If someone had told me 10 years ago that I might suggest renaming our organization the Pickleball Mediation Program I would have laughed at the joke. I had no way of knowing even what pickleball was or how it would affect our program. A couple of years ago though, it appeared to me that the entire Board and service provider roster were a little more interested in playing pickleball than doing mediations. I, who cannot seem to hit anything with a bat, racket, or paddle to save my life, made fun of the crowd I called "pickleball mediators." We thought about having a pickleball tournament to raise money. We came up with metaphors about the game related to conflict resolution.

My conflict coach asked me a question. I didn't think much of it; she had been asking questions all along and we had developed a good rapport. As a first-time coaching client, I was enjoying the process. Shawra, my coach, had a nice tone to her voice. (The sessions were all by phone in those pre-Zoom days.) She seemed kind.

Join a cohort of Martha’s Vineyard managers and supervisors in a virtual, weekly confidential cohort. Participants receive support and insight into their workplace dilemmas and utilize the case study model in an interactive and participatory process. The text will be provided. All classes will be via zoom.