PUBLIC WORKSHOPS

• Develop a strong and open presence that clearly communicates your leadership value.
• Trust yourself to make better decisions and move into action with greater clarity and confidence.
• Expand your capacity to have courageous conversations with others for the sake of building a more positive future together.

Center is the place from which you perceive the world and move with greatest flexibility, strength and choice. When centered, you are powerfully connected to what you care about. Center is also where you access your greatest sense of self esteem which is essential for creativity and productivity. Moving from center allows you to navigate uncertainty and change with greater ease, trust and personal power.

• Productive, adaptive teams that share vision and commitment
• Learning environments that encourage risk-taking and innovation
• Follow through that is consistent with the spirit and letter of agreements
• Rapid, decentralized and appropriate response to change, and
• Attraction and retention of the caliber of people you want to work with.

• Missed opportunities and slow recovery from mistakes
• Knowledge and participation withheld by team members
• Toxic work environments, and
• Overall diminished productivity.

Through experiential exploration and subsequent discussion of movement exercises on both a literal and metaphorical level, discover

• Personal reaction patterns to conflict (physical, emotional, intellectual)
• a greater range of response options from which to choose to act
• personalized ways better to integrate the body as an instrument of communication and guidance in communication, collaboration and conflict resolution.

LISTENING BEYOND CULTURES

Communication is the most essential element in successful collaboration and conflict resolution. Vital to effective communication are the ability and willingness to listen fully and with empathy to another person. This capacity requires awareness about cultural influences which form our perceptions and perspectives.

In communication as in conflict resolution, listening is generally the most critical (and often least developed) practice. Regardless of the context in which persons work, they are more effective as they become more aware of their own cultural filters and more adept at questioning assumptions they make on data. As individuals become more conscious of their complex listening processes, they can better track when they begin stereotyping and stop listening. They begin to listen through their own mostly invisible cultural conditioning so their communication serves to build trust even under trying circumstances and is therefore more effective and complete.

Deep listening invites understanding while acknowledging differing perspectives, values and needs of others. The language of compassion listens for and responds from feelings, unmet needs, and present requests. This is qualitatively different from listening through judgments and classifications that block empathy and shut us down. Deep listening allows space for the various inner and outer voices and includes the rich input from our physical and emotional bodies. By listening for it, we can develop a subtle awareness of ways in which culture influences how people perceive others, situations and options for purposeful and aligned action. We honor the wisdom waiting to be heard in each person.

BALANCING DIFFERENCE AND COMMON GROUND:
race and ethnicity in conflict resolution

Race and ethnicity powerfully shape each person's identity and cultural perspectives. Ethnocentrism, clannishness, prejudice, fear, and distrust of outsiders can obstruct cooperation, reinforce exclusivity, and deepen inter-group conflicts in any context. When we take responsibility for helping to resolve conflict and to forge constructive change, our first task is in understanding and bridging frames of reference, including those of race and ethnicity. Building on listening practices (see "Listening Beyond Cultures"), this workshop more deeply explores issues of group and personal identity and dignity, perceptions of choice and use of power related to race and ethnicity in conflict resolution.

REVIEWS

"Beata has great energy and she translated her enthusiasm for the subject material well. This added to the material immensely. Being genuine makes the information much more helpful, much more meaningful."

"Eye opening. I will view the present human condition differently."

"I was impressed with the professional way that you managed the course, both from your preparation to your ability to handle the requirements of different individuals in the class. In particular, the discussion of different people's attitudes towards conflict, both as a driver to reaching resolution and as an impetus for creative exploration of alternatives, reinforced the value of keeping an open mind to the spectrum of reactions my co-workers have to tense situations. Relating those reactions to body language helps me see and sense my own feelings, and then direct them towards a more fruitful outcome."
Robert Dell'Immagine, Marketing Manager, Oracle Corporation

"On a number of occasions Beata developed and delivered training workshops to help PCRC become more culturally competent as an organization and as individual members. Her skill and sensitivity made these experiences very positive and we hope to continue a partnership with her in the future."
Patricia Brown, Executive Director, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center

"EmBODY-INg Conflict Resolution was an excellent introduction to how I can use my body and my awareness of it to become aware of, interpret, and alleviate conflict in my life. I especially enjoyed the exercises exploring "groundedness," which might be loosely defined as physical and mental stability in the present moment. Being aware of whether I feel grounded or not, and taking the time to become so, has been useful on the job to help me maintain control of controversial situations. Additional exercises in which different reactions to an approaching aggressor were used, from pushing back to turning and walking with the aggressor, demonstrated interesting possibilities for reaction to conflict, both physical and verbal. All-in-all, this workshop has introduced me to a very useful and fresh approach to conflict resolution."
Cindy Stokes, Ph.D., Entelos, Inc