In mediation, I find one of the most useful things to identify is where the party is stuck. Sometimes the focus is on a need to right a wrong. Sometimes there’s a lack of focus – someone wants to but doesn’t know what s/he wants to move towards, or how.
Pinpointing this helps people get “unstuck” because the realization leads to meaningful questions and clarity about options for resolution; and those are questions that propel the process.
Nepotism happens. Although it may not necessarily be illegal, it can still cost employers. Fairness can be the antidote.
In a recent case between a current employee and his employer, the dispute appeared to be a fairly common consequence of hiring a new (outside) supervisor brought in to design and implement a company reorganization. Rifts are hard to avoid. Here, however, it may not have been so unavoidable. Continue reading
The up close and personal personalities that come through in mediation often hint at – if not directly demonstrate – ways people learned to manage and resolve conflict in their early years. We adults do not necessarily leave these coping manners behind, and they become most evident in the face of adversity.
Thanks to my bottomless curiosity about social interaction, I came across the organization, Roots of Empathy. Its philosophy resonated with what I’ve come to believe, and maybe you have, too – that empathy is essential to advancing social intelligence and engendering successful interaction.
It seems to be a movement that’s taking hold. If for no other reason than to satisfy your own curiosity, take a look.
I was in caucus with a plaintiff and his attorney who were intensely calculating alleged losses. This was about 2 or 3 exchanges into the mediation. It’s part of the sometimes cathartic experience of mediating – being able to finitely define and, thus, explain why someone chose to take the momentous step to sue. In fact, mediating without such an evaluation has unique challenges, so I consider it reasonable and useful – until someone gets stuck there.
To head that off, it helps to understand where that valuation may have its place, and where it may not be helpful. Continue reading
CLEARWATER — On one side of a conference table sat rocker Nikki Sixx and his lawyer.
Someone I didn’t know, but whose oneness of personal and professional integrity I admire. RIP, Bob Bugg.
In mediation and terminal illness, Bob Bugg found pathways to peace
