Restorative
Leadership™
Living and Leading Well Through Conflict
What is Restorative Leadership™?
Restorative Leadership™ offers a transformative alternative to traditional conflict resolution by emphasizing relationship-building, non-anxious leadership, and shared power in decision-making. This leadership style focuses on healing and strengthening family systems during conflict, while rooted in one's ability to maintain well-differentiated in chronically emotionally charged environments.
Drawing from restorative practice traditions, Bowen Family Systems Theory, and servant leadership principles, Restorative Leaders are keenly focused on differentiation of self, cultivating emotionally safe environments fostering relationships, defining shared values, while modeling and sharing power for decision-making. They act not by imposing opinions or decisions, but by guiding families through conflict with calm and non-anxious presence. Studies across various contexts—including family justice systems and cases of intra-family trauma—illustrate that this unique leadership style incorporating restorative practices foster reconciliation, pro-social behavior, and long-term well-being, offering a compelling model for more compassionate and effective family conflict resolution for parents and professionals working with families.
Restorative Leadership™ is most commonly utilized in working with highly conflicted/anxious families or parent/child relationships. It can also be useful in business or nonprofit settings in which relationships are a top priority to work out presenting challenges. Research also points to successful implementation for parents being trained in Restorative Leadership™ techniques to change household conflict. 90% of parents trained saw positive outcomes at home and with their children.
Restorative Leadership™ Training Opportunities
NO. 1
Restorative Family Mediation™
Mediation Training: Moving Towards a Restorative Response in Family Conflict.
Restorative Leadership™ highlights an essential paradigm shift from adversarial negotiation toward relational restoration. Mediators who integrate restorative leadership traits can create more inclusive, trust-building environments where families feel genuinely heard, respected, and empowered to co-create solutions. By modeling non-anxious presence, encouraging constructive communication, and guiding parties toward shared decision-making, family mediators can help preserve relationships even amid significant conflict, resulting in more satisfying, durable, and healing outcomes for all involved. Mediators can expand their business and help bring families back together rather than the traditional family law routes.
NO. 2
Pastors, Ministry Leaders, & Denominational Leaders
Elder Teams, Congregational Care, & Staff - a Better Approach to Conflict.
Restorative Leadership™ is particularly valuable for faith community leaders and those involved in congregational care, as it aligns deeply with biblical principles of reconciliation, shalom, and covenant relationship. Restorative leadership traits offer clergy, denominational leaders, pastoral counselors, and lay leaders a practical framework to guide individuals and families through conflict while promoting restoration and healing. By learning how to cultivate a non-anxious leadership and foster community-based decision-making, faith leaders can better support the holistic well-being of their teams, congregations, denomination, and missional reach beyond the church walls. Increase trust and embody a redemptive approach to conflict, using this technique, that promotes restoration and reconciliation both in individuals and the wider faith communities.
NO. 3
Health & Human Services, Behavioral Health, Counselors, & More
"Lift the hood" and get to the root of things quickly to build initial or ongoing plans.
Restorative Leadership™ presents vital applications for therapists, social workers, probation officers, and other helping professionals who engage with families in crisis. The emphasis on relational healing, emotional regulation, and shared power provides practical strategies for addressing deep-rooted conflict, trauma, and behavioral challenges within family systems. Restorative leadership tools enable professionals to facilitate empowerment rather than dependency, promote community reintegration, reduce recidivism, and foster sustainable personal and relational transformation. By applying these principles, practitioners can offer more compassionate, collaborative, and effective interventions in their work with individuals, families, and communities.
NO. 4
Parents of Any Kind
Strengthen your family culture and learn how to facilitate tough discussions.
Restorative Leadership™ principles offer parents a simple yet powerful framework for nurturing emotionally healthy children and resilient family systems. By practicing non-anxious presence, prioritizing strong relational bonds, and sharing decision-making power appropriately, parents can model emotional maturity, accountability, and empathy within their homes. This approach not only helps prevent future cycles of conflict but also empowers children to develop essential skills for healthy relationships, problem-solving, and community engagement as they mature.
Parents can attend a workshop or request our team to facilitate a workshop for a group of parents (excellent for faith communities, nonprofits, schools, and more).
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