Confidence In Conflict

In healthcare, the words you choose can mean the difference between connection and confrontation. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict , Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) explore “Good Speak” —the use of verbal and non-verbal communication as proactive tools to prevent conflict before it starts. Together, they unpack Vistela...

Summary:  In healthcare, the words you choose can mean the difference between connection and confrontation. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict , Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) explore “Good Speak” —the use of verbal and non-verbal communication as proactive tools to prevent conflict before it starts. Together, they...

Delivering bad news is one of the hardest tasks in healthcare—but with the right approach, it can also be one of the most meaningful. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) explore compassionate communication strategies for breaking difficult news while preserving dignity, clarity, and trust....

Situational awareness may sound simple, but in healthcare it can mean the difference between safety and crisis. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) break down how “relaxed but alert” awareness helps providers stay safe, protect colleagues, and deliver better care. Drawing on Vistelar’s tra...

Emotional triggers can derail even the most skilled healthcare professionals—but with the right tools, they don’t have to. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) and Marcus (former healthcare security director) explore the role of emotional intelligence in managing conflict at the bedside, in team dynamics, and across healthcare organizatio...

Non-verbal communication may be silent, but in healthcare, it speaks volumes. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) explore “the silent language” — the powerful role of body language, tone, spatial awareness, and positioning in building trust, preventing conflict, and improving patient outco...

Violence in healthcare isn’t inevitable—it’s preventable. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) break down the art and science of creating environments where violence simply doesn’t fit. From shaping a “Conflict Prevention Social Contract” to addressing operational friction points and design...

A sudden outburst. A tense standoff. A patient threatening to leave against medical advice. These moments may feel like they come out of nowhere—but in most cases, the warning signs were there all along. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) break down the anatomy of escalation, revealing ho...

Redirecting conversations and behaviors in healthcare is one of the most challenging communication skills—and one of the most important. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) break down how to guide interactions without escalating conflict or damaging relationships. Through real-world exampl...

Conflict is inevitable in healthcare—but what happens after the crisis is just as important as what happens during it. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) tackle one of the most overlooked yet essential skills in healthcare: post-incident recovery. Through candid discussion and actionable...

A warm greeting might seem like a small gesture—but in healthcare, it can be the difference between calm and chaos. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) unpack the concept of the universal greeting—a simple, structured approach to starting any interaction with acknowledgment, respect, and c...

Healthcare is full of unpredictable moments—but what happens before an interaction begins can determine whether it ends in conflict or connection. In this episode of Confidence in Conflict, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) explore the often-overlooked phase of the Unified Conflict Management Framework: Context, or pre-contact pr...

Hospitals are designed for healing, but without a culture of dignity and respect, even the most advanced facilities can become unsafe environments. While policies and protocols matter, the daily behaviors of staff—how they greet, listen, explain, and interact—are what truly shape safety outcomes. In this episode, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clin...

Hospitals are built for urgency—but working in constant crisis takes a toll. In environments where emotions run high and stakes are life-or-death, healthcare professionals are expected to remain calm, focused, and in control. But how? In this episode, Marcus (former healthcare security director) and Natalie (nurse practitioner and clinical team leader) dive into the art and science of non-escalati...

Join Vistelar in exploring how verbal strategies and presence can prevent conflict before it starts. Discover why your voice is one of your most powerful tools for staying safe in healthcare environments. Learn how tone, pacing, and volume affect patient interactions, master word choice strategies that naturally de-escalate tense situations, and understand how to acknowledge emotions before provid...

On this episode Allen talks to two of the researchers who conducted a study of the effectiveness of Vistelar's training at the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division (MCBHD). They spent countless hours observing as the majority of MCBHD's staff received end-user training that ranged from verbal non-escalation/de-escalation to team stabilization tactics. From environmental services to physicia...

Today, Brine Hamilton is joined by Joel Lashley, the author of Vistelar’s book titled Confidence in Conflict for Healthcare Professionals. Joel has worked in public safety for over 30 years, including 18 years of service in the health care setting. He also co-developed a program for managing the challenging behaviors of children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other cognitive disabilities...

On this episode, guest moderator, Brine Hamilton, talks to Mike Cummings and Lisa Terry about how to affect change within an organization. Both Mike and Lisa have decades of leadership experience and are recognized experts in the healthcare security industry. During the interview they focus on the processes they followed for overcoming organizational barriers to creating change. They describe prac...

On this episode, Allen Oelschlaeger is joined by Dr. Jim Bohn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesbohn), a change management and leadership expert. He has decades of organizational executive experience and is author of several books. He currently runs his own consultant practice and is a certified speaker for Vistage. The discussion focuses on the issue of intra-organizational conflict – i.e., confl...

On this episode, Allen Oelschlaeger is joined by Mike Panebianco, a past vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association (https://www.swapa.org) and president of MRH (mission ready human) Performance, a consulting organization focused on peak human performance. The discussion focuses on the issue of intra-organizational conflict – i.e., conflict that is internal to an organization (rath...

On this episode, Allen Oelschlaeger is joined by Randy Revling, a retired Sheriff’s captain with over 30 years of experience as a law enforcement instructor. Randy developed the original instructor development course (IDC) used by the State of Wisconsin and has personally taught over 600 instructor schools for a wide range of disciplines. Unlike most trainers, Randy has documented positive results...

On this episode, Allen Oelschlaeger is joined by Gerard O’Dea from Dynamis (https://www.dynamis.training), a UK conflict management training company and Professor Chris Cushion from Loughborough University (https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ssehs/staff/chris-cushion), a renown expert in how to teach psychomotor skills to optimize learning (conflict management skills are psychomotor skills). Gera...

As a training company, we often talk about how to teach individuals our content. But we also need to discuss how we train the people doing the teaching. How do you create confident experts that can turn around and effectively train their own people? Randy Revling joins Al on the podcast today to discuss his decades of experience training law enforcement and corporate instructors. Utilizing engagin...

Gerard O’Dea from Dynamis Training in the UK joins us again on the podcast today to continue to talk about the decisive moment when school staff must decide if they need to take physical action when faced with conflict. In our January 8th episode (https://vistelar.com/28995/confidence-in-conflict-episode-8-seven-common-challenges-teachers-face/), Gerard shared the seven most common scenarios when...

Since only 2% of the population is truly a natural empath, it is critical to pinpoint strategies to effectively teach empathy to the rest of the population. This week Joel and Al both sit down with Alex Hunter from Dynamis in the UK. Drawing on his wide-ranging experiences Alex shares how he’s learned to hone in on the specific tactics he uses to teach people how to be empathetic. Recognizing your...