To Be or Not to Be Human - That is the Question for Mediators
Our shared humanity is the mediator's most powerful asset.
Why shield it with the mask of the expert dispute resolver, lawyer, retired judge, neutral or psychologist.
This is the link to a paper presented by Margaret Ross and Greg Rooney at the recent Australian National Mediation conference held in Wellington NZ,
see: NMC-2023-Final-.pdf (gregrooney.com.au)
It suggests a change of thinking, moving from seeing mediators as just dealmakers to seeing mediation as a pivotal step in the continuous flow of people's lives.
It differentiates between "Dispute Resolvers" and "Mediators". Dispute resolvers, as the name implies, does the resolving for the parties. Get a deal with no messy emotions and send them on their way.
For Mediators, conflict is a warning that something needs to change, which involves an emotional component. While both might end up with the same result the 'dispute resolvers' focus is on the ending whereas the 'mediators' focus is on the fresh beginning.
The paper proposes moving beyond the one-dimensional mediator 'toolbox of skills' to a more fluid set of mediator heuristics that better reflect the complex human interactions taking place within the flow of the mediation setting.
It lists 16 mediator heuristics.
These mediator heuristics can be used to assess advanced mediation training role-play assessments and to critique competitors in mediation competitions.
The paper introduces the work of the late French mediator Jacqueline Morineau's Humanistic Mediation to the English-speaking world. It explores her use of the reflective mirror and the ancient Greeks understanding of Kronos, the God of chronological time with Kairos, the God of eternal time – the right time.
It contrasts the intellectual approach of Descartes's 'I think therefore I am' with the more fluid metaphysical struggle with life and death in Shakespeare's Hamlet's 'to be or not to be'.
The paper ends with the proposition that ultimately, for the mediator, it is about being in a state of mediating without mediating.
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Greg Rooney
Mediator
Mediator
Mount George SA
61405612789
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