Climate change on a very local basis

I have been working recently on the concept of moving from a conflict reactive to a conflict proactive Resolution Climate[1]. The picture above illustrates that concept from storms to sun.

I have been applying it at an organisational level, but realised that is has significance and impact at micro level. Done well mediation can change the conflict climate between two individuals.

A couple of months ago I walked into a small room in central London followed by two people who walked with hesitant steps, avoiding eye contact and greyed with the signs of worry. They had signed up for a joint mediation session after some weeks of being unsure. One agreed because ‘he could not stand not looking their manager in the eye anymore.’ The manager came along because she thought it was her last chance to get her point of view across.

I had met them each four weeks ago and the mediation planned for the same day was paused. Each was relieved to have spoken and been listened too but were doubtful of their ability to go to the next step, lacking confidence about their colleagues intentions. A cloud of disappointment hung over the manager and a storm of triggered frustration sat just below the member of staff’s edgy surface.

The parties were brave to eventually agree to meet one another in a joint mediationsession. For them the risk was worth it.

The manager was patronisingly phlegmatic early on which caused simmering resentment and initially I had to pause the parties a lot, acknowledge, clarify and defuse the tension. As me moved into sustained direct dialogue each started opening up about context – their own lives, the things they kissed about the work environment and the pressure in what used to be a ‘soft’ job. They also started to get where the other one was coming from. A lot of gesturing, shrugging and some spicy language but now accompanies by engaging, more open body language and less personalised tone.

I could feel it and so could they. Their differences were present but less significant. They had found a way through the no-eye-contact fog and their real feelings and needs were coming out.

Two and a half hours after we entered the room we emerged with an agreement on all issues pertaining to work duties and communication issues. They were more upright, less hesitant and continued to talk as they headed off along the corridor. The shadowy ghosts who had arrived had been re-inhabited by real people – animated, solid and more together than they had been for some time. Just imagine the climate change when they arrived back with their team!

John Crawley

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[1] See Resolution Climate – Part 4 ABC Guide to Workplace Conflict Resolution at http://www.peopleresolutions.com/resource/abc-guide-to-conflict

The fragility of mediation

Last week I ran a workshop for some senior, capable HR people from UHR (University Human Resources). The theme was ‘How to make the most of mediation in your workplace.’ We had discussed some really creative ideas about managing resistant parties and managing difficult behaviour – reframing, proportionate conflict facilitation, staying in the impartial mediator role under pressure. As ever, though an underlying theme of pessimism and frustration seeped in as people recounted examples of parties ‘who were just going through the motions’ or ‘wanted revenge or an apology and nothing less’ or ‘didn’t think anything was to do with them so went into denial.’

Of course these situations can be difficult to mediate, and may end up with an incomplete, ineffective or no resolution. These doubts may even prevent the parties going beyond separate meetings. But why does this seem to undermine user confidence in mediation disproportionately? Paul Latreille described this as the ‘fragility’ of mediation:

‘Attitudes towards mediation are in many instances only as positive as the last experience.’

Yes a mediation that does not work out a planned is difficult, but why do we focus on the ‘failures’, the difficult moments and unresolved conflicts. Most of my mediations and those of several hundred colleagues result in success in over 75% of cases (monitored and based on party and client feedback) – issues resolved, communication restored, working relationship improved.

I hope I was positive at my workshop, acknowledging that difficult situations leave their mark and damage confidence, but also encouraging bold, honest and accurate reflection of the many positives that mediation produces. Let’s get the success stories out there. Build confidence by recruiting, training and developing mediators to a high standard.

John Crawley is running our market leading Workplace Mediator 5 day course in London on Public Programme on 13, 14 and 15 November and 20, 21^st November.

John Crawley

The FAIRER workplace investigation process– preventing the rogues

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but the Home Office is to introduce a new system of regulation for private investigators to protect the public from unscrupulous activity. The idea is to prevent rogue investigators unlawfully infringing on the privacy of individuals.

Workplace investigations are luckily not dogged by such rogue individuals but it does sometimes feel as though organisations do not put a high priority on supporting and quality assuring their investigators in what is a complex, risky role.

I’ve recently distilled People Resolutions’ vast experience of workplace investigation into the FAIRER model and I hope this will help those of you who are assigned to investigating workplace grievances, disciplinaries, bullying and harassment allegations and other matters.

