Conflict Managed

Ep 211, Breathe: Practicing Mental Hygiene

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Shalin Desai. Together we explore:
Trying to escape vs. learning the skills to navigate difficult situations
Learning and practicing The Art of Living breathing
What is within our control
Training your mind
The role of emotions at work
The connection between breath and emotions
Emotional regulation: how?
Taking the mental “trash” out regularly
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration
 
Shalin Desai is the Director of Programs for the Art of Living Foundation, one of the world’s largest nonprofit organizations, whose initiatives have positively impacted over 500 million people across 180+ countries. With more than 25 years of experience teaching breathwork and meditation, Shalin is known for integrating ancient wisdom with modern leadership and well-being practices. He also serves as Chief Revenue Officer of Sri Sri Tattva, a global wellness brand offering natural and Ayurvedic products that promote holistic health through a blend of tradition and science.
For over 15 years, Shalin has designed and delivered corporate leadership and wellness programs for organizations including Microsoft, Dell, Boston Consulting Group, Accenture, Salesforce, Eli Lilly and Company, and Merck & Co. His work helps leaders and teams manage stress, build resilience, and cultivate mental clarity while reconnecting with a deeper sense of purpose.
Shalin is known for his Intuitive Life Scan, a breakthrough approach in which trained guides provide unbiased insights into an individual’s current situation. A highly engaging speaker known for his relatable storytelling and humor, Shalin inspires audiences with practical techniques they can apply immediately to improve focus, leadership, and overall well-being.
Shalin holds a degree in Supply Chain Management from the State University of New York and lives in Indianapolis with his wife and two children.
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

Ep 210, Say It Clearly: Discrimination and Harassment Will Not Be Tolerated

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Derek T. Smith. Together we explore:
Harassment and discrimination at work
Impact vs. intent
Holding real conversations before problems escalate
Smart people learn from their own mistakes. Geniuses learn from the mistakes of others
Let people talk. Let people know you are available.
When to reach out to a lawyer
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration
 
Derek Smith is a nationally recognized employment attorney and founder of the Derek Smith Law Group, with nearly 30 years of experience fighting for victims of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination. Since 1995, Derek and his firm have secured over $400 million in compensation for clients across offices in New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, California, and Florida. He holds the record for the largest emotional distress jury verdict ever upheld on appeal in an employment discrimination case in the United States. Known for his compassionate yet tenacious approach, Derek has represented everyone from blue-collar workers to world-famous celebrities, making him one of the most formidable voices in workplace justice today.  
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.
 
#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Connection #Podcast

Ep 209, Midcareer Development

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Lucy Standing. Together we explore:
Internal and external networking
Her new book, Age Against the Machine: New Rules for Working in an Ageist World
Continuing career conversations at work
Agism at work
Assume good intent, then have the conversation anyway
 
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration
Lucy Standing is a Chartered Psychologist, founder of Brave Starts, and Vice Chair of the Association for Business Psychology. She was previously Global Head of Recruitment in the Investment Bank and Strategy Consulting sectors across JP Morgan and LEK consulting.
Lucy is co-author of Age Against the Machine, a book that argues the talent shortage gripping British business isn't a talent problem - it's a filtering problem. The most experienced, emotionally intelligent, highest-performing workers in the room are being screened out - by algorithms, by assumptions, and by hiring systems built for a workforce that no longer exists.
Lucy has spoken in the UK Parliament on this issue, contributed research to the OECD on ageing and employment policy, and writes a regular careers column for The Daily Telegraph. As founder of Brave Starts CIC - a career development community of over 2,000 people navigating midlife work transitions - she isn't just making a theoretical argument. She has thousands of real stories to back it up. 
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.
 
