The Empathy Bridge: Using Emotional Intelligence to Navigate Conflict and Build Resilient Teams

Lunch N Learn Webinar

Wednesday, November 4, 2026 - 12:00-1:00 PM CT (Virtual via Zoom)

Presenter: Brittany D. Clausen, MSW, LGSW

1.0 CEU - Cultural Responsiveness

Conflict is inevitable in social work, between colleagues, within teams, and across systems, yet few professionals are given practical tools to address it before it erodes trust and well-being. This session introduces the Empathy Bridge Framework™, a practical model for understanding and addressing conflict at the individual, relational, and organizational levels. Participants will explore how emotional intelligence can serve as a diagnostic tool for identifying the root causes of workplace tension, and as a bridge for co-creating solutions with teams and clients. Drawing on real-world case examples, this interactive session equips social workers, supervisors, and agency leaders with strategies to navigate difficult conversations, de-escalate conflict in real time, and foster psychologically safer, more resilient teams. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how conflict manifests at each level, concrete emotional intelligence skills they can apply immediately, and at least one strategy to strengthen team resilience within their own organization. The session also attends to cultural responsiveness, recognizing how identity, power, and context shape the way conflict is experienced and resolved.

Learning Objectives

1) Identify how conflict shows up differently at the individual, relational, and organizational levels using the Empathy Bridge Framework™.
2) Apply emotional intelligence skills to de-escalate difficult conversations and reduce workplace tension in real time.
3) Develop at least one practical strategy to strengthen team resilience and psychological safety within their own agency or organization.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Brittany D. Clausen, MSW, LGSW, is the Founder and CEO of Envision Greatness (EG), a leadership development and management consulting firm serving mission-driven organizations nationwide. A licensed social worker and sought-after speaker on emotional intelligence, Brittany helps leaders, teams, and organizations navigate conflict and build stronger workplace cultures through her proprietary Empathy Bridge Framework™. Her work centers empathy-driven leadership, equity, and organizational healing, drawing on both her clinical training and lived experience as a Black woman entrepreneur leading a woman- and minority-owned business. Brittany partners with nonprofits, corporations, and government-adjacent agencies, guiding them toward introspective, sustainable growth through moments of organizational chaos and change.

PRICING

Free for NASW Members 

$20 for Not-Yet-Members

REGISTER HERE