From conflict to understanding, from getting stuck to moving forward
Anatomy of workplace Conflict Transformations: Tools, Tips, Thoughts
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Workplace Conflict
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Race & Gender
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Conflict in Pop Culture
About the author - Dr. Sara Shamdani
“I don’t know what I think until I write about it”, wrote the brilliant Joan Didian. I am a socio-political scientist and a writer and I come to understand my experiences more fully through writing. And because I’m passionate about conflict transformation and work as a mediator to bridge people’s understanding of each other, I come to these pages to explore my experiences and understanding of conflict in our culture, particularly at work. Sometimes I draw on my personal stories and experiences and sometimes I purely cite the research I’ve read. I hope these stories and thoughts resonate with you and I hope you find something helpful in them.
The question of “Where are you from?” and Indigenous Introductions
I recently attended a conference where the keynote speaker was the Indigenous artist, activist and ambassador: Sarain Fox and her vulnerability, her wonderfully open and honest conversation opened me up to a new understanding of the question: ‘where are you from?’
Prince Harry and the question of Unconscious Bias vs Racism
During a recent interview with a journalist, Prince Harry who was promoting his highly anticipated memoir, Spare, was asked about racism within the British Royal Family. The journalist asked: “[Meghan] said there were troubling comments about Archie’s skin color. Wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?” Harry responded with a no and how those comments were examples of unconscious bias, which to him is different than racism. In this post I want to unpack the very important terms of racism, racial bias, and unconscious bias, their nuances, and how different people define them.
When art talks about work: Beyonce and the ‘Great Resignation’
Music is one of the most ephemeral forms of art as it moves the body through the rhythm, sensations, and vibrations it creates. It is incredible to see Beyoncé use her platform in a powerful house-inspired dance song, inviting the listener to dance, stomp, clap, and move their bodies to the rhythms of the song and release the pain, sadness and anger of the last few years through dance. And while doing that listen and sing the lyrics around philosophies of a healthy work-life balance.
Duchess of Sussex and accusations of bullying: a case of cultural clashes at work
In my last post, I wrote about the accusations of workplace bullying against Meghan Markle, Buckingham Palace’s investigation and what belies a fair and just investigation. In this post, I want to address how the lack of cultural competency and understanding of communication styles that change based on culture can lead to misunderstanding to such an extent that their impact can feel like ‘bullying’, ‘undermining’, and ‘disrespecting someone’s abilities’.
What is a workplace investigation? Buckingham Palace and the investigation of bullying against Meghan Markle
A year and half ago, right before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah was to be aired, news emerged that an investigation was being undertaken to explore allegations of bullying by the duchess towards her staff. In this post, I will unpack the pillars on which every fair workplace investigation must be fixed upon. My purpose here is not to decipher the truth, rather to point out the pillars that must uphold any workplace investigation for it to be fair and just.
The Firm and the Disaster of Lack of Diversity
Sometimes I get a chance to combine my professional and personal passions, and this blog post is one of them! I’m a huge proponent of the business case for DE&I (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) policies, and in my spare time I love to dive into the royal family gossip. Right now the royal family has made front-page news with a cautionary tale about the massive business costs that result from underinvesting in DE&I training and policy implementation, as well as a lack of diverse voices in senior leadership.
Post-pandemic Workplace Challenges
Workplaces are starting to open up again and we will return to our offices and navigate the next phase of the pandemic between a hybrid workplace model and a full return. On our path to heal from the trauma of the pandemic, it is important to be prepared for conflict, tension, and the effects of the pandemic spilling over into the workplace. These issues can be around disagreements about COVID precautions, the organizational and job-role changes that have happened (including some workers being hybrid and some not), and the massive change in daily routines that many workers will experience.
Whoopi, race, colour and ‘passing’
“If the KKK was coming down the street and there was me and a Jewish friend....well... I would run....but the KKK will pass them but not me”, Whoopi Goldberg explained. This is an important sentence because it is a glimpse into understanding what Whoopi was talking about: ‘the fear of not being able to pass no matter how momentarily!’
Whoopi Goldberg, “Maus”, and the conversation of ‘what is racism?’
Recently there was a conversation on the talk show “The View” about some Tennessee schools banning Art Spiegelman’s brilliant book: “Maus”. They were talking about the significance of the book in showcasing the devastation of the Holocaust, and then the conversation took a turn by Whoopi Goldberg talking about how the Holocaust was not racially motivated since this was simply crimes of humanity against its own kind. She called it a “White on White crime.” Her colleagues mainly disagreed with her, but none were able to provide a substantial analysis or an argument of why Holocaust was about race. I have a lot of thoughts about this important topic.
Hamilton and Toni Morrison
I have been reading and reflecting on the criticism that Lin-Manual Miranda received on the release of In The Heights. In my research, I went down a rabbit hole and came across something very interesting: a critique of Hamilton (the musical) by the playwright Ismael Reed in a play called “The Haunting of Lin-Manual Miranda”. This play criticizes, what Ismael considers, Miranda’s smoothing over of Alexander’s Hamilton slave-owning ties and not even addressing his contributions to the genocide of Native Americans. I learned that this interesting play was partially funded by Toni Morrison, a very intriguing factor, so I dug deeper.
In the Heights: An immigration story and unconscious bias
I’m fascinated by immigration stories. As a first-generation immigrant myself, I’ve found that regardless of where people immigrate from when they immigrate with the goal and in hopes of a better life, many of those stories are similar. They seem to blend and create ‘the immigration story’.
The poems of my ancestors
I come from a long line of peacemakers. My grandfather and my great uncle were mediators and peacemakers in their large families and the small village they grew up in. I grew up hearing stories of how different people would go to these men, the elders of their community, to have their disputes resolved. Their calm and kind demeanor drew others in. It felt calm just being in their presence.
Feminist Killjoys and the Royal Family
I watched the TV event of the year: Oprah’s sit down with Meghan and Harry and I have been thinking about allyship of Prince Harry. Or rather allyship in general. He said during the interview that although he had been doing the work before meeting Meghan and reading and educating himself, he grew up in an environment that active anti-racist thoughts and behaviours were absent.
Gratitude
I have a tasbeeh at home that I use for meditation. Tasbeeh is a Muslim prayer bead and this one was a gift to my dad from one of his friends who brought it from Mecca. I saw it one day at his place and asked if I could have it and he gave it to me. I am not religious but I am spiritual and my tasbeeh has been helping me to focus on my breath.