#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Connection #Podcast

Ep 208, IDEA: Issue, Discussion, Explore, Action

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Mauricio “Reese” Ramos. Together we explore:
What an organizational ombuds is and does
Different conflict styles at work
Being present with others when they are struggling
Why does this matter so much to you?
What’s holding you back from acting?
The Ombuds Academy
Learning: knowledge or wisdom?
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @ 3pconflictrestoration
Mauricio “Reese” Ramos is a nationally recognized organizational ombuds and conflict management expert with more than 25 years of experience helping individuals and organizations navigate complex workplace challenges. He currently serves as the inaugural University Ombuds at Virginia Tech, where he designed and leads a university-wide office supporting faculty, staff, and students through confidential, impartial, and informal conflict resolution services. He is also the founder of Ombuds Academy, committed to training the next generation of Ombuds to confidently navigate complex workplace conflict and build healthier organizations.
Over the course of his Ombuds career, Reese has worked across academia, government, corporate, and nonprofit sectors—supporting more than 10,000 individuals and advising leadership on systemic workplace issues. He is a past President of the International Ombuds Association, a certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner, and a frequent trainer and speaker on conflict management, communication, and leadership.
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.
 
#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Podcast #Ombuds

Ep 207, Helping or Hindering? How We Affect Others’ Growth

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Norman Wolfe. Together we explore:
The nature of work
Is there a better way to design work?
People are not “valuable assets”
The universality of love
Foundational needs we all have
Training people not to grow (old thinking)
The Living Organization framework
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration
Norman Wolfe is the Founder and CEO of Quantum Leaders, and the creator of The Living Organization®, a framework CEOs use to solve execution breakdowns and lead teams in complexity. His work fundamentally reframes why dysfunction sticks around, translating deep systems thinking into tools that help leaders move beyond toxic cultures and into workplaces built on dignity and co-ownership.
With over 40 years of leadership experience—including executive roles at Hewlett-Packard and running a $1.2B business unit—the stories Norman brings are filled with tested wisdom.
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.
 

Ep 206, What Actually Motivates Us at Work

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Bruce Mayhew. Together we explore:
Getting your job done vs developing your career
Constructing policies that encourage growth
Creativity as a fundamental goal
Evolving (instead of changing)
What are we measuring (and why?)
Figuring out how people can be their best vs fitting people into preexisting molds
Bruce’s new book, The Path of the Inspired Leader
 
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration
Bruce Mayhew has a passion for helping his clients achieve their professional development goals. He is a corporate trainer, keynote speaker, and author who has spent more than two decades helping leaders and teams build empowering cultures that turn good intentions into everyday behaviors that build trust, engagement, and results. As president and founder of Toronto-based Bruce Mayhew Consulting, Bruce delivers practical, people-first and research-informed programs and keynotes covering Leadership and new-leader development, Difficult conversations, Generational differences / Generational dynamics, Time management, and Email etiquette.
A former Scotiabank leader, Bruce spent 11 years in roles spanning sales & marketing, corporate marketing, and cash management. Today, clients value Bruce for his clear frameworks, energizing delivery, and immediately usable tools. His training anchors custom solutions that match each organization’s culture, strategy, and goals.
In his debut leadership book, The Path of an Inspired Leader which launched in February 2026, Bruce distills years of practice into a practical, uplifting roadmap for leading with clarity, courage, and care—so people feel safe, proud of the work they do, and connected to why it matters.
Whether coaching one-to-one or engaging a ballroom, Bruce’s mission is constant: help leaders create the conditions where people flourish—and performance follows.
 
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

Ep 205, Agreeing on How to Disagree at Work

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Navid Nazemian. Together we explore:
If not now, when?
Being prepared to meet your luck
Navid’s book, Mastering Executive Transitions
Trust at work
Being seen, heard, and respected at work
Taking time to understand what you and your colleagues find acceptable and unacceptable when dealing with conflict
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @ 3pconflictrestoration
Navid Nazemian is an international bestselling author, executive coach, and keynote speaker helping leaders and founders navigate high-stakes transitions and scale their impact. Author of Mastering Executive Transitions, he has coached executives across five continents and appeared on 70+ podcasts. His work blends leadership, strategy, and personal growth, offering practical frameworks to build resilient teams, grow sustainably, and lead with clarity and confidence, supported by a global community of 40,000+ leaders.
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