This is how it works. First the FAIRER acronym captures the spirit of the central value of effective workplace investigation. Investigators need to be demonstrably fair – recognised as fair by a range of stakeholders, parties and their representatives in their management and recording of the process, in their verbal exchanges, treatment and respect of the parties, and in any written material they process or produce.

Fairness isn’t just in the head or heart. It involves preparation, following designated structures and principles and rigorous attention to detail. Policies give some guidance on process and many organisations do have maps, templates and model documents to help investigators act consistently across a range of situations with a range of stressed, demanding parties often with polarised perceptions.

The structure of thinking and working provided by the FAIRER model supplements and dovetails well with workplace policies and procedures.  

F- Find out – what is to be investigated and agree the terms of reference (investigation plan), what are the issues and allegations, what is the evidence, what happened and what can help understand and assess what happened

A– Analyse – apply objective, impartial, rational consideration to reflect and begin to structure what you have and begin to weigh it up against the allegations

I – bring Insight – consider the weight, type of evidence, levels of proof required, utilise external guidance, definitions, seek more information and clarification if required

R- Report – pull together evidence, conclusions, findings* in a detailed, structured report according to policy requirements and the terms of reference

E – Evaluate - explain and get feedback on the report and findings / recommendations with key parties, check in with commissioning person for feedback as appropriate

R - Reflect on learning emerging from the investigation and disseminate as appropriate.

John Crawley

*If Required 

Adding Conflict Management and Mediation Skills to Management Competencies – Improving the Resolution Architecture

Including Mediation A new study on Forbes suggests that CEOs are doing a ‘lousy job when it comes to people management’ and the ‘lowest rated skill was conflict management.’ 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/05/23/ceos-are-terrible-at-management-study-finds/ 

Listening skills, empathy and compassion also scored badly (23%). Of course CEOs need to focus on the bottom line and their decision-making ability is rated much higher in this study. This managerial skills defecit has also been noticed in recent CIPD Fact Sheet on Employee Relations at work

‘Managing the employment relationship rests heavily on the shoulders of line managers, but their competence in this area is, in general, seriously neglected…..A much wider area of knowledge is now required, along with the skills to apply it, including communications and conflict management.’

It is difficult to achieve a balance between people skills and technical, business and professional skills when designing leadership and management training. I believe that the Resolution Architecture at work and general levels of trust, engagement and capability would be improved and resolution-readiness increased if Conflict Management and Mediation skills were more prominently featured in Leadership and Management competencies and standards (see our ABC Guide to Workplace Conflict Resolution). As these skills contain listening, building trust, facilitation and working across diverse teams this change would also have a positive impact on engagement, trust and capability.

I recently sat on a working party leading a Skills CFA review and update of Leadership and Management National Occupational Standards. Conflict resolution and mediation skills barely appeared at all amongst a mass of competencies seen as leadership and management essentials. Without some mention in the standards I felt it was unlikely that these skills would ever be identified as central to success and worth investing in. The Resolution Architecture at work would remain non-conducive to early resolution by managers.

The review panel agreed that this was an omission so I designed a new standard which is ‘about managing conflicts across the broader work environment, between different stakeholders, working at different levels and in different departments or organisations. It covers taking preventative action to avoid the negative impacts of conflicts and resolving conflicts when they emerge.’ NOS are intended as guides to best practice so why not take a look and consider adding some of the skills, understanding and knowledge to your leadership competencies? 

Available at http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/CFAM_LDD5.pdf or  http://www.skillscfa.org/images/pdfs/National%20Occupational%20Standards/Management%20and%20Leadership/2012/Management%20and%20Leadership.pdf.

Many of these skills are covered in our conflict resolution and mediation training courses which you can find on our website but do get in touch to info@peopleresolutions.com  and be sure to download our 'ABC Guide to Workplace Conflict Resolutions' guide and watch our video series. 

John Crawley

How to Disagree Well

Listening to the radio on the way into work the other day I heard ‘Thought for the Day’ in which The Revered Ruth Scott, an Anglican vicar in Richmond spoke about managing conflict on a highly emotive issue – Women Bishops - that comes with centuries of beliefs, history and values attached. Ruth mentions that ‘Many of our decision-making processes require us to take sides, to win arguments, to beat the opposition and to gain power by defeating ‘the other’. It doesn’t have to be that way.’

