Jane Beddall, Dovetail Resolutions – InnovaBuzz 239
Jane Beddall, Dovetail Resolutions
In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Jane Beddall, founder of Dovetail Resolutions and host of the Crafting Solutions to Conflict podcast.
After working as a mediator and attorney for a number of years, Jane founded Dovetail Resolutions to provide mediation services helping parties in conflict reach resolutions tailored to their interests. Her specific focus now is to work as a family business mediator and family wealth mediator. Jane is fascinated by conflict: mediating, plus speaking, writing, teaching, and always learning about how to keep ourselves out of damaging conflict when we can and how to manage it when it does occur.
In our discussion, Jane and I talked about:
- The role of conflict in creativity, brainstorming and how to have constructive conflict
- Communication in conflict and owning your communication and reactions
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly type of conflict
Scott Perry on episode 229 suggested we interview Jane.
Listen to the podcast to find out more.
Listen to the Podcast
A collaborative and creative approach to conflict exponentially improves the quality of ideas. @DovetailRes on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To Tweet
Show Notes from this episode with Jane Beddall of Dovetail Resolutions
Key points and takeaways from this episode include:
- Mediation can be done at the very beginning of a conflict.
- The three types of conflict:
- The Ugly – what we enjoy watching on TV, social media, news, etc. – Reality TV
- The Bad – what we talk about all the time – complaining
- The Good – the most interesting in the business context, the creative and collaborative part. It is the type of conflict where people with different ideas come together and make a better idea by virtue of having all these different ideas.
- A collaborative and creative approach to conflict exponentially improves the quality of ideas.
- Manage conflict in a way that celebrates creativity. Figure out what can you take from one good idea that you can pair with another good idea. You don’t need to throw an idea out. You just have to change it a bit.
- Find the balance between “it’s all one” or “it’s all the other.” Find the place to build on those pieces together, and together they are better than either one alone.
- Create opportunities for even the lowest ranked workers to come forward with an idea and be heard in a respectful way.
- Innovation is a corollary to “necessity is the mother of invention.”
- The most important part of being a mediator is being neutral.
- Set the tone before things get ugly. Keep people in the loop and let them understand what is going on. Have a positive relationship with each other before there is a problem.
- Always and never are dangerous words because they are rarely true.
- If you know that something difficult is coming, you can prepare yourself a bit. Deal with it ahead of time.
- The CINERGY® Conflict Management Coaching is built on the ideas of coaching, conflict resolution, and neuroscience. It helps an individual in a difficult situation to work on what they can control.
- There is nothing worse than a fake apology.
- You don’t have to be rude to get your point across. You need to have some control over yourself.
- There’s beauty and there’s power in taking a pause. Stop for a moment and allow yourself to breathe.
- People like to hear a response. There are opportunities to show that you value the other person even if you are not going to accept their suggestion or if you think that their ideas are terrible. You can still respect them as another person. Nurture the effort even if you don’t want to adopt all of those ideas.
Create opportunities for even the lowlest ranked workers to come forward with an idea and be heard in a respectful way. @DovetailRes on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To Tweet
The Buzz – Our Innovation Round
Here are Jane’s answers to the questions of our Innovation round. Listen to the interview to get the full scoop.
- #1 thing to be more innovative – Think widely, broadly, and deeply.
- Best thing for new ideas – Listening to myself and to other people.
- Favourite tool for innovation – Resources and goodwill of people who are sharing information and their experiences, membership in key organisations
- Keep project / client on track – Staying right on top of changes
- Differentiate – Be yourself. Only you can be you. Learn from other people’s experiences but apply it to yourself. Continue being your best self throughout your career and get better.
To Be a Leader
Don’t be afraid of conflict. Don’t be ashamed of it. You are not a bad person because you experience it. You are human and so are the people you are experiencing it with. You can get better at dealing with it and the first step is to become more comfortable with the idea of conflict.
Reach Out
You can reach out and thank Jane through her website and on LinkedIn.
Suggested Guest
Jane suggested I interview Louise Duncan, the executive director of TetraMap, and Marc Halpert, a LinkedIn Branding Expert from Connect 2 Collaborate. So Louise and Marc, keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz podcast, courtesy of Jane Beddall.
Links
Cool things about Jane
- In 2014, she was honored as a recipient of The Honorable Robert C. Zampano Award for Excellence in Mediation.
- She graduated cum laude with joint degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
- She’s spent over 160 hours in mediation, arbitration, and facilitation education and training, since 1987, as well as numerous continuing legal education programs.
Don't be afraid of conflict. You can get better at dealing with it and the first step is to become more comfortable with the idea of conflict. @DovetailRes on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To Tweet