For as long as I can remember, I dreaded conflict. I would do anything to keep the peace, even if it meant staying silent about how I truly felt. But as I learned firsthand, avoiding conflict didn’t help—it actually held me back. In time, I began to see that expressing my feelings was the key to real understanding and resolution.
Looking back, I see that even as a young person, I was the one trying to bring people together, to help everyone feel heard and valued. I’ve always believed that everyone deserves to feel understood, and this mindset led me toward a career in helping others communicate and connect.
Through each role in my career, I found myself returning to the same goal: helping people connect better and create mutual understanding and making this world to be more about being nice to each other, especially in times when things are very difficult and where everyone can just share their judgments and opinions openly, without thinking about what their actions do to others. In HR, I learned how powerful it can be to create spaces where people feel safe to express themselves, especially in times where they struggle in their career or personal life. I found that real change happens when people communicate openly and authentically. I accomplished this by asking them questions that made them think and tell about these struggles, and that’s what I wanted to bring to my work in mediation and mentoring.
While being in an unofficial mediation process, my coach who I was working with at the time, mentioned to me she saw an opportunity for me to get into mediation as she noticed my natural listening skills, curiosity and my drive to make each party happy. I researched and picked the study that would teach me more about being a mediator. I always thought mediation was something for people with a legal background and that you need to know about a certain topic to be a good mediator, however, it can actually be a benefit not to know the legal aspects as you can ask better questions if you don’t know. The study opened my eyes and fitted like a glove.
Starting Listen Consulting was a natural next step for me. I saw a need for conflict resolution and mentoring that wasn’t just about finding solutions but about creating real understanding. I wanted to build a service where people felt supported, listened to, and empowered to resolve issues in ways that were true to them. During my career I have had over 7 years of voluntary mentoring roles that have formed me to the Mentor I am now, offering different perspectives, making people feel heard and empower them to take the next step they deserve.
In mediation and mentoring, empathy and active listening are everything. People need to feel genuinely heard before they can move forward. When their emotions, thoughts or interests are ignored or not seen, they will feel stuck and can’t take the next step to move forward. You see it happening in conversations when people do not feel that what they say is heard, it will turn into more frustration and will make the struggle worse. It’s a privilege to witness the relief and clarity that come when someone feels seen and valued for who they are.
My long-term vision for Listen Consulting is simple: to create a more harmonious, human-focused world where people feel empowered to communicate openly and resolve conflicts in healthy, constructive ways. The same counts for the people I mentor, I give them a platform to share their thoughts, beliefs and values and together, we create paths forward with perspectives for a bright future. I believe that when we listen to each other without judgments and with an open view, real change becomes possible.
Connect with me on LinkedIn to learn more about my journey and insights on conflict resolution and personal growth.
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