Empowered Communication

In Episode 40, Meredith talks about how to win a fight. For some people, transforming conflict into creative solutions, safety, and support for our work is important. Other people like to fight for fighting’s sake (Eris Conflict Resolution is named after the goddess of discord, after all!). For other people, winning matters. This becomes a problem though, when we believe we need to persuade biased...

In Episode 39, Meredith talks about physical and verbal violence. What does it mean to be violent? Is there ever a space for violence? Some people say violence is never necessary, and that is a good general rule, but often that blanket statement is weaponized to say that people in power may use violence, but people who the system exploits may not be physical in service of creating safety. This epi...

In Episode 38, Meredith talks with sex coach Sarai Johnson about taboo topics at work. Why do we call it “unprofessional” to talk about sex, religion, politics, and even money? What are the benefits or risks of having rigid definitions of professionalism? Often in workplaces, blanket prohibitions on talking about certain topics can create the dangerous and unsustainable situations that they are tr...

In Episode 37, Meredith dives into a topic that is close to her heart: Personality! This episode gives an overview of the personality assessments and frameworks we have seen work (or not work) in workplace settings. This episode also covers the number one, most simple indicator of conflict in workplaces and the simplest way to resolve it through assessment and understanding of instincts.  How Toxi...

In Episode 36, Meredith talks about labor, wages, and slavery. This week it was Labor Day in the U.S., and this episode celebrates the important contributions workers and labor unions have made in the country. The topic of slavery has also come up a lot in the news, and so this episode does an overview of paid and unpaid, forced labor in the U.S. and the importance of fair exchange for work. If yo...

In Episode 35, Meredith talks about harassment. What is it? When is it illegal and when is it something we need to work on privately? Meredith again relies on her knowledge and experience as a civil rights litigator, and someone who has helped hundreds of employees related to toxic work environments, to deep dive into the topic of harassment. Harassment can be illegal in criminal and civil context...

In Episode 34, Meredith does a deep dive into what discrimination really is and why we have made some forms of discrimination illegal in the United States. Meredith uses her background as a civil rights lawyer and also general principles of discrimination to explain why most discrimination is not illegal, but sometimes the law does provide a remedy for harmful discrimination. You might be surprise...

In Episode 33, Meredith addresses false allegations of harassment, discrimination, and other wrongdoing. She discusses the statistics around unreported wrongdoing in workplaces and the statistics around false allegations, what causes them, and strategies anyone can use to handle allegations, even false allegations. She also talks about how to have more effective conversations whether you are repor...

In Episode 32, Meredith looks at the impacts of losing a job or career, whether it is a loss created by a major national event like economic downturn, or a very personal event like misunderstandings, harassment, discrimination, or even false allegations. While many of us may just want to get into a new job, pick ourselves up by the bootstraps, move on, and prove our abilities, there is one thing t...

In Episode 31, Meredith shares some of the most common reasons that we may want to stop communicating our boundaries in the workplace. If you’ve ever thought you were good at understanding your boundaries and enforcing them but still have people walk all over you, this episode should help you understand why and what you can do instead of continuing to explain why you deserve better treatment. Even...

In Episode 30, Meredith goes into simple strategies for influencing other people in toxic workplace situations, conflict, and pressure. Often we think that if we share our perspective or our expertise, other people will listen and learn from that, but the realities of having true impact or influence are often much different. In this episode, Meredith talks about the three strategies we can all imp...

In Episode 29, Meredith talks about common workplace situations that undermine confidence and what we can do about them. Externally, no-win situations that are repeated and chronic can undermine our confidence at work, and there is also an internal factor of the thinking that we absorb that can erode confidence. While most of us think of confidence as being available once we’ve built so many skill...

In Episode 29, Meredith talks about how to build allies in a conflict situation and find supports. We often believe that conflict is resolved through convincing other people to change their minds, but this episode goes through a few reasons that does not work. After we create safety in a conflict situation, understanding the resources, leverage, and supports we already have can help us identify th...

