Workplace Conflict Resolution: Nicole Marra of Fixer Advisory Group On How Team Leaders Can Create The Right Environment To Resolve Conflicts
An Interview With Eric Pines
Hold yourself accountable. When team members perceive their leaders resisting responsibility for their actions or decisions, it can lead to conflicts over decision-making, performance expectations, and overall team dynamics. As a leader, you must model the behavior you want to see in your team.
An important component of leadership is conflict resolution. Why is conflict resolution so important? How can leaders effectively incorporate conflict resolution into their work culture? In this interview series we are talking to business leaders who can share insights and anecdotes from their experience about how to implement Conflict Resolution at work.
Nicole Marra is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fixer Advisory Group, a consulting firm that provides strategic partnership to independent brands, and serves as a trusted advisor to business executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Fixer specializes in operational support, legal services, real estate, DE&I, corporate culture, human resources, and storytelling. Fixer has represented a varied client roster that includes Altuzarra, Veronica Beard, Khaite, Tanger Outlets, Jennifer Fisher, Printemps, Veja and Trove.
Over the last 20 years, Nicole Marra has become one of the most sought-after strategists and “fixers” in luxury and retail — she follows a people-first approach, leveraging her wide-ranging experience and vast network of relationships to empower leaders to grow and elevate their brands in today’s complex business environment.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
My education is in psychology and law. Throughout my career, I held various roles in film production, talent advising, and consulting for small businesses. I always prioritized learning and teaching. As a leader, I advocated to play a bigger role in DE&I, real estate, culture, and communications at Gucci, encouraging my team to excel and contribute in ways meaningful to them. Looking back, it’s clear that I was preparing for Fixer — as a leader, as an expert on organizational behavior and leadership, and as an entrepreneur. My aim was to build a model that harmonized well with where I wanted to take my career and filled a real niche in a market I know well.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Well, I’ve had a long career and I’ve seen a lot of “interesting” situations over the years, but I would have to say that my time as General Counsel at Gucci was by far the most interesting and exciting time of my career. From running high stakes litigation with world famous brands, to riding along with the NYPD on counterfeit raids, to negotiating the insider details for the Met Gala, and everything in between, it was an incredible experience on all fronts. Having the opportunity to take care of such an iconic brand during one of its most extraordinary periods of growth was an honor and a privilege… and never dull!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
“There are many tenets of Wholeheartedness, but at its very core is vulnerability and worthiness; facing uncertainty, exposure, and emotional risks, and knowing that I am enough.”
Brené Brown’s classic book Daring Greatly transformed my approach to my career, relationships, and many other aspects of my life. Reading Brené’s pioneering research on shame and vulnerability led me to recognize the degree to which I had been operating from a place of fear and encouraged me to lead instead with vulnerability and “wholeheartedness.”
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We’re a boutique consultancy with specialized expertise across retail, luxury, real estate, and hospitality. Our shared platform of advisors caters to independent brands and their leadership, offering industry and subject matter expertise for a range of issues like legal, DEI, corporate culture, sustainability, finance and HR, to name a few. These smaller brands need the same support and services as their conglomerate-backed counterparts, but can’t (and shouldn’t) justify the massive overhead of a senior in-house team.
Fixer isn’t a typical consulting firm — we’re high-touch and holistic, and we go beyond making recommendations to truly operate as an extension of our clients’ businesses. We also have unique access to a wide network of collaborators; when we encounter niches outside our wheelhouse, we can always find the right person for the job. We’re able to take a far more dynamic approach to problem solving because we can tap into expertise across all areas of a business, whereas most boutique consultancies are focused on individual practice areas like finance, legal, real estate, and so on.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Empathy and Vulnerability: A good leader is self-aware, unafraid to be vulnerable, and cognizant of their own shortcomings. Lead by example — this mentality has the power to shift corporate culture, but it has to start at the top. Creating a space where my team members and clients feel heard, supported, and understood has been instrumental to our growth as a team and as a business.
Example: We worked with a company that wanted to expand, but the founder refused to acknowledge that they would need to change their approach for this to happen. They led from a place of fear, and it bred distrust and frustration. It took serious work, but we could really only be effective once the founder was willing to see and own their role in creating toxic situations. Being empathetic and vulnerable myself was the first step that allowed us to move forward together.
Problem-Solving and Adaptability: As a Fixer, my core belief is that I can fix or figure out nearly anything. Throughout my career, I have encountered diverse challenges, and my ability to think strategically, adapt to changing circumstances, and find innovative solutions has been crucial to overcoming these obstacles.
Example: A luxury brand approached us with a complex criminal matter that required urgent attention. The situation was critical, and the brand’s reputation was at stake. Through a combination of legal expertise and creative problem-solving, our team quickly formulated a comprehensive strategy that not only saved the brand hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also helped them navigate the legal complexities with confidence and emerge stronger.
Trust and Respect: Trust is at the core of my business philosophy. It’s a necessity to build trust with clients, team members, and collaborators through mutual respect. As a trained lawyer dealing with highly sensitive information, my clients know how seriously we take this. I’m a lockbox — I assure my clients that they can confide in me and know that we have their best interests at heart.
