June 2026
(PSHRA’s 2026 national conference is set for Sept. 28 – 30 at the Portland Hilton Downtown in Portland, Ore. Click right here for more details on PSHRA26’s keynote presentations, reasons to attend this can’t-miss public sector HR event, and our registration rates, which remain the same for the third year in a row!)
Jamie Notter believes there is such a thing as good conflict within organizations.
“Good conflict feels alive, has traction, stretches you and draws you in,” Notter recently told PSHRA. “Good conflict produces results, drives change, solves problems, creates value and strengthens relationships.”
Notter will share some keys to reaping the organizational benefits of “good conflict” at PSHRA26, to be held Sept. 28 – 30 at the Portland Hilton Downtown in Portland, Ore.
Notter—a speaker, author, advisor, culture scientist and self-described “amateur comedian”—will deliver the opening keynote at this year’s national conference, helping PSHRA kick off the celebration of its 120th anniversary.
Discussing his 75-minute presentation, The Secret to Good Conflict in Organizations, with PSHRA, Notter laments the lack of positive conflict in workplaces.
“Unfortunately, good conflict is rare,” said Notter, whose 30-year career includes more than a decade spent researching culture change. “And don’t write it off as a skills gap. Sure, we could all improve on our difficult conversation skills. But the real culprit here is your conflict system.”
Every organization has a conflict system, says Notter, who has authored four books, including the award-winning Non-Obvious Guide to Employee Engagement, and his 2024 release, Culture Change Made Easy.
In his Sept. 28 keynote, Notter looks to shine a light on how these systems work, “revealing how [they] operate, and showing you how to make concrete changes to the system that will start delivering good conflict right away,” he said. “Stop trying to survive your conflicts, and start turning them into a strategic advantage.”
Over the course of 75 minutes, Notter plans to share more details of conflict systems, which some agencies may not even be aware they have. He’s also eager to provide some actionable steps that the public sector HR leaders on hand can take to make “concrete changes that will start producing better conflict outcomes right away.
“What I really like about this keynote,” he concluded, “is that people can see that the better outcomes can be achieved by changing things that are already in their control.”
