Insights
Being right seldom brings relief
In workplace conflict, being right isn't always the same as finding resolution. This article explores why shifting the focus from proving a point to moving forward can lead to more meaningful and lasting outcomes through restorative mediation.
The Tension Between the Employer’s Agenda and the Mediator’s Role
In workplace mediation, the employer is usually the client — the party engaging and funding the process. It is a structural reality of the work, and it creates a tension that deserves to be named: the party paying for the mediation is not the party the mediation is for.
How does a mediator earn the right to ask the harder questions?
It's a question I've been reflecting on for many years, and it sits at the heart of a seminar I'll be presenting at the end of August: Quietly Earning Each Participant's Permission to Delve — micro skills and strategies to optimise safety and engagement.
The Boulle recognition — why it matters
In 2023, my restorative mediation model was formally recognised as a distinct dispute resolution process in Professor Laurence Boulle's authoritative textbook, 'Mediation and Conciliation in Australia — Principles, Process, Practice'.
Understanding How We Got Here: The Foundations of Restorative Mediation
Most approaches to conflict resolution begin with a single question: How do we settle this? Restorative Mediation begins somewhere else entirely — with how did we get here, and what do we each need to understand to genuinely move forward?
No-Blame Ground Rule in Restorative Mediations
The no-blame ground rule is one of the most misunderstood aspects of restorative mediation — it isn't about protecting anyone from accountability. It's about redirecting accountability to where it actually belongs.
Gratitude as a methodology - not just a sentiment
Expression of gratitude and accountability are the two interventionist questions at the heart of the Restorative Mediation model.
The results are in 2019-2023
Restorative mediation has emerged as a powerful conflict resolution approach that prioritises dialogue, empathy, and healing.
The Field of Grace in Restorative Mediations
How to get to this field when the parties in a mediation are embedded to their stories and to being right?
Authenticity at work - Our humanness in the workplace
In restorative mediations, people often describe personal challenges they're facing — then explain that they don't let who they are at home affect who they are at work.
The Survey Results are in! The Impact of Restorative Mediations
As a result of attending and presenting at recent conferences, I have been encouraged to quantify the impact of my Restorative Mediations.
The Art of Possibility in Restorative Mediations
I'm often asked to conduct a restorative mediation after a formal complaint has been lodged and the organisation elects to mediate, rather than investigate.
Taking Sides (or Not)
The same experience was the high and low point of my legal career.
How do you know if you might offend someone?
To make sense of our experience, it is human nature to think in polarities – right/wrong, good/bad, yes/no, night/day, sharp/blunt, close/far, scarcity/abundance, and so on. However this penchant to polarised thinking also limits our perceptions.
A Context for Providing Feedback
This week I conducted a restorative mediation involving a staff member who has worked in the same profession (albeit in different organisations) for nearly 50 years.
Such is the nature of Restorative Mediations
“Time and time again, conflicts are resolved through shifts that are unimaginable at the start.”
The Risks of Speaking Up
The phrase ‘Disrupt HR’ (or being employed as a ‘Disruptor’) is becoming increasingly trendy these days. But what does this mean for you?
The ultimate outcome is for inappropriate behaviour to stop
I am often approached by HR Managers when a conflict has arisen between staff and the complainant initially indicated that he/she did not want to do anything about it.
When Team Building to Resolve Conflict is a Waste of Time & Money - Group Restorative Mediations
I am often approached by new clients who wish to engage me for a ‘Team-Building’ related process. Again and again I have observed that when there is a history of conflict between staff, a single team-building activity at best provides only superficial ‘band-aids’.
"We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are"
"When you did this, I felt that...." Does laboriously trying to get the other person to hear our story deeply dissolve workplace conflict and build trust and respect?
Fixing a Fragmented Team - Group Restorative Mediations
'Ringleaders' drive the division. Others polarise and hide behind them. Some perpetuate the conflict through either overt or covert negativity and gossip. Others withdraw and shut down due to a sense of helplessness or overwhelm.
Recruiting and Interviewing - What's Really Going On!
A 60 minute interview is a very short amount of time in which to determine whether a prospective applicant for a position in your business will work out.