Mylena Sutton & Voltage Vista Leadership Consulting

08/25/2026

Question I asked team in a survey: is it okay to use strong language during team conflict?

All of the employees: No!

Me: Have you ever cursed during conflict at work?

Half of the team: Yes

Me: what about resting bi*** face?

All of the employees? yes!

I work with teams to help them decide their own "rules of engagement". Seriously, I help teams that are stuck in conflict or stuck because they avoid it. Conflict doesn’t have to turn into war, but people do begin building quiet armies when they believe it is culturally inappropriate to bring up hard topics on their teams. How do I know? Candidly? They tell me. From my friends to paid engagements, I regularly listen to a lot of venting about people who don’t pull their weight, leaders who don’t require accountability, and the kind of quiet quitting that happens when people believe their organization’s processes are broken, but it’s not okay to say so. I understand all of these frustrations…and you do, too!

Why do you think people, no matter the title, are so unwilling to deal with conflict, especially when silence is undermining success?

07/27/2026

Most of us treat conflict like something to dodge. But avoidance doesn't make disagreement disappear — it just delays it, distorts it, or lets it curdle into resentment.
Here's what I need you to get: if you truly absorb this, you'll stop criticizing and back-biting, because you'll build the actual skills to manage your anger and communicate. You'll also accept that sometimes there's no value in saying or doing anything at all.
Conflict isn't good or bad — it just is. Every disagreement, at its core, comes down to what should be done, how, by whom, in what order, or why you don't want to deal with it right now. A good fight can strengthen a relationship just as easily as it can destroy one, depending on whether you remember you value the person you're fighting with.
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16 Perspectives on Conflict
1 - A drunk man speaks a sober man’s mind. An angry man does, too. You did mean what you said.

2 - Every issue boils down to conflict, whether it’s disagreement over what should be done, how it should be done, how to prioritize what should be done, who should do the thing that should be done, or your reasons for not wanting to deal with the situation.

3 - A good fight either strengthens or destroys a relationship. If you remember that you value the person/people you’re fighting with, it doesn’t have to be the latter.

4 - Just because a conflict starts or surfaces today, it doesn’t mean that it has to be resolved today (but it needs to be addressed soon).

5 - If you are self-aware enough to know what you turn into when you’re angry, you are able to control what you turn into when you’re angry.

6 - If you consistently lose it on someone, you’re abusing your power or you don’t value/respect that person.

7 - Conflict isn’t good nor bad. It just is. Thinking like this helps you become less resistant to engaging in conflict.

8 - The value in conflict is its ability to reveal gaps in understanding, communication, and alignment.

Comment below for the remaining 8 perspectives!

06/19/2026

04/03/2026

Let's talk workplace culture and accountability. 🎯

As a hiring manager, do you owe candidates the full picture — or is some things better left unsaid until they're in the door?

This is one of those questions where there's no clean answer. Which is exactly why I want YOUR take.
Comment below 👇 and let's get into it.

03/13/2026

Two questions I ask every leader when their team is stuck:

1️⃣ Do you recognize the gaps between how you see the problem and how your team sees it?

2️⃣ If you see those gaps — are you actually willing to meet your team where they are?

That second question is where most people get quiet.

Because meeting people where they are isn't just a skill. It's a choice. And it's often an uncomfortable one — especially when you're convinced your way is right.

I learned this in a classroom years ago when my students were failing and I was indignant. I had to decide: adapt or quit.

The same choice faces every leader with an alignment problem. You either figure out how to serve the team in front of you — or you need to find a different team.

Which choice are you making?

Full video in the link in the comments.

02/12/2026

That moment when a mediation order lands in your inbox with thirteen defendants and you think, “Well… that’s one way to bring everyone to the table.”

People often ask what I do first when I receive a case like that.
The answer is: nothing. Not yet.

When the New Jersey Courts assign a matter to me, the parties have 18 days to decide whether they want to work with me or select a different mediator. Because of that, it doesn’t serve anyone — including me — for me to dive into the details before day 19.

And even then, I only look for the answer to one question:

Have you notified the court that you’ve chosen a different mediator?

If the answer is no, I read just enough to prepare for our initial meeting. That first meeting isn’t mediation — it’s a “let’s get aligned” conversation. I’m assessing readiness, getting a sense of the litigants and attorneys, and determining whether the conditions are right to move forward productively.

I only invest deeper time and energy once I know we’re all committed to the process.

That’s how I protect my time, my focus, and my clients’ experience.

Sidebar:
This photo is from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. As I climbed, I was struck by how dramatically the view changed with elevation. Trees that felt enormous at the base were barely visible from the summit. Bodies of water that looked like formless expanses suddenly had shape and context.

Conflict — and most problems — work the same way.
Perspective changes everything.

02/03/2026

Leadership can feel isolating, especially when you’re caught between managing up and managing down. Many leaders tell me they feel like liverwurst in a bad sandwich — squeezed from both sides, constantly managing how they show up depending on who’s watching.

Speak too freely upline and you risk your upward mobility.
Speak too freely to your team and you risk your credibility.

That’s why my consulting practice is built on trust, warmth, and psychological safety. Leaders deserve a space where they can be honest, vulnerable, and human — without judgment and without fear. A space where they can say, “This is driving me nuts,” or “I don’t know how to fix this,” and know they’re still respected.

My role is to support you, not compete with you. I don’t need the spotlight. My “credit” is a referral and a paid invoice. The success belongs to you and your organization.

If you’re a leader carrying more than you can comfortably say out loud, you don’t have to carry it alone.

I put the video in the comments.

01/20/2026

Conflict is the center of my work — helping people navigate conflict in all its forms, from lawsuits to workplace tension to everyday disagreements. Over the years, I’ve learned that the skills that move people forward in litigation are the same ones that help teams communicate better and rebuild trust. Because because so much of this work intersects with the legal community, I added a notary commission as a simple way to stay connected with the attorneys I collaborate with.

Each week, I share an insight from either the notary or the mediation and conflict‑management world. Here’s this week’s post…

Discover the benefits of mediation for small business disputes in NJ & PA, including cost savings, confidentiality, and faster resolutions.