I’ve spent more than twenty years in and around workplace conflict, first as a lawyer, then as a mediator and investigator. I’ve seen leadership teams stop speaking to each other, a whole department reorganised around one person’s moods, and a dispute that started over a stapler end in two resignations.

Here’s what I’ve learned. Unmanaged conflict escalates fast, positions harden, and the damage spreads well beyond the people directly involved. By the time an organisation calls someone like me, it has usually been going on for months.

Sometimes the problem is a process. Sometimes it’s a person. I don’t decide which until I’ve looked. I was once brought in to deal with a high performer whose results were exceptional and whose treatment of colleagues was not. He assumed the results made him untouchable. They didn’t. Part of my job is to say what everyone in the room already knows and nobody has said, and then to deal with it fairly and properly.

I’m informal. I’d rather have a real conversation than run a script. People tell me more that way, and I get to the heart of a situation faster. But informal doesn’t mean loose. Every investigation I run is procedurally rigorous, because if it isn’t, it won’t hold up when it’s tested.

I conduct independent workplace investigations, mediate conflict between senior leaders and within teams, and facilitate structured processes for teams where working relationships have broken down. I also advise organisations dealing with misconduct and cultural breakdown. I handle every matter personally.

My clients are HR directors, boards, executives, general counsel and law firms who need an independent practitioner when a matter is sensitive, contested or already escalating. Matters range from a single complaint in a small business to multi-party investigations for boards and large organisations.

When I investigate, I find out what happened. When I mediate, I help people find a way through. Either way, the aim is to deal with it fairly and stop it spreading.

I publish Resolution Roundup, a monthly newsletter on workplace conflict.

Qualifications and Accreditations

Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Psychology major
Master’s degree in Industrial Relations and Human Resources Management
AMDRAS Accredited Mediator
Professional Member, Resolution Institute