MEDIATION

The Challenge of the “Box”
Most disputes, conflicts or stalemates result from the parties being in a decision-making framework (or “box”) where satisfying one party’s (or a group’s) goals is perceived by the other party (or group) as a loss or defeat. Such a win-lose “box” yields deadlock.

Our role as a Mediator is to help the parties move from the win-lose deadlock to a creative resolution which offers a successful “win-win” outcome.

The Mediation Process
During the Mediation process, we employ tools that allow participants to escape the limits of the “box.” and implement creative resolutions. While our Mediation approach is tailored to the specific needs of each case, the Mediation process is likely to involve elements of the following seven steps. Since we emphasize both creativity and cost effectiveness, we strive, where possible, to streamline the process.

STEP 1 - Set the Stage/Custom Tailor the Process
We consult with the parties to establish the specific structure/framework for the mediation process. While there are common elements to the process, we do not have a “one size fits all” philosophy. Instead, we collaborate with the participants to design a process that is practical, cost-effective and calculated to achieve successful, implementable outcomes.

STEP 2 - Disciplined Listening
It is essential that the parties to a dispute feel heard and understood in a confidential setting. The disciplined listening process is central to this step:


Where appropriate, this step may also involve the preparation and presentation of written position papers.

STEP 3 - Focus the Issues
Often disputes or conflicts result from, or are aggravated by, the way the issues are initially framed. Based on the full airing of the parties’ positions and the concerns which underlie them, we carefully review the issues at stake and make sure that they are clearly articulated. Without such a clear understanding of the issues, it is usually impossible to resolve them. And, once the issues are understood, we check to make sure that all the parties who could contribute to the successful resolution of the dispute have been identified and encouraged to participate.

STEP 4 - Assemble and Present the Facts
Once the critical issues in dispute are fully framed, it may be necessary to check on the accuracy and completeness of the facts upon which the parties are relying in support of their positions. Bringing factual disagreements or misunderstandings into full view is essential to reaching resolution. To assure that all the relevant facts are understood and then considered by the parties, we use communication tools designed to provide clarity and to allow parties to start to hear each other in new ways. Examples of such tools include:

To Present Facts:
• Charts, Tables, Spreadsheets
• Information organized according to location, time, unique categories or priorities

To Aid Understanding:
• Timelines
• Flow diagrams
• Critical Path Analyses

To Capture Points of Disagreement:
• Dissonance diagrams

STEP 5 - Review the Facts and the Parties’ Perceptions
The facts gathered in Step 4 are reviewed in detail with the parties. Each party is given the opportunity to question and challenge the facts. Each party also has the opportunity individually to discuss in depth with the Mediator how it perceives the facts as they relate to the issues in dispute. Depending on the parties’ needs, this may also involve the submission of written statements.

STEP 6 - Formulate New Approaches
Having heard the parties’ initial positions; carefully framed the issues; assembled, presented and reviewed the relevant facts; and considered the parties’ views with respect to the facts, we are now ready to work with the parties to come up with new ways of looking at the facts and the issues involved so as to escape the “box”. In this context, tools such as decision trees or systems analyses which can aid the parties in visualizing the bigger picture and the interrelationships between key factors may be of assistance and will be used strategically. It is also often helpful to review with each party the relative strengths and weaknesses of its position and how it can achieve its objectives through the strategic modification of its stance. Finally, we are likely to utilize one or more creative problem-solving tools, including:

• Avoiding the “tyranny” of limited facts
If the facts which are being focused on by the parties are creating a barrier to settlement (e.g. tunnel vision), we may suggest additional considerations to broaden the parties’ perspectives and offer a basis for resolution.

• Expanding the range of solutions using neutral experts
We may use our family of experts or other neutral expertise to suggest innovative ways of viewing the problem. Such neutral expertise can offer a broader focus than the advocacy-based advice provided by the parties’ own experts and thus augment the potential settlement options.

• Expanding the range of solutions using “sweeteners”
By exploring with the parties their goals and eliciting a full range of outcomes which have value to them, we may be able to identify items (“sweeteners”) not in dispute which one party may be willing to offer, and the other party to accept, to settle the conflict.

• Emphasizing common values or interests
Not uncommonly parties to a dispute may have shared values or interests (outside of the disputed matter) of which they are not aware. By identifying and communicating such shared values/interests, we can create common ground, enhance the parties’ respect for each other and remove some of the emotional force driving the dispute.

• Taking the parties out of their traditional settings
Using innovative retreat-like settings such as those offered by the Santa Fe Council, we can encourage creative thinking and more open, informal communication among the parties. This often enables parties to work through disagreements more respectfully and without distraction.

STEP 7 - The Culmination – Achieve Resolution
The new approaches suggested during Step 6 then provide the springboard to achieving resolution. We facilitate such resolution by assisting the parties to test out the creative approaches and to collaboratively come up with a solution which each party finds to be sufficiently advantageous so that it will agree to settle the dispute/conflict. This is not an externally dictated judicial or administrative outcome – rather, it is the result of a consultative process in which each party preserves its ultimate decision-making power.

FACILITATION

The Challenge/Opportunity
Effective Facilitation enables the participants to openly share and explore ideas in a manner that encourages creativity and consensus building, without becoming disorganized and ineffective. The challenge and the opportunity presented by effective Facilitation, is to create a “safe environment” where participants interact freely and frankly while their ideas are recorded, explored and then integrated into meaningful, implementable outcomes.

The Facilitation Process
To meet the challenge and take advantage of the opportunity offered by Facilitation, we are guided by the following principles, which we adapt, as appropriate, to serve the needs of both small and large groups:

• Fully Understand the Program Topic and Objectives
We work closely with the program sponsor in order to understand the topic(s) to be explored and objectives to be achieved.

• Carefully Prepare the Facilitation Process
We inform ourselves regarding the program topic, so as to knowledgeably shepherd the discussion and keep the program “on track”. Additionally, we will often suggest short readings for the program participants regarding techniques to optimize their interactions and the success of the program. Finally, working with the program sponsor, we help to design the program setting, agenda and the use of visual and computer aids in order to support effective idea exchange; creativity generation; consensus/team building; and the achievement of the program objectives. In addition to more conventional meeting formats, we may suggest using exercises which call for cooperation and strategic thinking and/or outdoor program elements.

• Create a “Safe Environment” for the Free and Open Exchange of Ideas
We open the program by outlining simple, but essential, ground rules designed to assure that all participants have the opportunity to share fully their views in a respectful and “safe” environment. This includes sharing techniques that allow the participants to avoid traps which limit open discussion and keep participants locked in fixed (and often defensive) positions. Without such a “safe” environment, creative dialogue becomes difficult, if not impossible.

• Maintain Program Organization and Momentum
We are disciplined in our approach to Facilitation, without being directive. This means that we will keep the program organized and maintain its momentum, while, at the same time, not restricting the free flow of ideas or controlling the conclusions reached.

• Help to Focus and Integrate the Discussion
We employ techniques to help the participants focus and integrate the multiple elements or “threads” of the discussions without imposing our views as to desired outcomes. To be truly effective, the program outcomes need to be the outgrowth of the participants’ own idea sharing and deliberations, so that there is ultimately consensus and “buy-in” to the program outcomes.

• Foster Practical and Implementable Outcomes
While a facilitated program should in the end leave the participants feeling good and may often generate meaningful insights, most programs also seek practical, implementable outcomes such as new approaches to solving problems, new policy or program initiatives, or new products. We work consistently throughout the program to help assure that ideas are reality tested and that the discussion advances toward constructive closure.