Crossroads & Turning Points Navigating Difficult Conversations

Navigating Difficult Conversations: A Workshop from Public Conversations Project

A non-profit leader's ability to navigate challenging discussions is essential to advancing organizational goals and strategies, based on greater clarity about values and purposes; respectful and ethical community of practice; enhanced knowledge; openness to new ideas; and resilient collaborations. In this session, participants will learn to manage, and even embrace, difficult conversations—a transformational and critical tool for leaders in any setting.

Presenters

Meenakshi Chakraverti is a writer, and also offers dialogue, conflict resolution, leadership development, and program development consultation to organizations and communities that proactively seek to engage the richness and challenges of multiple dimensions of difference across their members and stakeholders. Meenakshi brings experience in economic research, grassroots community work, ethnographic research, business entrepreneurship, dialogue training and facilitation, and strategic program development. Most recently, Meenakshi was Director of the Leadership Institute at the University of San Diego. Before joining the University of San Diego, Meenakshi was Vice President for Program Development at Public Conversations Project where she worked for 13 years as a practitioner and in program development and management. Meenakshi has also taught at the University of California, San Diego and Princeton University.

Michael Lindsay, Ph.D. has been a licensed psychologist for over 20 years and has helped people better understand their own complexity and more effectively engage others in situations of difference and conflict. Michael is driven to support others, as individuals and groups, to develop greater consciousness, respect, and purpose-driven behavior. Over the past 10 years, Michael has concentrated on leadership development and organizational culture in non-profit, for-profit, and academic settings. He has worked extensively with experience-based learning, especially the Group Relations and the Case-in-Point methods. Michael is the founder and Principal of Adaptive Edge Consulting, teaches as Adjunct Faculty at the University of San Diego's Leadership Studies Department, and partners with other like-minded consultancies.

Public Conversations Project fosters constructive conversation where there is conflict driven by differences in identity, beliefs, and values. PCP works locally, nationally, and globally to provide dialogue facilitation, training, consultation, and coaching. More information regarding Public Conversations Project can be found on their website: http://www.publicconversations.org.