Stronger Together: Leadership Tools to Communicate and Collaborate Through Conflict

with Lee Mozena, Zena Consulting

“Weaving the Work” starts with mission and vision — sustained by the grit and grace of people who love their community. Snags are inevitable, but they don’t have to unravel your organization.This session equips participants to work through the conflicts every team faces — not by avoiding them, but by understanding and leveraging them. When leaders can distinguish productive friction from destructive infighting, they can hold the weave together even when the threads pull hard.Nonprofits tend to attract people who share similar values and goals, which makes it especially frustrating when boards or teams grow apart — worn down by mismanaged conflict, infighting, or forces beyond their control. Left unaddressed, these dynamics show up as:Time lost avoiding hot topics or arguing instead of planning strategyCritical initiatives derailed by fighting or flawed processesLow trust that stifles good ideas and enthusiasmPromising initiatives undermined when key voices are ignoredTalented people who leave — or bad-mouth the organization on their way outThe stakes are higher in today’s polarized climate. Expectations for civil discourse have eroded, social media can turn a private disagreement into a public relations crisis overnight, and colleagues run into each other — and their opinions — at the grocery store.Not all conflict is bad, and not all of it is resolvable. The real skill is identifying and welcoming constructive differences that surface real objections or hidden problems, while separating personal friction from systemic causes. That distinction alone often puts solutions within reach.This is especially critical for small-town and rural nonprofits, where a healthy, inclusive culture is essential to attracting and keeping good people — yet resources are scarcer, funding is tighter, and the pool of available board members, staff, and volunteers is smaller, and sometimes too close for comfort.

Speaker

Lee Mozena is the founder and owner of Zena Consulting, established in 2008, which helps leaders navigate today’s increasingly diverse and complex nonprofit landscape, resolve conflict, and build partnerships that expand organizational impact.

Drawing on earlier careers in business communications and family support, Lee brings a systems-thinking approach to problem-solving grounded in a simple premise: organizations function much like families, and the same relational patterns that strengthen or undermine families also shape leadership, teams, and partnerships.

Her core services include Leadership Communication, Conflict Management and Facilitation, Inclusion Strategies, Community Engagement, and grant support.

Based in Seattle and Bellingham, Washington, she has worked with nonprofits, public agencies, educational institutions, associations, faith-based organizations, and small businesses throughout the Pacific NW and USA.

Lee holds an M.A. in Liberal Studies from The New School and a B.A. in Communications from Temple University, along with certifications in Basic Facilitative Mediation, Community Adaptive Leadership, Training Specialist (University of Washington), and Cultural Detective®.

This will be Lee’s third presentation at an NPLC conference. See the full list of her speaking engagements, clients, and projects at www.zenaconsulting.com.