In the Healthcare Leadership Excellence podcast, Karl Pister and I talked through ideas from my Best Conflict Conversation Cards, which he uses in his consulting work: the stories we tell ourselves, the anger iceberg, impact versus intent, and the power of a generous assumption. These skills matter in healthcare, at work, and at home, and every one of them can be learned. Here are nine ideas from our two conversations.

Children fall out with each other constantly, and the next morning they are back on the same blacktop. Somewhere between second grade and adulthood, we started treating a broken conversation as permanent. Our family conflicts and our geopolitical conflicts are the same conflicts scaled up. Only the weapons get greater. What two little girls told me about friendship is where repair starts.

If your family is struggling with decisions about an aging parent's care, medical treatment, or end-of-life wishes, I want to start with the thing I say to families in my mediation practice all the time: you are not alone, and neither is your family. This is not an easy season, and there is a lot to navigate at once. And while this is not the conversation any of us wants to be having, it is one of the most important conversations you can have.