Illuminating Interviews: Insights into the Hearts and Minds of Conflict Resolution Practitioners

This article shares insights gleaned from interviews with nine experienced, successful conflict resolution practitioners engaged in a variety of interventions from a variety of organizations. The interviews were conducted first with graduate students participating in a class on “Reflective Practice.” Subsequently, the authors conducted a second round of interviews to appeal to a wider audience. Questions and topics addressed by the respondents included childhood disposition for this kind of work, critical milestones along the way, helpful characteristics/attributes, satisfaction they derive from their work, greatest challenges, lessons learned, and examples of “reflecting‐in‐action” utilization.