Shannon Pearson explores how avoiding conflict often leads to more of it and highlights the importance of understanding what drives disagreements. Shannon shares her journey from conflict avoidance to becoming a mediator, emphasizing that resolving conflict requires courage and humility. Through relatable analogies, like dodgeball, and impactful stories, including a grieving employee’s struggle, the talk reveals that conflict often stems from unspoken vulnerabilities and values. By stepping away from assumptions and listening deeply, we can transform conflict into a tool for connection and understanding. Viewers will learn practical steps to embrace conflict, foster deeper relationships, and create positive change in their personal and professional lives. Workplace Conflict Resolution Specialist & MediatorAs an accomplished mediator, Shannon is committed to helping organizations and individual transform by embracing conflict and navigating the discomfort of tough conversations.Her professional experience began as an investment advisor in the financial industry. She transitioned her focus from economic performance to people performance when noticing that regardless of how robust a process is, people will not perform at their best when they are not engaged and aligned to a shared outcome.Spending years avoiding conflict, Shannon knows firsthand the cost of not resolving recurring issues. Her innovative approach merges interpersonal connectivity with a deep dive into underlying issues, driving enhanced performance and team productivity. This results in a remarkable improvement in interpersonal dynamics and an overall boost in organizational performance, leaving a lasting impact by finding common ground, creating connections, and the foundation for collaborative solutions.This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx