My History

Conflict Management Through Personal Experience

When I transferred from a school for children with disabilities to a mainstream secondary school, I received personal assistance for the first time. Two assistants took turns accompanying me throughout the school day, providing support and personal care.

This new situation presented me with an early challenge: finding arrangements that worked for both my assistants and me. I soon realized that an agreement that worked well with one person was not necessarily acceptable to the other.

Without realizing it at the time, I began intuitively applying the principles and methods of interest-based negotiation, long before I even knew there was a name for this approach.

As my support needs later expanded from assistance during school hours to round-the-clock personal assistance, my team grew to six to eight people. This brought increasing challenges in communication, coordination, and collaboration. Objective criteria and transparent agreements became increasingly essential.

At the same time, I realized that the quality of my own care depended significantly on everyone working together towards a common goal. These experiences gave me my first practical insights into conflict management, long before I pursued mediation professionally.

How Do These Experiences Benefit You?

Looking back, I see many parallels between working with my personal assistance team and the challenges businesses face.

Different personalities, interests, and needs must be brought into alignment. Clear agreements, mutual understanding, and a constructive approach to conflict are essential for effective collaboration.

These experiences continue to shape my approach and philosophy as a business mediator today.