Ep 204, Beyond Simply “Holding It Together” At Work

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Richmond Heath. Together we explore:
TRE (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises)
Shaking and trembling as a natural selfcare technique
“Have you had your career defining moment yet?”
How old is your nervous system? How is your nervous system responding in the moment?
PQ: Physiological intelligence
Being truly calm and relaxed vs. trying to clamp down and masking/pretending to be calm and relaxed
Unfreezing and thawing the body to let your body unwind
External conflict ends with the dawn of internal peace
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration
Richmond Heath is a pioneer in somatic stress recovery and the founder of TRE Australia, where he has spent over a decade teaching people how to access the body’s innate ability to release stress through a natural, often-overlooked reflex: shaking. His work with Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) offers a paradigm-shifting approach to wellbeing—one that helps calm the nervous system, ease chronic tension, and support emotional balance without the need for mental effort, storytelling, or structured routines. TRE is now used by individuals, athletes, and wellness professionals seeking practical, body-led tools for resilience and recovery.
Richmond’s understanding of the pressures people face isn’t theoretical. His own experiences with high-functioning anxiety, especially the strain of trying to meet unspoken expectations around what it means to “hold it together,” showed him how many men feel trapped by outdated ideas of strength. This personal insight fuels his work today, where he invites conversations about a different kind of masculinity—one that values embodied presence and connection over silent endurance. For men who find talk-based therapies uncomfortable or inaccessible, Richmond shows how simple body-based practices can offer a practical, private way to process stress and reconnect with themselves, making space for healthier relationships and a more balanced life.
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.
 
#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Connection #Podcast

Ep 203, Flow States: Focus, Clarity, Creativity, and Better Work

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Steven Puri. Together we explore:
What flow states are and how and why to enter themWork should be measured by effect, not location or time spent
Establishing your company culture
Leadership is seeing what someone has to offer and creating the conditions for it to emerge
How full do others perceive their glass to be (rather than how full it actually is)?
Building space for creativity
 
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @ 3pconflictrestoration
 
Steven Puri is the Founder and CEO of The Sukha Company with the mission to help millions of people find their focus, achieve more and have a healthy work life.
Steven's career started as a newscaster/interviewer for the #1 youth news show in the DC/Baltimore market (on WTTG-TV) and then as a junior software engineer & Thomas J. Watson Scholar at IBM. After attending USC in Los Angeles, he began working in film production and produced computer-generated visual effects for 14 movies including Independence Day which won the Academy Award for Visual Effects.
Steven’s first tech company was Centropolis Effects that produced those CGI effects, and he eventually sold it to the German media conglomerate Das Werk when he was 28.
Steven then produced some indie films and eventually went studio-side to develop and produce live-action features as a VP of Development & Production at 20th Century Fox (running the Die Hard and Wolverine franchises) and an EVP at DreamWorks Pictures for Kurtzman-Orci Productions (Star Trek 11, Transformers 1&2, Eagle Eye, Transformers: Prime, et al.).
After Fox, Steven returned to building tech companies and had two failed start-ups before founding The Sukha Company - ‘sukha’ means ‘happiness from self-fulfillment’ in Sanskrit. The Sukha is a focus app that bundles all the tools necessary to enter into a Flow State and a have healthy, productive workday.
Steven now lives in Austin, TX.
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

Ep 202, Friendship at Work

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Bud Caddell. Together we explore:
The power of friendship at work
Experimenting to find durable solutions
Behavior changes at work
Checking-in and repairing work relationships
Foreground and background conversations
Generations at work
Developing a “culture contract”
You get the workforce you think about/expect
Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration
Described as “a craftsman of transformation,” Bud has dedicated his professional life to proving that change is always possible, even in the largest, most complex institutions on the planet.
Bud started his career as the Head of Technology at a venture-backed startup, and quickly found himself advising Fortune 500 executives on their technology and innovation efforts. But the barriers to change we saw across their organizations weren't technical. They were cultural and organizational. Inertia, politics, dysfunction, as well as plain fear, stopped good ideas from being explored or even heard. Meanwhile, traditional consultants saw change primarily as a communications exercise, and focused on grand plans, not the hard work of implementation.
In response, Bud became obsessed with the real mechanisms behind organizational change - the levers that actually provide new behaviors and shared conditions, and ultimately drive their adoption at scale. He founded NOBL in 2014 as an evidence-based and experimentation-forward approach to transformation, which has garnered truly remarkable results and attention for clients.
Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.
#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Connection #Podcast