Ep. 1 - The Power of a New Negotiation

TRANSCRIPT:

Collaborative Hardball We are building a more peaceful, sustainable, and gender equal world One negotiation at a time And we are not taking no for an answer We are not taking no for an answer At home, at work And at the global peace table The feminine is rising And we are not going back

Welcome to the Collaborative Hardball Podcast. My name is Susan Coleman, and I'm so glad you're here. This podcast is for anyone who feels that there is something terribly off with how power works in the world, and who senses that we're on a threshold, not just politically, not just environmentally, but humanly.

This podcast centers women because we are the largest untapped resource for transformation on the planet, and it welcomes everyone who believes that empowering women and elevating relational, ethical, and systemic forms of power is essential to shaping how we negotiate conflict and shape our shared future together.

Why this podcast right now? Because the world is on fire, literally with climate catastrophe, politically through rising authoritarianism and democratic backsliding, socially through widening inequality, violence against women, Black and brown communities, and our natural planet, our natural world. Many of us just feel exhausted turning on the news.

My own son, and this really pisses me off, uh, has a... He works high at 10,000 feet. He runs a mountain guide company, and he has to wear a mask up there because of the climate fires, and the air, which should be pristine, is full of smoke. Many young people I know, including my own children, are hesitant to bring new life into the world because the future feels so uncertain and unstable.

This isn't abstract, it's personal, and it's global, and these crises share a common root: a patriarchal world culture that is based on domination, not on partnership. What do I mean by patriarchy? It's not men and women, uh, albeit it harms all of us in different ways. It's a worldview. It's one that privileges power over versus power with, competition over collaboration, extraction over care, and it shapes how we negotiate and how we lead from the intimate all the way up to global systems.

And here's the truth that I've come to understand. You can't talk about negotiation for women without talking about patriarchy, because patriarchy weakens our walk-away positions, whether those are psychological, economic, whatever they may be, and your walk-away position is the essence of what gives you power in any negotiation.

So what do I mean by collaborative hardball? I kinda think it's the counterforce to patriarchy. It's not about being nice, and it's not about being ruthless. It's about being firm, fierce, fair, and unapologetic. It's about staying relational without losing authority. It's about honoring emotion without being dismissed.

It's about collaborating without surrendering leverage. It's a stance. It's a way of showing up It's a new negotiation. And women are uniquely designed to lead this, not because we're morally superior, but just because we know what's at stake. So a bit about me. I've been, um, working for decades in the peace and conflict field from war zones around the world with the United Nations to inner city classrooms to boardrooms, and one of the things that I have noticed is that it's the how we do things that matter.

And my specialty has been intervening in complex conflicts and figuring out how to build common ground. And in the course of doing that, I've come to realize that the most powerful intervention we could do on this planet, planet-wide, is to create real gender equality and empower women. When women change how we negotiate, how we say no, how we hold our boundaries, how we work for needs Systems shift, not overnight, but fundamentally.

So what to expect on this podcast? Season one will correspond to the 12 chapters of my new book, Collaborative Hardball: Using the Power of a New Negotiation as Women to Change the World. It won't replicate the book, but, uh, ideally it will enrich it with interesting speakers, practitioners, uh, just some cool people, mostly women, but not exclusively.

After each episode, I'll invite anyone who would like to come onto a Zoom conversation through Substack and enrich the conversation, uh, do some skill practice, build community, uh, build the bench, so to speak. The idea here is to move beyond... We've all been through a lot, and the intent here is to move beyond authoritarianism, move beyond this huge backlash that has been going on, move beyond fascism and all of that to build a more deeper, truer democracy and all the skills that go along with it.

Because here's the truth: There can't be gender equality without democracy, and there can't really be a real democracy without a new negotiation for women. In this podcast, you'll hear powerful stories from women and allies about how negotiations happen, how conflicts get resolved in powerful ways, inspiring ways, um, in practical ways.

We'll span the range from work to, uh, the peace table, to relationships, all of the above, 'cause that's where negotiation and conflict show up and come to life and are, are relevant to all of us. It's the small stuff that adds up to the big stuff. This will be a space for building strength, building competence, and like I said, building the bench, so to speak.

Because how we negotiate is shaping the world we are creating together. So I invite you to listen with your head, of course, but with all the parts of you that bring intelligence to this world. I hope this podcast inspires you to take ever better care of yourself, to be braver and kinder with others, and most of all, to be firm, fierce, fair, and courageous, because the feminine is rising, and we are not going back.

Thanks for being here. I'll see you next time. I can't wait Hey, if this episode resonated with you, please check out my website at susancoleman.global. There you'll find information about how to buy my book, Collaborative Hardball: Using the Power of a New Negotiation as Women to Change the World, and also how to join my free or paid Substack community so that we can move this all forward together.

Thanks for being on this journey with me, and looking forward to seeing you again.