In Episode 28, Meredith talks about the common narrative that people need to “toughen up” at work and stop being so sensitive. What is the balance between toughening up and creating more safety in a workplace? In order for us to fully show up and even access all of our brains to find creative solutions to conflict, we need to be able to establish some safety. On the other hand, sometimes we do mak...

In Episode 27, Meredith talks about the Dark Triad and how dealing with Dark Triad dynamics can impact toxic workplace conflict. The Dark Triad is a psychological theory of personality, first named by Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002. It describes narcissism, sociopathy, and Machiavellian behavior. When Dark Triad dynamics are involved, simple conflict alchemy process does not work,...

In Episode 26, Meredith describes the concept of Conflict Alchemy. Most people are raised to believe that our options in a conflict situation are to prove that we are right, avoid conflict, defend ourselves, explain our intentions, or bully people into siding with us. While explaining ourselves and clarifying can work in misunderstandings, when there is true conflict based on different perspective...

In Episode 25, Meredith talks with leadership coach Amy Latta about the principles of coaching. Both Amy and Meredith have had experiences of coaching being incredibly powerful and even life-saving, but also seen coaching weaponized. Is coaching toxic or healthy?  Anti-Racism resources mentioned: Caste , by Isabella Wilkerson White Feminism , by Koa Beck So you want to talk about race , by Ijeoma...

In Episode 24, Meredith talks with acupuncturist and healing expert, Luke Adler, about toxic masculinity and male loneliness. When issues of gender discrimination in the workplace come up, “toxic masculinity” can be a buzzword, but what does it mean? In this episode Meredith and Luke explore what causes toxic masculinity and toxic femininity and how we can encounter gender in a healthier way.  How...

In Episode 23, Meredith interviews equity investigation expert, Andrea Bibee, about workplace investigations, alternatives to investigation, and what to expect if you are thinking about engaging in a workplace investigation.  How Toxic Is Your Work Environment? Take the quiz here: https://erisresolution.com/healthquiz To learn more about whether investigation is right for your situation, download...

TW: extreme racial violence In Episode 22, Meredith interviews a past client, Hogon Mulgrave, who experienced extreme racial violence at work and has gone on to run a successful generator company. They reflect on what it takes to engage in recovery related to workplace trauma and the barriers to engaging in healing.  Learn more about Wrico Generators here  https://wricogenerators.com/

In Episode 21, Meredith interviews a behavioral expert, Dr. Sarah Hansen, and they discuss the strategies that have been proven to work to change behavior. They talk about how these strategies can be used in the workplace to reduce the cost and waste of harassment and bullying.  Learn more about Dr. Hansen's work here  

TW: religious/spiritual abuse, domestic violence In Episode 20, Meredith interviews a past client, Liana West, who overcame a threatening neighbor dispute, challenged and recovered from a harassing and fraudulent construction contractor, and went on to develop her own system of enforcing accountability in the construction industry. Meredith and Liana talk about boundaries and how to build inner st...

In Episode 19, Meredith interviews workplace-belonging expert, Faith Clarke. They discuss the fundamentals of how to create belonging at work and their own experiences creating internal and external belonging. Learn more about Faith Clarke's work at  https://www.faithclarke.com/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/faithaclarke/?hl=en Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TeamworkWithFaith/ Lin...

TW: race-race based discrimination, whistler retaliation In Episode 18, Meredith interviews a past client who experienced race-based discrimination and whistleblower retaliation at a public employer. They talk about the impacts of being ostracized at work, and the challenges of going through investigation.  How Toxic Is Your Work Environment? Take the quiz here .

TW: sexual assault, sexual harassment, legal process In Episode 17, Meredith talks with Nicole Gainey, an employment attorney in Washington who helps employees with wrongful termination lawsuits. Nicole recounts one of her most memorable sexual harassment cases. They discuss the difference between going through the legal process and navigating workplace discrimination while working in order to try...