When I first started my divorce mediation practice, I tried to align myself with other mediators. I attended networking events, arranged one-on-one meetings, and overall chose to be supportive of my colleagues. And what did I get in return? “Don’t quit your day job,” a fellow mediator told me. 

Admittedly, that attitude discouraged me, but I persisted, and I am very glad I did.

Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that attorneys, financial planners, parenting coaches, and mediators can coexist.  In fact, we create a synergy with each other when we choose to collaborate.  I have a Zoom lunch every other week with a mediator in California, @AdyaRiss.  We discuss our ongoing cases, pick each other’s brains, learn from, and encourage one another.  I am also a member of a professional group that originated in Minnesota, @TheDivorceSupportCollective, whose members are practitioners from all over the country specializing in a variety of divorce-related fields.  This group is a fantastic resource for education and collaboration.  We meet virtually twice a month, and I always walk away inspired, motivated, invigorated, and educated.  

I think this “collaboration over competition” concept is relevant in many other aspects of our lives.  It shows up in how we appear to our families, what our friendships look like, and even in politics. With the ever‑deepening divide across our country, I have to remind myself regularly that we have more in common than not. We all want safety, stability, opportunity, and a future for the people we love. Perhaps our political leaders have forgotten that. Perhaps if they focused on collaborating instead of competing, some of our greatest challenges as a nation might be eased. 

The most successful professionals I know, whether they’re attorneys, doctors, nurses, therapists, coaches, or mediators, all have one thing in common: they don’t operate in isolation. They build relationships, share ideas, refer clients when someone else is a better fit, and they understand that collaboration doesn’t dilute their value.  In reality, it amplifies their value.

Remember, collaboration starts with us.  It starts with the conversations we choose to have. It starts with the people we choose to support. It starts with the belief that someone else’s success doesn’t threaten our own.

Every time I log off a Zoom lunch with a colleague or finish a meeting with The Divorce Support Collective, I feel energized, not because we solved every problem, but because we showed up for each other. That’s the power of collaboration. It creates momentum, community, and best of all, it creates possibility.  And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in this work, it’s that possibility is contagious.

Whether you’re navigating a divorce, building a business, raising a family, or simply trying to make sense of the world, you don’t have to do it alone. Collaboration isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of wisdom.