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Big thanks to the Association for Conflict Resolution

Tammy Lenski with Perri Mayes and Cinnie Noble

Tammy with Perri Mayes and Cinnie Noble

Last week I received the Mary Parker Follett Award from the Association for Conflict Resolution.

That means I had the pleasure of hearing myself described in glowing terms that made me want to double-check to make sure they had the correct Tammy. It also means that I had a great deal of time on the flights to and from New Orleans to ponder what it means to be seen as an innovator and risk-taker in the conflict resolution field — without getting too full of myself.

I finally decided this: When we set out to discover the best in others, we manage to bring out the best in ourselves along the way (paraphrasing William Arthur Ward). And isn’t that what good conflict resolution is all about — to bring out the best in others?

Tammy receiving the Mary Parker Follett Award

Photo credit: Jason Dykstra

A very big thank you to the Association for Conflict Resolution for granting me this award and to my treasured colleague Cinnie Noble (on the right in the above photo) for nominating me.

And to my misfit conflict resolution friends — you know who you are (sorry, that last is an inside joke — it had to be said). Celebrating with you all was a highlight of my year. Let us always eat the chocolate cake first. ;)

About the author

Dr. Tammy Lenski helps individuals and organizations resolve conflict more simply and stay calm in conflict.

  • http://thehecklist.wordpress.com Brad Heckman

    Tammy, so well deserved — you bring such creativity, energy, and — let’s face it — a soupcon of mischief, to our field. It’s an honor to be in your orbit!

    Cheers,
    Brad

    • http://lenski.com/ Tammy Lenski

      Thank you so much, Brad. One of the highlights of the trip was finally meeting you in person and having hangout time with your at the New Orleans airport. You are The best.

  • http://www.conversationalriffs.com Neil Denny

    Congratulations Tammy! So pleased for you.

    When I started to emerge from my conventional lawyer shell and began writing and blogging more generally about this thing called conflict your work, together with that of Vicki Pynchon, Cinnie Noble and Amanda Bucklow, very quickly caught my attention and demonstrated that mediation and dispute resolution is about so much more than just settling cases.

    I have my list of people who I would like to be measured against, and achievements I would like to reach. You have long been on the former list and now the Mary Parker Follet is on the latter!

    Keep it up, keep making a difference and keep inspiring others to go further as well.

    • http://lenski.com/ Tammy Lenski

      Thank you so much for the kind words, Neil. I think of you as an innovative thinker too, so your words mean a lot. We’ll find a time to meet in person someday soon, I am sure of it!

  • http://www.absolutionmediation.ca Jason Dykstra

    Congrats again Tammy! It was great to sit down and see you in person as opposed to our usual computer screen :)
    Such a well deserved award, may you never stop being innovative and creating new possibilities for people!

    • http://lenski.com/ Tammy Lenski

      It was so great to see you in person, have a bite to eat, chat more in depth than twitter allows! I so appreciate, too, that you snapped a pic of the “big moment” during the awards…it never occurred to me to ask someone to do that for me!

  • Paul Lambe

    Tammy – Wow – what a wonderful and well-deserved achievement! Congratulations! I am so happy that your love for the field and the development of others has been formally recognized. I am also happy that I was there to see the beginning of your journey in conflict resolution. You are an inspiration and a gift to us all – thanks!

    • http://lenski.com/ Tammy Lenski

      Paul! So lovely to hear from you…thank you for your kind words. I’ll always treasure you as one of my first mediator friends and whose facility with words and humor I still aspire to daily.

  • Chris Brodie

    Tammy,

    Congratulations and well deserved! I’m so pleased for you!

    Eating chocolate cake first is a wonderful prize I award myself whenever I can – hopefully I can be part of the misfit crew the next time.

    Cheers,
    Chris

    • http://lenski.com/ Tammy Lenski

      Hey, Chris! Thanks a bunch…and I can totally see you in the misfit crew (in a good way, of course)!

  • Nan Starr

    I bow to you, Tammy!
    Lenski and Follett. Two greats, forever linked!

    • http://lenski.com/ Tammy Lenski

      What a nice thought, Nan! I love that and thank you for it.