Conflict costs you time, energy, and money. In this conversation, corporate M&A lawyer and accredited mediator Leah Brown breaks down why most professionals communicate far less clearly than they think, and how that misunderstanding becomes expensive conflict in boards, partnerships, and client relationships.

In this episode:

• Why most people assume they communicate clearly when they don't, and how messages get lost across Slack, email, calls, and meetings in modern service businesses
• The difference between board governance responsibility and operational execution, and why confusion between the two creates conflict in organizations
• How to use reflective listening ("What I heard you say is...") to catch misunderstandings before they escalate into disputes that drain your time
• Why separating the person from the problem helps you find solutions when you're stuck in conflict with a client, partner, or team member
• How different conflict styles (collaborative vs. adversarial) show up in professional relationships, and why understanding your own pattern matters when you're negotiating or problem-solving
• The questions Leah uses to help people see their own role in a conflict: "How much of your working week are you spending on this?" and "What if the other person never changed?"

Who this is for: Service business owners who spend too much time managing difficult client relationships, partnership disputes, or team conflict instead of doing billable work.

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