WIL Talk #125 Karen Valencic, Collaboration & Innovation through Conflict Mastery | Best-Selling Author | Speaker | Executive Coach | Aikidoist | Everything DiSC Partner

Revolutionizing conflict with creativity, how does one do that with grace? Karen Valencic, Mechanical engineer, and author of Spiral Impact, Aikido Master combines her experience with conflict resolution and leadership to offer a fresh view to transform the leadership journey. Karen loves the art of Aikido, a martial arts practice that began back in the early 1900s and is the truest form of martial arts. She takes us on a journey of how power moves with us rather than against us. Aikido mimics life through the movements of energy and creativity; struggle and fear keep us stuck, and differences between people, when: they don’t see things your way or you are at an impasse.She speaks to the power of intention and knowing what it is you desire and the 3 levels to check in with: 1) Big picture 2)  Personal by honouring yourself and others 3)Immediate intent – what do you want now?She provides a great metaphor of how a hammer and nail are forced with short-term impact, whereas a screw and screwdriver provide expansion and longer-term effects. So many great examples of how Spiral Impact actually gains momentum. We discuss what conflict is and why so many avoid it like the plague. Conflict can be used in a very healthy way to build a creative tension or if not used properly will create a destructive tension. That destructive conflict pushes hard, fast, and long, the intention is typically to control, make wrong, or destroy. Whereas conflict mastery pushes just right for the people involved. The intention is to engage for positive outcomes and innovation.How do you handle conflict? In what ways do you practice either creative tension or destructive tension?You can read more about Karen’s on her website at www.spiralimpact.com.  Wanting to better understand how you show up as a leader, visit us at www.wilempowered.com and take our free leadership quiz. #leadership #conflictmastery #difficultconversations #wilempowered #wiltalk