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- Monday Night Live



Jane Gunn — Navigating Conflict in a Disrupted World This week on Monday Night Live, we welcomed back the brilliant Jane Gunn, internationally renowned mediator, lawyer, speaker, and author — known as The Barefoot Mediator. With decades of experience in helping individuals, teams, and organizations resolve high-stakes disputes, Jane brought a wealth of wisdom, calm insight, and practical tools to our Monday night audience.



The Age of Disruption: Why Conflict Is Rising Jane opened with a powerful observation: we’re living in an age of disruption — from political instability and global tensions to financial uncertainty and digital overload. This unrest filters down into the everyday lives of individuals, creating heightened defensiveness, fear, and adversarial behavior in homes, workplaces, and boardrooms.



She described a "cycle of crisis" that’s leaving people disoriented — with many lacking the skills, mindset, or support systems needed to deal with tension constructively.



Where Are the Role Models? Jane and Derek explored the growing absence of grounded, emotionally intelligent leadership. From politics to social media, society is sorely lacking in wise elders and effective role models. Children today often look to peers — or influencers online — rather than older generations for guidance. This, Jane believes, contributes to emotional immaturity and poor conflict management.



Her poignant reminder: "No one's coming to save us. It's up to all of us to speak up."



Speaking Up — Even When It's Hard From whistleblowing in the NHS to calling out toxic behaviors at work, Jane emphasized the need for courage and community support. People are often reluctant to raise issues due to fear of backlash, isolation, or being misunderstood.



She urged us to find safe spaces — with coaches, mentors, or trusted peers — to have “big conversations” and challenge injustice. Social media, she warned, isn't that space.



The Lost Art of Dialogue We’ve forgotten how to have respectful, meaningful dialogue — the kind that used to happen over coffee or at the pub. Today, conversations are transactional, superficial, or overly filtered.



Jane reminded us that resolution happens not just through logic, but through human connection. As a mediator, she likens her work to hosting a dinner party: welcoming people, making them feel safe, and creating an environment where honest discussion can happen.



From Chaos to Clarity — Jane’s Mediation Framework Throughout the episode, Jane unpacked her unique mediation process — built around:



Self-determination: Empowering people to make their own choices



Fully informed consent: Ensuring decisions are based on truth, not assumptions



The Murky Swamp of Reality: Facing difficult truths head-on, rather than avoiding them



Her aim isn't to "patch things up" artificially, but to guide people through the discomfort of truth — so they can make decisions that stick.



Modern Challenges: AI, Comfort Culture, and Over-Reliance on Convenience Jane raised thought-provoking concerns about artificial intelligence. She warned of a growing divide: AI creators vs. AI consumers. The latter risk losing their capacity to think deeply, question critically, or solve problems independently.



She also highlighted our culture's obsession with comfort and convenience — and how it undermines our resilience and willingness to face hard decisions.