Ruth also outlines core skills that she used such as listening attentively, ‘holding in sight the humanity of the other’ and ‘respecting the right of the other to share their story.’ This piece recognised the need to look at processes and skills when attempting to resolve age-old differences. The fact that this proactive, dialogue based approach is being applied to such a difficult conflict is encouraging.

I have spent most of my working life helping people at work to ‘disagree well’ - a concept which is threaded through our new ABC Guide to Workplace Conflict Resolution.  This series of whitepapers is full of ideas and practical steps to take. The ultimate goal is to create an environment at work in which conflict is no longer viewed as something that spreads fear, confusion and closed thinking. ‘Resolution ready’ organisations resolve conflict in a positive way, so that disagreement becomes a fertile, engaging experience in which ideas flourish, performance is restored and trust rebuilt.

I wish the Revered Ruth Scott all the best in her facilitation endeavours. The full text  Ruth’s short talk are published below:

“Words, words, words, I’m so sick of words.” So sang Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. She reminds us that while it may be good to talk, communication isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Over the weekend I was helping to facilitate conversations at General Synod between members whose views about Women Bishops are very different.  

One reason why communication goes pear-shaped and conflict occurs is because fear prevents us having difficult conversations in the way we need to have them – by listening attentively, respecting the right of the other to share their story, taking responsibility for the consequences of the different choices we have, and always holding in sight the humanity of the other. The conversations at Synod were painful because members heard how damaging earlier debates had been, not only to themselves, but to those they opposed.

Acknowledging shared pain and working to reframe the dialogue was emotionally costly, but by the end of the day the message coming back from the groups was how much more of these facilitated conversations they wanted. This wasn’t because they worked like magic enabling everybody suddenly to agree with everyone else, but they offered another way of addressing difference. Many of our decision-making processes require us to take sides, to win arguments, to beat the opposition and to gain power by defeating ‘the other’. It doesn’t have to be that way. I was profoundly moved by members in my group holding diametrically opposed views who, after expressing their pain and anger, went on to work together to try and find ways forward that took seriously the perspectives of all of them. While agreement may be desirable, Chris, it may be more important to learn how to disagree well.’ ©BBC Radio 2

Read Part one of the ABC Guide- 'Conflict is Normal: Are you Resolution Ready?'  or email us at info@peopleresolutions.com to be the first to receive the series. 

Unresolved Conflict Stops You Working

The cost, risk and stress associated with unresolved conflict at work is well documented.

‘Conflict between individuals in the workplace can cost an organisation dear. In 2011–12, there were 186,300 employment tribunal claims (MOJ 2012). Over the

past decade there has been a significant increase in employment rights legislation, providing additional avenues for employees to seek recourse through formal channels. People are also now more aware of their rights at work. This expanded legal framework means that, if employers do not manage conflict effectively, the consequences can be serious.[1]’

Negative conflict narrative is abundant and persuasive. The following conflict snapshots are from real life situations:

Levi doesn’t like difficult conversations so he avoids monitoring Stanislav’s performance. When ‘Stan’s performance suddenly dips Levi sends a formal sounding email to set up a review meeting. Stan responds by putting in a grievance for bullying and goes off sick with stress.

Team Gold at the Crawley Call Centre like a ‘bit of banter’ and often pepper one another with texts and emails. They’re all OK with that including the manager as it ‘oils the wheels.’ Two new team members start and are welcomed by a jokey email in which the word ‘gay’ appears. One of them goes to the Team leader and is in a dilemma being gay but not yet out in this organisation.

Sigmaplusplus computing has 11 employees and is a family run business. The director and lead IT specialist disagree aggressively about spending £3000 on external IT support when ‘it was thought this could be handled in-house.’ An external mediator is brought in and the two central parties agree to differ and move on. No-one else is involved and the mediation is kept quite ‘secret’ and the atmosphere continues to worsen. Production dips.’

Grimmingtonland Council has a in-house mediation service and it gets 4 cases a year all of which have been successfully mediated. They are happy with that after a £10,000 plus spend.

