Never Cut What Can Be Untied – Exclusive Interview With Jacinta Gallant
- Feb 8, 2023
- 4 min read
Jacinta Gallant is a respected lawyer, mediator and educator, recognized internationally for her innovative approach to conflict resolution training. Jacinta’s resources for divorce professionals, Our Family in Two Homes, help clients prepare for effective dispute resolution. Her podcast, The Authentic Professional, focuses on how professionals can bring more of who they are to what they do and her latest book, Going Steady, helps engage couples in conversations that sustain and nourish their relationship. Grounded in her home on Prince Edward Island, Canada, and with a global vision, Jacinta Gallant is an innovator who inspires other professionals to be more authentic and effective in work and life.
Jacinta Gallant. Collaborative Lawyer, Educator, Entrepreneur
Tell us about yourself and what you do.
I am a divorce lawyer, conflict resolution educator and entrepreneur. I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and work around the world. My mission is to help people integrate their personal values with their professional lives, rediscover the vision that led them to their profession, make a good living and be a positive force for change in the world.
I am a curious, life-long learner, lucky to be part of a large and deeply rooted family, where love and imperfection co-exist. Growing up and living in a place of beauty, peace and abundance, I am grateful for the unique opportunities to be creative and take risks. I am surrounded by people who do not tolerate pretense and who “keep it real”, so my lawyering behaviour (let’s be honest – no one likes a “know-it-all”?!) is kept in check.
Curiosity and Lawyering? I never thought of those two words going together!
Yeah – It can seem to go against the lawyer “rule” that we shouldn’t ask a question we don’t know the answer to. Conventional law practice casts the lawyer in the role of “expert” – the one with the answers – and I admit we can be perceived as judgmental and detached. But some of the most passionate change-makers in our world have been lawyers – who never bought that so-called rule about not asking.
When we are curious, we are open – and then the people around us can open up. It’s like a magic wand!
You are also an educator. Who and what do you teach?
I teach divorce lawyers and conflict resolution professionals to be productively curious in our work, which tends to have a wonderful effect on us personally. I help professionals engage with clients in a more meaningful way, manage conflict more effectively, and help people discover new ways to work through their differences and reach agreement.
I am a student and teacher of the Insight Approach to Conflict, which is grounded in relational social and learning theory – so our conflict interventions are focussed on understanding the threats that get in the way of dialogue, clearing up misinterpretation, and breathing fresh air into problematic interpersonal situations. This approach is really resonating with conflict professionals around the world. And for divorce professionals, it makes sense of what we experience “in the room” working with couples in conflict.
What inspires your work?
Never Cut What Can Be Untied. I’ll say no more, it’s so eloquent. (I didn’t write it – Joseph Joubert did in the 1500’s)
What are you most excited about for 2023?
I am bringing some of my favourite themes to my podcast, The Authentic Professional. The podcast invites you to “Bring More of You to What You Do”.
In a bi-weekly “Twenty Minute Workout”, I am inviting listeners to a chat about being present and authentic in moments of conflict. So far we have tackled “The Problem With Problem-Solving” and “The Power of Noticing”. My wonderful mother said you can do almost anything for 20 minutes, so I am putting it out there. Podcast guests will include people who have struggled and found a way to be their true selves in their professional world, to inspire the rest of us to be present and real.
And we will be launching the second edition of a book for couples who want to enhance their relationship with some fun (and deep) exercises for how they will be together. The book is called Going Steady: A Toolkit for Building Your Future Together and I love how our graphic designers captured the energy of the book. Here's the website.
What’s it like to live on Prince Edward Island and work around the world?
Well – It’s winter right now and I love the silence that comes from a blanket of snow. Living here connects me to a place with deep roots for my family. It’s beautiful in 4 seasons, and we have great beaches, food and music. I used to travel a few times a year to give training, but since the pandemic started, I have been able to teach around the world through virtual engagements. I am returning to travelling now, but I love being home. Virtual training continues, and the podcast helps me reach out.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
That we lawyers would be able to cast off our armour and become the healers we are intended to be. That we would recommit to our purpose – to help people live in community with one another in a way that respects the individual and the whole. That there would be fewer lawyer jokes (though many of them are quite funny!)
And while we are talking about industry, I have a hope for the “industry” of humans. I hope we can be more present in our work – whatever it is – and more patient with one another. That would make a huge difference in our world.
