So much of our daily conflicts have communication breakdown as their root cause. By improving our communication skills, our abilities to “make common”, we give ourselves a huge leg up, when it comes to working with others and effectively managing conflict. Jennie’s story Jennie is a home care service provider. Her job is to provide […]
Communication Breakdown – A day-in-the-life story of a home care service provider
June 29, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
The Existentialist Mediator
June 27, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
I was reading Sarah Blakewell’s At The Existentialist Cafe on the weekend. It’s an engaging window on the key proponents of modern existentialism; Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Marting Heidegger… and others. Blakewell’s book weaves biography and thought, and “takes us to the heart of a philosophy about life that also changed lives, and […]
Immigrants and Police Are Building New Relationships Through Theatre in Victoria, BC
June 7, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
I participated in a cool event yesterday, “Exploring the Relationship between Police and Diverse Communities – A Theatre Project”. This was a collaborative effort involving Victoria Police Department, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria and facilitated by Transformational Theatre practitioners, Lina de Guevara (Founder of Puente Theatre, and profiled on this blog in 2012) and Victor Porter, and […]
A Conflict Management Assessment of Prime Minister Trudeau Incident in Canada’s House of Commons
May 23, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
The House of Commons is the focal point of Canada’s Parliament. It’s where Members of Parliament (MPs), regional representatives, from across Canada, elected by voters, debate issues and vote on bills (draft laws). Last week, an incident, without historical precedent?, involving Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, took place. This news video is a montage of […]
3 Strategies To Break Down Silos in Home Care Service Delivery
May 18, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
It’s been over a dozen years since my Dad passed away. He died in his home. He wanted no part of any type of care facility. During the last years of his life, he required a variety of home care services. Towards the end, those services were around-the-clock. My Dad lived in Ontario. I lived in British […]
Reframing British Columbia
May 16, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
In my mind, I have a picture of the place we call British Columbia, on Canada’s west coast. If I lived here 150+ years ago, I would have a different picture. Though the land is the same, the borders were different; they’ve been re-framed, many times. In a recent series of videos, former Vancouver Mayor, and current MLA […]
Reflecting on my experiences in the BC Court Mediation Program
May 11, 2016 by · 1 Comment
Between 2002 and 2015, I worked as a court-based mediator, usually a couple of days a month, in the BC Court Mediation Program (CMP). The program was administered by Mediate BC and funded by the province of British Columbia. As per this recent Mediate BC tweet, the CMP is closing its’ doors. (In the picture are Lee Turnbull, […]
Becoming a conflict competent leader helps build your emotional intelligence
May 4, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
Your employees want you, as leader, to become more emotionally intelligent. You, on the other hand, think your skill building priorities should focus on technology and finance. Such was the disconnect, between employees and C-Suite executives, as this chart shows from a recent survey of 4,000 professionals, by The Economist. Building emotional intelligence In his […]
Restorative Justice: The people are more than ready for it
April 26, 2016 by · 2 Comments
I attended my local Restorative Justice society’s AGM last weekend. It was a full house. My sense is that in my location, and Canada for that matter, the people are more than ready, in a very receptive mood, to an expansion of restorative justice. Restorative Justice Victoria (RJ Victoria) is a small nonprofit organization – staffed by three […]
