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Mediation for Managers

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Mediation for Managers

Resolving Conflict and Rebuilding Relationships at Work

Nicholas Brealey Publishing,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Let’s work the whole thing out: how managers can mediate to resolve conflict, create peace and keep people productive.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

John Crawley and Katherine Graham provide an excellent introduction to mediation for managers who are unfamiliar with this technique. The book may seem basic to experts, though its useful examples of mediation practices at work will help even experienced practitioners. This is a clearly written (complete with British vocabulary idiosyncrasies), well-organized resource for company owners, managers and supervisors, though they may need additional practice before applying these techniques. The authors describe the basic categories of conflict resolution methods, though they might have included the well-known Thomas-Kilmann categories of conflict resolution styles - an approach that also includes compromise. Otherwise, getAbstract.com feels no conflict at all in highly recommending this solid, hands-on book.

Summary

What Mediators Do

With mediation, you help people resolve their conflicts by acting as a neutral third party. Instead of solving the conflict yourself or telling people what to do, which can often breed resentment, you guide them to come up with their own solutions, resolutions which are more likely to be acceptable to everyone. You provide an example of positive behavior, as you help guide people to feel more comfortable working together and to be more productive.

The Power of Mediation

Often people think mediators are supposed to come up with fair resolutions that consider each party’s interests and needs. That’s what arbitrators try to do. By contrast, in mediation, a third party - the mediator - takes an impartial role and helps the parties in a dispute examine and recognize their differences with the goal of settling the problem. Any agreement is up to the parties themselves, not the mediator. The basic premise - since mediation is collective, not individualistic - is that everyone in a conflict needs to be involved in defining the conflict and achieving a resolution.

Gaining mediation skills will help you manage varied personalities, behaviors and...

About the Authors

John Crawley is an author, speaker, trainer and international consultant who designs systems to resolve disputes and other organizational conflicts. As a leading creator of accredited training materials for mediators in the U.K., he was the principle consultant on the BBC Worldwide’s training video on managing conflict at work. He founded Conflict Management Plus in 1990. Katherine Graham is an experienced mediation manager and coordinates TroubleshooterUK, the resolution service of Conflict Management Plus.

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