Help for people in conflict
Find a way through conflict with our support
Sometimes people and groups find themselves in conflicts which can seem impossible to get out of. It might have started small, but for whatever reason, it is now creating stress and anxiety in your life.
We are here to help. We offer expert support for those in conflict. We specialise in social-impact mediation in the voluntary sector, particularly helping trustees and their boards.
We know how hard it can be to know what to say or do. Our team are trained in how to support you to have the difficult conversations which lead to the relief and peace of a settled issue.
We offer three key services: mediation, conflict coaching and facilitation.
Mediation
Mediation is when a trained conflict expert helps you and the person you are in conflict with to come to an agreement. It’s a voluntary process owned by you. The mediator is there to guide a conversation between you and the other person, so that you can both be heard and move forward.
We specialise in supporting people and organisations in social impact and for purpose settings. We know how challenging it can be when passionate people set out to change things for the better – to support others, make a difference or build something good – and then things end up in heated disagreement and dysfunctionality. We are here to help you iron out the issues and relationships so you can make the difference you wanted to make.
We mediate conflicts:
*We don’t cover separation or divorce mediation (termed family mediation) yet but you can find a family mediator near you here.
“We could never have had that conversation without mediators.
The mediators helped us to identify our objective for the mediation. This really encouraged us to lean into the conversation to get the most out of it, even just to be heard.”
– Crux client (social impact case)
Coaching through a conflict situation
We also offer coaching. This can be particularly helpful to prepare people for mediation, or help them work out what to do when mediation doesn’t happen, or isn’t suitable.
Our mediator-coaches have a specific understanding of conflict and the challenges it brings. A coaching session can help you understand better what is going on for you, insights into what might be going on for others and what you can do to help resolve the situation.
It can give you breathing (or venting!) space to work through complex issues where tensions are running high. By thinking through your choices in a curated, expert space, you can have greater peace of mind, improve your resilience and move ahead with confidence.
“Your service is brilliant, you don’t judge, you listen, you have patience to hear what’s going on. You understand what people are going through. You don’t do this for attention, you’re the real deal.“
– Crux client (social impact case)
Facilitation for tricky situations
Sometimes an issue spills out to affect whole groups, teams and Boards. It can be hard to disentangle everyone’s opinions and interests. You might find that people polarise into different groups, stop trusting each other and communication becomes challenging.
If this happens at Board or leadership level, the whole organisation and the people it seeks to serve are affected.
We design processes which open up communication, take the heat out of things and provide a space where people can share their opinions and reach a clearer understanding of each other. Through our expert curation, groups can move from confusion and distrust to clarity, collaboration and action.
We facilitate groups to explore:
Facilitation is a versatile tool. We also work with teams who are not in crisis but want to improve performance, to help them make a bigger difference.
This powerful tool can protect wellbeing, improve communication, and increase clarity around your vision, values and ways of working.
“I was really grateful for the services of Crux and though it was a difficult time for us, the professionalism of the mediators made a huge difference to the way that potentially febrile meetings went.
They were gracious and gentle and ensured that at all times the environment was a healthy one where both sides had the opportunity to be heard, and the responsibility to listen well.“
– Crux client (social impact case)
Mediation, coaching and facilitation ultimately help people turn stressful conflicts into situations they can live with peacefully. They often involve courage – like most things worth doing – but we are here to make it as easy as possible.
Sweeping conflict under the carpet or trying to force people to think your way can often lead to more conflict. We can’t guarantee that we will make your whole life trouble-free, but we will help you find more hope and freedom in a difficult situation.
You might not know what exactly you need, that’s normal. Why not set up a call with us? We can explore the most suitable options for your context.
