Ken Cloke's Agility Narrative on the power of conflict resolution & mediation

The Agility Narratives

0:44 The early part of Ken's journey with conflict, parents relationship, a shared heritage, and being close to Latino and Anglo communities.
1:42 Going to Berkeley, becoming an activist initially in the civil rights non-violent movement and working in the south
2:29 Part of the antiwar movement trying to stop the war in Vietnam and represented GIs
2:48 Legal approaches could not complete the journey
4:00 Legal path - civil rights, law professor, judge led to a point of personal crisis
4:33 A lecture on mediation changed Ken's life. The solution he saw conflict resolution to be.
5:59 Reflecting on last 42 years as a conflict resolver
7:11 The first few steps post that neighborhood meeting...
8:35 Understanding protest as a law making process and evolving towards collaborative problem solving
9:53 The law is inherently adversarial - a zero sum game
10:33 What mediating dangerously is about - as said by Gerta "the dangers is in life are infinite, and among them is safety"
11:50 Connecting mediation and systems design
13:18 Organizational conflicts as indicators of what is not working
14:42 Inside us, between us and around us. Conflict is required for paradigm shift
16:28 Conflict is a dance of opposites - inviting the other to a new dance with new music
18:02 Respect and disrespect - Will Smith and Chris Rock
19:59 Mechanisms of conflict operate at all scales
21:30 We can solve problems collaboratively with one another
21:58 Key tenets of Ken's Agility Narrative - An agile response - be present, deeply listen, and help the other person reach their point of vulnerability
24:15 What tools do you bring to the mediation? The tools of inner awareness, mindfulness
25:13 Empathy - A platform to find out what is true for the other. Relational empathy - experience energy flow between people
26:22 Approaching systemic conflicts is multifaceted needing a different set of skills
28:27 Three generations of systems design
29:31 2nd Gen - Design leadership systems (that reduce conflict resolution)
31:15 3rd Gen - higher order conflicts once we learn to resolve existing conflicts
33:27 In your agility narrative, who/what is the protagonist? Each of us.
34:37 What is your theme for your agility narrative?
35:25 The artful power of questions
37:12 The magic in mediation
38:17 Asking pivot questions as part of an organization
40:38 In your agility narrative, who or what are the villains? Your own worst self
41:18 The reality of being a protagonist and a villain - The dance of Opposites in Narrative structure of conflict stories
42:39 Destabilizing the conflict story (victim, perpetrator and rescuer)
43:48 Another two looks at conflict stories
45:39 What is at stake if people don't learn these techniques.
Jean-Paul Sartre "Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you"
46:38 Call to action to a group of key organizational stakeholders who feel stuck - Multiple Truths
48:01 The power of a planning process... may be constrained
49:49 Discussion of different forms of conversation
51:24 The value of dialogue rather than monologue AND Making Bread
53:02 The facilitator of dialogue plays a number of roles - including teasing out diversity
53:51 Threat, opportunities and mediation without borders
54:47 Ukraine and Russian war - the large scale organization of small scale hatreds - the power of the methodology that leads to war
56:19 What do you lose in your capacity to prevent war by making that assumption?
57:50 Our task as conflict resolvers is really simple. And we need a political system capable of mediation.
58:25 My brief wrap up and thank you to Ken for his agility narrative
Learn more about Ken Cloke
https://www.kencloke.com/
https://www.kencloke.com/books
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ken+cloke+and+vikram+mediator

Chapters

1. Welcome to The Agility Narratives Podcast (00:00:00)

2. The early part of Ken's journey, parents relationship, a shared heritage, and growing up seeing conflict between Latino and Anglo communities. (00:00:44)

3. Going to Berkeley, becoming an activist initially in the civil rights non-violent movement and worked in the south (00:01:42)

4. Part of the antiwar movement trying to stop the war in Vietnam and represented GIs (00:02:29)

5. Appropriate legal approaches took you a certain distance, but could not complete the journey (00:02:48)

6. The legal path led to a personal crisis - Law school, civil rights, law professor, judge led to a point of crisis around delivering justice (00:04:00)