Professor Bingaling from Sinistre College is a well know flirt, maverick academic and very direct manager. He has had 4 grievances taken out of him all without a proven outcome. He brings in significant research funds and staff think he is untouchable.

All of these stories could have positive conclusions. One of our aims with the ABC guide to Workplace Conflict Resolution is to show how to turn these negative conflict situations around. Watch this space.

John Crawley

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[1] Mediation An Approach to Resolving Workplace Issues; ACAS CIPD paper Feb 2013

Mediation – transforming workplaces - Are you resolution ready?

As we’re about to launch our ABC guide to Workplace Conflict Resolution I wanted to expand the conventionally narrow definition of mediation as a ‘dispute resolution process facilitated by an impartial third party who assist the parties to resolve disputes in a safe, confidential, constructive setting.’

I see mediation as a life / work role that people need to step into when circumstances suggest it might be appropriate and when it is potentially useful to others. Like other life roles – manager, carer, parent, friend or partner – the mediation role involves the deployment of a group of identifiable behaviours such as impartiality, active listening, conflict facilitation and resolution techniques. These skills are hugely beneficial in the workplace for leaders and managers.

Mediation also involves using language in a neutral, non-judgemental way – for example saying to people what you need from them rather than what you think of them.

Resolving to get the best out of people

The mediation approach to conflict resolution is driven by a set of optimistic values[1]:

•       Conflict is OK and can lead to positive growth and change

•       Most people do not choose to be difficult or negative with others , but become so when their needs are not being met, or when their own needs clash with others

•       Win/win solutions are more satisfactory than win/lose

•       People at work have common interests but often fail to recognise them when in a conflict

•       People can balance their own needs with others and find mutually acceptable resolutions

•       People often do not think straight when they are in a stressful situation but are able to come up with workable solutions if their stress is reduced

•       Conflict resolution enables diverse communities to understand and work with one another to achieve their full potential

•       Once people who have different views and values start communicating constructively about their differences they will be more able to work together and trust one another.

Mediation turns an argument into a win/win discussion and agreement. Workplaces will benefit tremendously if mediation values, thinking and behaviour is put at the centre of people management strategies. See how you can do this in the soon to be published ABC Guide to Workplace Conflict resolution. Sign up to receive your copy here. 

John Crawley

[1] Argument to Agreement – Resolving Disputes through Mediation, Crawley J, published by JCMediation June 2012

People Resolutions announce 'Conflict is normal – are you resolution ready?' whitepaper

People Resolutions are excited to announce our a new series of practical, positive white papers from John Crawley, the UK’s most prolific author and thought leader on workplace conflict resolution and mediation. These will build into the ABC Guide to Workplace Conflict Resolution aimed at helping people at work:

• Change the way they think about conflict resolution
• Change behaviour from conflict reactive to conflict proactive
• Learn how to use Resolution Architecture™ to design a resolution-ready workplace
• Create Resolution Building Blocks ™ to reduce the cost of conflict
• Build a Conflict Resolution Climate ™ to enhance engagement, resilience and performance and move away from a conflict reactive environment which stops you working.

A series of articles will be published monthly from July 2013 containing strategic and practical advice based on 25 years of workplace resolution expertise. In those white papers John has also created 3 brand new reflective metaphors - ‘Resolution Architecture’, ‘Resolution Building Blocks’ and ‘Resolution Climate’ designed to bring insight into and change thinking around the challenges of workplace conflict.

The ABC Guide to Workplace Conflict Resolution will assist a wide range of organisations to:

·         Work through conflicts constructively to rebuild communication, restore trust and revive performance
·         Manage their conflict risk effectively 

·     Send a strong message to everyone in the workplace that there is a commitment to resolution and working together when things get tough
·         Aim for conflict resolution excellence
·         Address conflict early and avoid costly escalation
·         Take a fair, appropriately challenging approach when resolution is not possible or appropriate
·         Reduce resolution costs and introduce resolution improvement measures
·         Significantly reduce the cost of conflict at work
·         Resolve disputes within the workplace and get people back to work.
·         Make the most of resources that you invest in conflict resolution and get a good return on investment
·         Get on with one another and your work.

The white papers will be supported by regular videos, blogs, articles and webinars. 

Sign-up now here to be the first to be updated. 

Next week, our blog will be a preview before the July launch and publication.