The Beauty of Conflict

In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie talk about those tricky conversations that sometimes pop up with our partners, families, and even at work. The first thing we need to realize is everything we do and tell other people comes through love and not a negative feeling. Other tricky conversations can include setting boundaries, letting others know how you feel, or even using...

In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie and Susan discuss different ways to handle change and the several ways it can appear. Transition is a very essential part of change, and we often don’t pay attention to it. They also mention the grieving part of it, through various experiences they have lived, and bring up how we tend to be unaware of this element of change. In life, some things...

Equus work is a beautiful way to discover many things from oneself. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie interviews Susan as she delves deep into the lessons she has learned from the horses in Equus work and why she enjoys doing this type of coaching so much. They relate their experiences with clients and horses to Jill Bolte Taylor’s characters and divisions of the brain. Having o...

Whatever happens at work may be affecting your relationships at home. This episode of the Beauty of Conflict describes how the emotions built up in other environments have an effect at home with your partner. Susan and CrisMarie have been coaching CEOs and leaders, and there is always a common thread: they think their emotions don’t show or affect them. Well, they do. And they may take a toll on y...

This episode of The Beauty of Conflict was inspired by a LinkedIn post written by a colleague of Susan and CrisMarie, who explained that in leadership, confidence is being so self-aware of who one really is and our competencies. This episode is our take on confidence! For us, being confident implies a strong connection between two things: body and mind. In her work with horses, Susan recognized th...

In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie chat about how important it is for people to know how to receive feedback in a good way from their teammates and employees. Everyone can learn to cultivate how they receive feedback, it’s not a set-in-stone kind of thing. Feedback is just how other people see a specific topic or situation; as a skill, one can always work to improve it....

In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie discuss “High Conflict - Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out”, a book by Amanda Ripley. In high conflict, people believe they’re righteous, make negative assumptions about those with different positions, and believe that the only acceptable solution is a total victory. It’s not healthy and there are no winners. After having read the...

Susan and CrisMarie discuss how many people avoid using their emotions at work in this episode of The Beauty of Conflict. Nobody taught anyone how to deal with emotions, especially during formative years like high school or college. Managing emotions is a life-long process because it is also a journey of self-discovery. CrisMarie and Susan divide this topic of understanding behaviors through a fin...

In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, we talk about a concept you might have heard before but directly link it to something else. CrisMarie and Susan share their thoughts on intimacy and Into-Me-See. The latter refers to the quality of being present and aware of ourselves as a whole - not only our head, heart, or body - and our relationship with another person. Listen to this episode to find...

In this Beauty of Conflict episode, Susan and CrisMarie discuss the dichotomy between being productive and creative. Productive leaders are more task-oriented and logic-focused, while creative leaders are more strategic thinkers and open to the big picture. Our brains cannot do both at the same time, so, being aware of these two modes may be helpful to increase not only productivity but engagement...

In today’s episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie chat about the Yellowstone Effect, the importance of community. There is great power in community and belonging to one, and this extrapolates to work, teams, and company culture. CrisMarie and Susan share some activities and past tactics used with some and by some clients that may help you. If you’re a team leader, this episode will...

Have you ever asked yourself how you deal with failure? Do you tolerate it, or do you handle it nicely? In today’s episode of the Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie and Susan discuss a recent experience they had with a client whose new team members had a “reward according to performance” mentality, while the founder is more inclined to appreciate the process and to learn regarding the experience, even...

How do you recognize that your brain is always triggered and ready to protect you? Today’s episode of The Beauty of Conflict is about breaking that behavior, habit, or pattern. CrisMarie shares how she’s been doing this through a Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) and explains how these habits are created, stored and repeated in our brains.  We hope this episode is helpful and valuable t...

In business, you need to be smart and healthy, balancing these two. CrisMarie and Susan share one of the development models they’ve designed for one of their intensive workshops with leaders and organizations. This model tries to bring out the healthy part into leadership, directing, organizing, and smartly managing employees. They also share their Heart-Backbone axis model that explains leaders a...

There is a price to pay and a pain to be felt when it comes to objectification. In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie discuss how this can affect your life at work, and in your personal relationships. Objectification is the process of dehumanizing someone, and turning them into a material object, or as close as it can get. It happens with a lot of professions, especially p...

There is still a lot of taboo when talking about testing positive for COVID. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie talk about a recent experience: getting infected with COVID. They had to separate the house for a few days, move travel plans, and facilitate a workshop online from Montana to D.C. Peer pressure about masking or not, COVID tail symptoms, and how other people a...

Almost everyone is looking to have control, even just a slightly tiny bit. In this episode of the Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie discuss the Paradox of Control and how everyone has felt the need to have some over someone, something, or a situation. These control issues usually arise from a place of uncertainty, and it is natural for people to want to know the outcome. The paradox is prett...

We are back with our book review discussion episodes! In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie interviews Susan after she’s read the book The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves. These four pivots help you see the world from another perspective. Shawn Ginwright, the author, proposes the following pivots: being aware of your mirror, turning your relationships into tr...

Are your personal values clear and sometimes at stake? CrisMarie and Susan share how their backgrounds and family history have played a role in their values. Awareness of our own values is key when managing conflict and having successful relationships. We hope this episode helps you, tune in and enjoy! For the full transcript, show notes, and resources, visit us at https://www.thriveinc.com/post/p...

A company’s culture can make it or break it; that is no secret. In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie and Susan discuss this topic from their experience of coaching business leaders for 20+ years. Company culture is a concept that everyone uses nowadays, but not all understand what it entails. Tune in to this episode and see what you can apply to your company or business! For the fu...

In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, Susan and CrisMarie discuss the importance of having a strategy. One of the biggest problems that most company leaders have is not having a space and time to sit down and plan a strategy. Believe it or not, this same thing happens with couples! Communication is key to having a successful coupledom. Tune in to this episode, we know it may help you if you’r...

This conversation came up after CrisMarie had a talk at the University of Washington’s Varsity Boat Club. CrisMarie shares her three keys to getting into the right mindset: creating a connection, interrupting stress with joy breaks, and feeling the flow. CrisMarie not only shares how she built her resiliency, but all the trials and tribulations she had to endure to get to where she is today; tune...

How are you defining success? In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie and Susan share how they are defining what success means, and how every situation turns out to be successful. Having this conversation with every person you work with or have a relationship with is important. Changes don’t happen overnight, they need to happen through time, and that requires work. Each try and error...

It’s time to do a health check on our relationships! In this episode of The Beauty of Conflict, CrisMarie and Susan discuss the workshop and the book they wrote about conflict and couples. For them, it has been important to revisit the workshop after some time because they are always in new places in their lives. Every time a relationship starts it is full of romance that is built together. Confli...

Talent Optimization may sound big, fancy, and complicated, right? This week’s episode is about the people through and through; in every business, and how to get the most of them. What CrisMarie and Susan do in organizations is blend the “Be Smart and Healthy” ideas from their previous episode and today’s content regarding Talent Optimization. Using these tools and consulting will help you and your...