
Countries where I’ve worked/where clients were based: Canada, South Africa, USA, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Tanzania, Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, India, China.