Example: We often work with multiple executives within a single organization. In order to get to the root of their business’ challenges, we need to provide a safe space for leaders to share differing perspectives on a single issue. This mutual trust and respect allows us to effectively navigate sensitive situations and help identify larger themes within an organization’s culture.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?
I spent the bulk of my career learning, growing, and ultimately leading a team within a highly established corporate environment, within one of the most well-known brands in the world. I had the opportunity to jump into all sorts of roles and situations at Kering — I’ve always felt drawn to being a problem solver, so I loved this aspect of my position that pushed me to think outside the box.
There came a moment when I realized that I had sort of fallen out of alignment with myself. After many, many years of feeling like I was exactly where I wanted to be, it was difficult to come to terms with this shift. I mean, for a fashion girl and a lawyer, it doesn’t get much better than Gucci’s General Counsel! It took some serious soul-searching before I was ready to go out in the world and be big in my own right, as opposed to doing it from behind the Gucci brand — but when I was finally ready to take the leap from being a leader within a major organization to leading my own company, I never looked back.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s start with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. What does Conflict Resolution mean?
Conflict Resolution is the process of identifying and unpacking interpersonal disagreements with the goal of finding a solution that, to some extent, satisfies everyone involved.
What are some common misunderstandings about Conflict Resolution that are important to clear up?
That there’s only one right answer, Point A to Point B. People and relationships aren’t linear, so why would conflict resolution be?
This might be intuitive to you, but it will be helpful to clearly express this. Can you please explain why it is so important for leaders to learn and deploy conflict resolution techniques?
It’s imperative for leaders to learn and deploy conflict resolution techniques because it sets the tone of the entire organization. As a leader, you can only expect from your team what you’re willing to model in your own behavior.
On the flip side, what happens to a work culture when there is not an effective way of resolving conflict? How does it impact employees?
- Without effective methods of conflict resolution, small issues tend to build up and eventually boil over; this can create a divisive environment by chipping away at trust and motivation within a team or organization.
- Conflict resolution needs to include an open forum to share different (and sometimes divergent) perspectives. When individuals are encouraged to hear and appreciate other points of view, they become better team players. On top of that, humans are inclined to fill in the blanks — increasing communication decreases room for ambiguity. The more context, the better.
Can you provide examples of how effective conflict resolution has led to increased team performance, collaboration, or innovation within your organization?
Building a business from scratch gave me the opportunity to do things “my way” — to implement all of the systems and processes I’ve seen work throughout my career. We prioritize clarity and communication so that we can move forward in sync.
For example, at Fixer:
- We have regular meetings with an opportunity to share challenges and issues.
- We invest in and utilize communication tools to increase collaboration and visibility.
- We make sure to spend time together (as a team and individually) outside of the office to get to know one another as people, not just coworkers.
- We have defined corporate values and expectations to act as our collective “North Stars.”
Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “Five Ways Every Team Leader Can Create The Right Environment To Resolve Conflicts”? If you can, please share specific examples of a workplace conflict you’ve encountered, and how you applied conflict resolution techniques to address it.
1. Demonstrate vulnerability, empathy and transparency. We all want to do our best, but nobody can do it all. Tension can arise in teams where individuals don’t feel comfortable asking for help — leaders can diffuse these situations by creating a safe space where curiosity and seeking help is encouraged and there is transparency rather than a culture of blame.
2. Encourage multiple ideas throughout a decision-making process. Conflict often occurs when employees feel silenced; when we welcome and value all perspectives equally, it fosters a sense of individual ownership and engagement as well as collective innovation.
3. Establish clear processes that apply equally to everyone. Without these processes in place, it becomes challenging to hold employees accountable — this can lead to unequal workloads and, in turn, frustration. Consistency and clarity can keep your team on the same page.
4. Empower your team with the tools to resolve conflicts — but know when to step in. When individuals work through challenges together, they emerge stronger. However, there’s not always a substitute for an unbiased mediator.
5. Hold yourself accountable. When team members perceive their leaders resisting responsibility for their actions or decisions, it can lead to conflicts over decision-making, performance expectations, and overall team dynamics. As a leader, you must model the behavior you want to see in your team.
In your experience, what are the most common sources of conflict within a team, and how do you proactively address these potential issues before they escalate?
Ambiguity — Be proactive by clarifying your team’s individual roles and the purpose of those roles.
Assumptions — Eliminate as much gray area as possible through consistent, thoughtful communication and be mindful of areas in which misperceptions could arise.
Accountability — Always hold your team, and yourself, accountable. Without individual accountability, resentment can build within a team.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Working with a professional career coach (like a “business therapist”) has helped me more than I could have ever imagined. I would love to see a world where universal coaching was a standard workplace benefit. By offering coaching as a resource to every employee at every level, organizations can empower individuals to address and navigate conflicts more effectively. Professional development, including coaching, should be considered an essential investment rather than an afterthought or perk — it can significantly benefit both individuals and organizations and act as a powerful tool for talent recruitment and retention.
How can our readers further follow you online?
Follow us on Instagram (@fixeradvisory) and Linkedin (@Fixer Advisory Group), and check out our website, www.fixeradvisory.com!
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at eric@pinesfederal.com.
Workplace Conflict Resolution: Nicole Marra of Fixer Advisory Group On How Team Leaders Can Create… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.