The Beauty of Conflict

Let’s lead from love and embrace energetic dimensions in personal growth and business. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie thoroughly converse with Chris Parker about their engagement with Dr. Joe Dispenza's work and integrating energetic and human dimensions into personal growth and business contexts. They share how Dr. Dispenza's teachings led to transformation...

After overcoming mental health challenges and adversity, this man is inspiring others and helping them through their journey. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie have a fascinating conversation with coach Kevin Kearns about his journey and passion for mental health advocacy and helping people overcome challenges just like he personally did. He discusses his mental health...

This communications professional transformed his dance moves into leadership skills. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie have a chat with John Verrico, founder of Share Your Fire, about the importance of effective leadership, communication, and motivation in various contexts. He emphasizes understanding motivations, adapting leadership, fostering cohesion, addressing rem...

Strategic planning could present a paradigm shift in business thinking. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie talk with Alan Weiss about strategic planning and the distinction between planning and strategy. He suggests an effective short-term strategy, prioritizing mission, vision, and values for successful decision-making while addressing remote work challenges. Listen to...

Trust is the key to growing, transforming, and accelerating business. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie interview Zain Raj about trust in business and its significance in igniting transformation and growth. He highlights the importance of this key item as a fundamental element in all businesses, emphasizing clear expectations and consistent follow-through while address...

How does one interact with a person who consistently causes chaos and conflict? In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie interview Samantha Drum about high-conflict personalities and how to handle them effectively. She discusses their characteristics and the importance of setting boundaries and managing reactions while maintaining dignity and self-control in challenging situa...

There are various factors to consider when building teams in an organization. In this Beauty of Conflict episode, Susan and CrisMarie delve into the distinction between cohesive and coherent teams. They discuss Dr. Joe Dispenza's work on stress reduction and underscore the transformative potential of coherence through heart-opening, conscious choices, and fostering innovative thinking for more...

Take a dive into deep listening with these tips from an expert!  In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie sit down with Oscar Trimboli to discuss the importance of deep listening and effective communication in the workplace. Oscar highlights storytelling's role in engaging listeners, shares tips for tuning one's listening instrument, and encourages active listening fo...

Diversity can be more impactful if we approach it with conscious communication and humor. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie talk to Karith Foster, CEO and founder of INVERSITY Solutions, about the transformative power of conscious communication, diversity, and leadership. She emphasizes the need to expand the notion of diversity using conscious empathy in driving meani...

It’s time to challenge the happiness paradigm in the workplace for a better work culture. In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie chat with Tracy Brower about various aspects of happiness, identify key conditions for achieving it, and debunk commonly associated myths. Throughout this conversation, Dr. Brower breaks down the five key conditions for happiness, emphasizes psych...

Human behavior has a deep impact on business.  In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie interview Karl Purcell about behavioral science and its application in understanding human decision-making and product design. Conducting structured experiments can identify the real drivers of consumers’ behavior, so Karl discusses why behavioral science can be very valuable for a develop...

Merging science and meditation helps conflict resolution by increasing mindful communication and decreasing suffering. In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie talks with Nicole Tetreault about the benefits of meditation and how it builds new neural pathways. Nicole also talks about her book, “Insight Into A Bright Mind,” which promotes a new dialogue about neurodiversity and advocates...

Communications and leadership can upgrade by balancing digital and human elements. In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, Susan sits down with Katrin Zimmermann to talk about digital transformation, communication challenges in the workplace, and technology’s impact on human interactions.  Listen to this episode and learn some tips to navigate digital transformation and leadership in the post-p...

How does one create behavioral change to support growth? In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie interview Michelle Handy, senior behavioral scientist and user researcher, about influencing behavior change in teams and product development. In this conversation, Michelle explains the Construal Level Theory to align behavior with long-term goals. Listen to this episode about t...

Everyone's brain operates differently; what if we consider this in the workplace? In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie interview Jessica Michaels, an award-winning coach, speaker, and management training expert, about neurodiversity in business. She starts from the lessons she has gathered from her experience about the spectrum and how they reflect leadership and incl...

Climbing up the ladder is about working smarter, not harder. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie interview Jill Avey about her work supporting women who want to reach higher in the corporate world while navigating gender bias. Jill also breaks down the benefits of healthy conflict and networking for women’s influence, confidence, and assertiveness at work.  Listen to thi...

Who runs the world? MOMS!  When they thrive, the world wins; they sometimes need a few breaks. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie chat with Shonda Moralis about how mindfulness practices help busy moms create a life balance. She explains what to check within oneself, how to recognize one’s patterns, and how to practice daily to grow toward a balanced lifestyle. Listen t...

Accountability is more than just holding somebody up to a task or behavior; it also entails having a conversation and creating a learning opportunity for both parties. In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie dissect what it takes to build an organization's accountability culture. It takes courage and practice, but trust can be built in these hard conversations, and accou...

Life is a constant reflection exercise, and this time, we are bridging some of our favorite things.  In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, we are diving even deeper into Jill Bolte Taylor’s work relating it to Susan’s Memoir: Crazy, Cracked, Warm, and Deep! In this reflection exercise, Susan relates each of the characters with a part of herself and her memoir. To bring it home, Susan and Cris...

There are valuable skills to consider when dealing with conflict situations in business teams. In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie give the second part of a presentation at the TERRA Staffing Group. This time, they break down the conflict compass to provide tools for individuals and teams to respond in conflict rather than react. They explain how to use curiosity to look...

Team conflict is inevitable, and learning how to work with it instead of diffusing it is key. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie give the first part of a presentation about harnessing a team’s competitive advantage at the TERRA Staffing Group. They discuss the benefits of conflict, common issues employees face within teams, and the three opt-out styles they tend to recu...

Our ego is an integral part of who we are. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie discuss the good and bad aspects of the ego, pulling concepts from Jill Bolte Taylor and Joe Dispenza’s work to support their thoughts on managing it in different situations. They share experiences where they’ve felt these connections produce a result in their lives, including Susan’s recent t...

Our brains like rewards and avoid things that make them feel harmed or in danger. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie has an in-depth interview with Dr. Jud Brewer about his work with anxiety and addiction patients through a mindful reward-based learning method that has awareness and curiosity at its core. Dr. Jud explains how he applies these concepts from mindfulness training to...

Opting out of conflict is the easiest way out, but it undermines a team's performance. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie break down three common opt-out styles for people to draw upon when tension builds up toward conflict. They describe situations where every opt-out style can come out and their experiences with people within teams that go to these places. These examp...

People tend to avoid talking about feelings in business, but they are essential in decision-making. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie discuss how locating feelings in the body can help anyone recognize and address any issues that stand in the way of the flow of business and teamwork. They share a location exercise to illustrate how anyone can reclaim their power in a r...