Helping Leaders Build Trusted Teams and Claim More Time
I'm Joyce. As a research interviewer, I was asked to work with a hostile person who stood to injure people and damage multi-million-dollar prototypes. Even though I had never learned de-escalation — not in mediation trainings or law school — somehow, I managed it. I continued applying those skills in workplace mediation.
Later, I facilitated EEOC complaints, volatile community meetings, and board discussions. I continued to succeed, making creative use of legal, coaching, and legislative advocacy strategies — none of which were specifically for de-escalation.
Over time, I received multiple requests to meet with clients dissatisfied with a firm’s service, to follow up on survey results from at-risk clients, and to provide coaching on client communication. I didn't know it yet, but I had developed an integrated system with strategies, tools, and principals from all the training I had completed.
It wasn’t until I resolved a hostage incident — a situation where none of the demands could be met and the police weren’t called — that I recognized I had a system, which I later named the Interaction Stability System™. I also realized that people aren’t comfortable addressing conflict and strong emotions, and don’t understand the benefits, importance, or strategies behind it. That’s what I set out to change.
Today, as the founder of Conflict Options LLC and the creator of Conflict-Savvy™ conversations and the Interaction Stability System™, I help leaders and teams generate The Unexpected Advantage™: clarity, trust, and momentum that emerge when differing perspectives are heard and addressed.
My approach draws on years of mediation, facilitation, coaching, and de-escalation experience, grounded in a Juris Doctorate and undergraduate studies in social sciences, psychology, and nursing. It is complemented by graduate-level studies in public policy and specialized training in crisis counseling, legislative advocacy, and supervision.
My work draws on a Juris Doctorate, grounded in social sciences, psychology, and some nursing coursework, along with graduate-level studies in public policy. I’ve also completed advanced training in mediation, crisis counseling, supervision, coaching, and performance consulting.
I resigned from the bar because it competed with my efforts to be healthy and active in the community. Practicing law meant giving up some of that — including volunteering as a Dependency CASA, serving on planning committees and boards, and supporting at-risk youths and adolescents — and I consistently saw stronger outcomes when people worked together to create solutions than when decisions were left to a judge or jury.
I’ve presented regionally and internationally on de-escalation, collaborative negotiation, building agreement, and proactive approaches to working with hostile people. You may have also seen my work on television, heard me on podcasts, or read my chapter in a book on resilience, as well as my writing for Thrive Global, Medium, and Authority Magazine.
When I’m not working with leaders and teams, I’m usually negotiating with my paraplegic Siamese cat, studying Spanish, or connecting with friends.
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