Mediation

If you want to see how singing is done, you watch Aretha circa 1960. If you want to see how soccer should be played, you watch Pele. If you want to see a master director, […]

Chocolate chip cookies – good. Oreos – good. Chocolate chip cookies stuffed with Oreos – very good? Depends. Sometimes, combining two effective- or delicious – things is incredibly powerful. Or it’s a mess. Mediation and […]

Have you ever watched an MMA fight? You’ll see fighters who are loath to give up even when their bones are at the breaking point. Then there are others who “tap out” if a hold […]

Avoiding disputes is like avoiding a common cold. You may want to; you may try everything in your power to ward germs away; you may shy away from those who are infected. But all it […]

Mediation is so effective because it is collaborative. We have, however, turned it into an adversarial process: it’s us against them. In this game, there are never two winners, and that’s unfortunate. In mediation, there can be, and often are, two victorious parties.

If the parties return to work in the right frame of mind, the polarization of the workplace also dissipates quickly. People don’t need allies so much if they are not at war.

When we talk about empathy and a “safe” environment, we do not want to convey the idea that a mediator is a warm, fuzzy friend and therapist. Your mediator has a job to do, and part of that job is making sure everyone feels understood and safe enough to work towards a resolution. Keeping emotions in check, and using them to help further the process, is essential.

There are five phases of mediation, but it is not unusual to cycle back and forth between the different stages throughout the process. It is not linear, but instead a very fluid process – unlike a court trial, which is more rigid. This flexibility is one of the reasons why mediation is so successful.

Choosing a mediator is more involved than pointing to a listing in the phone book; how do you narrow down your choices and make the right decision? Here are five questions to ask any potential mediator to make sure you’re not only getting the best person for the job, but also the best chance for an amicable resolution.

One of the reasons why mediation is successful is because the people in conflict develop their own solutions. Having ownership of decisions is essential, especially if the agreements they create are to be lasting ones.