Read, Review, Reflect | We Wish We Had Known

Chapter Ten: Be Kind to Your Client and Yourself - Ellen Foley

Ellen provides a launchpad to explore and reflect on the behaviors and implications of being kind. Sharing what kindness looks like in her consultancy, provides us with an opportunity to think concretely about an abstract way of being. Employing kindness as a priority for both client and self is more easily attained by a shift from the corporate world to the independence and self-determination available in private practice.

Ellen's use of the descriptor 'aspirational' when sharing the challenges of maintaining kindness resonates and affirms my own work in conflict mediation. Working with challenging clients enmeshed in emotional conflict requires an intentional use of listening sonar to hear to the depths of the issue. This same deep exploration and listening is necessary in our personal reflections as we manage the challenges and obstacles of our work.

Readers will benefit from the reminder to be intentional in extending kindness and the need to afford that kindness to ourselves. Madison Area Business Consultants (MABC) recently published We Wish We Had Know a compilation of wisdom from Ellen and author-members. We Wish We Had Known is available for purchase on Amazon.