About Us
Julia Menard and Gordon White are the Principals and Founders of the On Conflict Leadership Institute. They are both seasoned conflict mediators, coaches and educators with a combined experience of over half a century. Julia and Gordon teach at the Justice Institute of BC’s Centre for Conflict Resolution and Centre for Leadership.
Working within organizations has put them in contact, time and again, with the needs of leaders, supervisors, managers and administrators grappling with conflict. They saw the way leaders handled conflict had an enormous impact on individuals, teams and the organization.
This insight sparked the beginning of an idea: What if there could be a place where leaders could go to find support for their conflict leadership development? Julia and Gordon firmly believe there is a strong correlation between conflict and the responsibilities of leaders. This White Paper, written by Julia for her Masters in Leadership, illustrates that clear relationship. The On Conflict Leadership Institute is a response to that need. Gordon and Julia have come to see that the starting place needs to be leaders taking ownership and responsibility for conflict. They want leaders to have the skills, tools and mindset that will model the way for the rest of the team.
Julia and Gordon see a world where leaders take responsibility in these kind of ways:
- When faced with a conflict personally, a leader who is conflict competent will take responsibility for their impact and role, instead of deflecting or blaming someone else.
- A conflict competent leader is aware of, seeks feedback on, and takes responsibility for, the effect that their leadership and management style has on others. Their style will influence how others interact and therefore the amount and types of conflict that arise.
- In the most expanded viewpoint, a leader takes responsibility for all of the conflicts that occur in their area of oversight. Why? Because by taking responsibility they can drive culture change towards conflict competence through upleveling education, expectations and norms through various initiatives.
The intention of the Institute is to develop conflict competent leaders, organizations and cultures.
We invite you to explore our website, research and offerings to learn more.
Click here to read our individual bios.
Want to contact us? Drop us an email! juliaandgord@onconflictinstitute.com
About Us
Julia Menard
M.ED. CERT. CON.RES., P.C.C.
Julia specializes in supporting leaders to find the courage to engage in conflict and to collaborate constructively. Julia has been on faculty at the Centre for Conflict Resolution since 1998, where she’s coached hundreds of leaders from various professions in more effective communication. She co-wrote a book on how to Hold On To Yourself, to help clients learn self-regulation skills. Julia’s been published in several magazines, and blogs at http://www.juliamenard.com. For fun, Julia plays the electric bass and aspires to play the upright one day.
Gordon White
MBA
Gordon has been mediating and consulting for 25 years. He particularly enjoys coaching individuals whose responsibilities allow them to have a positive impact on society. Gordon teaches a Master’s level course at Royal Roads University. He cohosts the OnConflictPodcast with Julia, and provides depth perspectives on conflict in his blogs at https://www.theconflictjourney.com. Gordon experiences a deep connection with the natural world.