7. A lecture on mediation changed Ken's life. The solution he saw conflict resolution to be. (00:04:33)

8. Reflecting on last 42 years as a conflict resolver (00:05:59)

9. The first few steps post that neighbourhood meeting... focusing on just doing this and trying to learn and still learning (00:07:11)

10. Understanding protest as a law making process and evolving towards collaborative problem solving (00:08:35)

11. The law is inherently adversarial - a zero sum game (00:09:53)

12. What mediating dangerously is about - as said by Gerta "the dangers is in life are infinite, and among them is safety" (00:10:33)

13. Connecting mediation and systems design - internal and external frontiers - internal (emotions) and external (systems, methods, structures, culture, communication patterns... (00:11:50)

14. Conflict resolution system design - Organizations conflicts as indicators of what is not working (00:13:18)

15. Inside us, between us and around us. Conflict is required for paradigm shift (00:14:42)

16. Conflict is a dance of opposites - inviting the other to a new dance with new music (00:16:28)

17. Respect and disrespect - Will Smith and Chris Rock (00:18:02)

18. Mechanisms of conflict operate at all scales (00:19:59)

19. We can solve problems collaboratively with one another (00:21:30)

20. Key tenets of Ken's Agility Narrative - An agile response - be present, deeply listen, and help the other person reach their point of vulnerability (00:21:58)

21. It's combining agility (open response) with analysis, understanding, experience, knowledge... through wisdom. (00:23:19)

22. What tools do you bring to the mediation? The inner tools of inner awareness, mindfulness (00:24:15)

23. Empathy - A platform to find out what is true for you. And relational empathy - the experience of flow of energy between people (00:25:13)

24. The ability to understand the operation of systems. Approaching systemic conflicts is multifaceted and you need a different set of skills (00:26:22)

25. Three generations of systems design first one is conflict resolution processes (00:28:27)

26. 2nd Gen - An organization & leadership is a conflict resolution mechanism. Design leadership systems (that reduce conflict resolution) (00:29:31)

27. 3rd Gen conflict management system - using systems design principle to redesign systems design - higher order conflict as we learn to resolve existing conflicts (00:31:15)

28. In your agility narrative, who/what is the protagonist? Each of us. Hopefully they see themselves and the other as legitimate protagonist in their own life. (00:33:27)

29. What is your theme for your agility narrative? Yes, it leads to technique and set of assumptions (respect, dignify, expect leadership). If I see it in them, perhaps they will see it in themselves. (00:34:37)

30. The artful power of questions - Ken's assumption is that everyone has the capacity to stop and turn on a dime and pivot. (00:35:25)

31. What's happening in a person when they are asked a pivot question? The magic in mediation (00:37:12)

32. Asking pivot questions as part of an organization (00:38:17)

33. In your agility narrative, who or what are the villains? Your own worst self (00:40:38)

34. The reality of being a protagonist and a villain - The dance of Opposites in Narrative structure of conflict stories (00:41:18)

35. Destabilizing the conflict story (victim, perpetrator and rescuer) (00:42:39)

36. Another two looks at conflict stories - the second look - Cut from the accusation or confession to the request. (00:43:48)

37. What is at stake if people don't learn these techniques. Jean-Paul Sartre "Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you" (00:45:39)

38. Call to action to a group of key organizational stakeholders who feel stuck - Multiple Truths (00:46:38)

39. The power of a planning process... may be constrained by a problem in the change process. (00:48:01)

40. Discussion of different form of conversation - Value of polarization and then creating a dialogue between those paths. (00:49:49)

41. The value of dialogue rather than monologue AND Making Bread (00:51:24)

42. The facilitator of dialogue plays a number of roles - including teasing out diversity (00:53:02)

43. Threat, opportunities and mediation without borders (00:53:51)

44. Ukraine and Russian war - the large scale organization of small scale hatreds - the power of the methodology that leads to war (00:54:47)

45. What do you loose in your capacity to prevent war by making that assumption? (00:56:19)

46. Our task as conflict resolvers is really simple. It's to figure out how we work together to solve our problems. We need a political system capable of mediation. (00:57:50)

47. My brief wrap up and thank you to Ken for his agility narrative (00:58:25)