I have a history of conflict avoidance. That avoidance tendency germinated in my early childhood. My parents weren’t a happy couple. Their open conflict played out in me not wanting anything to do with conflict. My early avoidance ways got hardwired in my neural circuitry. They’ll only die when I do. That said, over the […]
Adversarial Collaboration
October 13, 2024 by · Leave a Comment
Does making more than US$75,000 make you happier? Psychologist Matthew Killingsworth from Wharton Business School’s did research and his data showed that it did. Celebrated Nobel Prize winning professor, and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman’s research said that it didn’t. Kahneman proposed the two adversaries collaborate and discover the truth together. Killingsworth […]
Consider Maslow’s hierarchy in response to NIMBY development concerns
June 11, 2024 by · Leave a Comment
As part of the City of Victoria’s 10-Year Official Community Plan (OCP) Update, last Saturday, I attended an OCP engagement event at my local (James Bay Neighbourhood) community centre. Like many urban neighbourhoods, mine is diverse. There’s a range of people, places and opinions. A common divergence of opinion that comes up circles around the […]
Political Conflict Walking Tour in Belfast
July 16, 2019 by · Leave a Comment
I’ve been thinking of tribalism a fair bit lately, given ongoing public conversations among my American neighbours. It reminds me of another tribal conflict that I recently visited. Last month, I had the good fortune of travelling in Ireland. I’d never been to Ireland, before. My wife’s ancestry stems from there. Over the years, I’ve […]
Upcoming Victoria workshop to help you embrace and implement a culture of “speaking up”
April 24, 2019 by · Leave a Comment
It seems to me that every workplace employer I’ve interacted with over the last couple of years has mentioned how challenging it can sometimes be for their employees (and sometimes, themselves!) to authentically “speak up”. Speaking Up Speaking up is more than just “speaking truth to power”. It’s about improving team performance by engaging in […]
