Thursday, August 27th, 8 am Pacific / 11 am Eastern
Our special guest this week, Kimberly Best, RN, MA, Owner, Best Conflict Solutions, LLC, will present on:
Different Not Difficult: Understanding Conflict Dynamics a New Way
We often hear that a party is difficult before we ever meet them. It comes in the referral note, the intake call, the warning from counsel about the other side. When we accept that label, or apply it ourselves, we have made a judgment about someone whose process we are supposed to hold, and that judgment shapes what we hear, what we assume, whose story we probe, and where our patience runs out. Parties feel it. Once they do, our credibility may be gone, and credibility is what trust and influence are built on.
Conflict capacity is shaped by nature and nurture both: personality traits we are born with, values formed through experience, and skills we may or may not have learned along the way. This session examines those dynamics and turns the lens on the practitioner first. Through self-assessments on values and personality traits, participants will identify their own conflict responses and the party profiles most likely to pull them off neutral. Because disagreement does not mean opposition. It often just means difference. We will look at why values-based conflict feels so personal, why some parties engage while others withdraw, and how to make room for difference at the table.
When you’re thinking about where to donate, please consider supporting World Food Programme
Our presenter:
Kimberly Best, RN, MA
Kim is a Tennessee and Missouri Court listed Civil and Family mediator, adjunct professor, FINRA Arbitrator, and founder of Best Conflict Solutions, LLC. Her practice focuses on healthcare disputes, adult family mediation, civil and business mediation, organizational conflict management, and conflict coaching. She is a former senior mediator with the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office Community/Police Unification Program and a consultant with Mediators Beyond Borders International. A frequent speaker and trainer on mediation skills, emotional intelligence, life transitions, and difficult decision-making, she has been published in Newsweek, SHRM, Medscape, the Australian Dispute Resolution Journal, and other outlets.
Kim is Immediate Past President of the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators, a board member of the Association of Missouri Mediators, and Past Membership Officer of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution. She holds a master's in Conflict Management from Lipscomb University and advanced training from Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation, Pepperdine, Hofstra, and the International Institute of Restorative Practices. She is the author of How to Live Forever: A Guide to Writing the Final Chapter of Your Life Story and creator of the Best Conflict Conversation Cards.
Offered by Will Work For Food, founded by Natalie Armstrong-Motin, and moderated by Kimberly Best, Felicia Harris Hoss, Jeff Kichaven, Jean Lawler, and David Shraga.
This worldwide conversation will be like nothing else. Join in! Share, learn, have fun, and raise money for food banks.