As professional mediators, we are accustomed to observing and dealing with challenging and unproductive behaviors. Our training and experience provide us with the insight that helps us to discern emotionally driven behavior as opposed to behavior that is grounded in…
In my work as a workplace mediator I have encountered thirteen projects to date that have involved a leader with an abrasive leadership style. It’s been hard for me to admit but it took eight of those cases over several…
“Certainty is a cruel mindset. It hardens our mindset against possibility.” ~ Ellen J. Langer Decision making is a process. Taking a decision is an act. In mediation, parties’ right of self-determination is to be respected. By no stretch of…
Learning from Every Mediation I have been mediating for over twenty-five years. During this time, I have had many different experiences with clients, including the good and the bad. I have also had experiences that exceed good — mediation can…
Because there is so much power in our words, we can use them to do a whole lot of good particularly when we are working as professional mediators. Here are six practices to harness the power of the words we…
The common attribution to the word ‘Mediator’ is one who is neutral, one helps to resolve or one who helps to balance the power to create a space for negotiation and navigate through barriers created by perspectives. A mediator, like…
It is common to hear people observe, reflecting on the pandemic, that things will never go back to the way they were. There is certainly good reason to believe that virtual meetings are now a fact of life. If you…
“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.” Arthur Schopenhauer “To be aware of limitations is already to be beyond them.” Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel “The only way of discovering the…
This article was first published in the Oakland County Legal News on January 26, 2021. “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.” The Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed, 1969 The…
In this article, I describe the mediation of a human rights dispute alleging abusive work conditions and labor practices in a global supply chain. This situation involved several commercial disputes between purchasers, contractors, sub-contractors, and workers from the “informal economy.”…
