In an increasingly polarised, divided world where we’re seeing a resurgence of nationalism and social exclusion, the workplace has a unique opportunity to be a place where people can build bridges.
Employers must use their unique position to reframe division, balance different values, shift perspectives, encourage collaboration and listening and have a culture that welcomes diverse, but respectful, opinions.
It is key to stop conflict quickly before it escalates from a breakdown in interaction into a full blown workplace dispute. We must seek positive partnerships to stop division, find ways to align, find common value and purpose and transform uncertainty to safety.
Could mediation be right for you / your employer?
Mediation can effectively facilitate this process. Mediators are more than peacemakers; they are strategic, build trust, help reframe ideas, and uncover why each individual has a fixed position. We have to be able to stay calm, be patient, and sit in the fire.
Mediators need a willingness to hear and listen to everyone’s perspective, not just allow one narrative, and to combine the pieces to form a bigger picture. We are neutral, listen without judgment, and acknowledge without being adversarial.
Mediators empower people to explore options for resolution and not just look at, and follow, one route. Resolution needs to focus on what you want or need, rather than who is right or wrong.
Not allowing people to speak is dangerous
Shutting down dialogue is dangerous and often means we go underground instead of having open discussions. It is much better to understand and explore where there is upset. Apart from moderating, the best way to deal with conflict, when it happens online particularly, is to model better ways of discussing issues.
The parties involved often want you to be a magician to solve the problem, so they can sometimes turn on you. Mediators help them find their own solutions. As a mediator, it is not my job to say whether you are right or wrong, but to focus on the consequences of conflict. We cannot bury our heads, but equally we can never go back; we can only go forward.
Unravelling conflict can be complex, and all parties must work through the issues; there may not be just one easy solution. Our role as mediators is to give people the tools and skills to manage challenging conversations or difficult dialogue themselves.
What are the pitfalls of mediation?
Mediators can be drawn into wanting to offer a perspective and share a solution. Like myself, mediators are often lawyers, so we have opinions and are used to solving problems. However, it actually builds trust if you don’t offer solutions and instead facilitate those involved in finding their own. This gives both parties the responsibility for their own responses, mindsets, and ways forward.
There will always be a shifting balance between peace and conflict. Utopia is not a practical ideology, whether we are discussing world conflict or conflict in the workplace.
We tend to take a simplistic view of issues because we have learned, or been fed, a narrative. If we take a step back, don’t take the narrative at face value, explore it more deeply, and have some form of dialogue about what we do and don’t like, we choose a resolutionary rather than a revolutionary path.
‘Resolutionary’ not revolutionary path
We can all act as mediators and make a difference by modelling healthy behaviour and choosing a different approach to conflict that stops provoking division and polarisation. Anyone can develop mediation skills and tools to find better ways of approaching conflict and differences. However, it is also good to have one or two internal champions or ‘ReSolutionaries’ trained in the skills, tools and mindset of mediation.
Initiating open, constructive, and respectful dialogue around some of these issues in small groups and communities allows us to explore our feelings and responses and have big conversations. We must be more open to hearing those we disagree with instead of cancelling them.
We must remember that the consequences of not resolving conflict are far greater than the consequences of compromising, regardless of who is morally or legally right or wrong. We have to understand that, at work and societally, no one is coming to save us. The focus has to be on calm and respectful dialogue and a general will and commitment for reduced conflict.
About the author
Jane Gunn is a former corporate lawyer who now uses her vast experience of conflict resolution in the workplace to transform business relationships to create vibrant, collaborative, profitable working cultures. Her mission is to help people and organisations to manage change, challenge and crisis without suffering massive financial and personal cost, at a time when disagreements with colleagues are at an all-time high. She has spoken at the United Nations, The White House and the European Commission. She is also a former President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
