What do we mean by "mediation"?

Published January 30th, 2008 by Andrew Maxfield

Mediation is both a role and a group management skill. Facilitation and mediation are often used interchangeably. However, we think the key distinction is that facilitators work mostly with parties once they are "at the table" while mediators also handle pre-negotiation and post-negotiation tasks, including identifying the right participants for a consensus building process, assisting them in setting an agenda and clarifying the ground rules, and even in "selling" recalcitrant parties on the value to them of participating.

Once the process has begun, mediators (and facilitators) try to assist the parties in their efforts to generate a creative resolution of differences. During these negotiations, a mediator may accompany a representative back to a meeting with his or her constituents to explain what has been happening. The mediator might serve as a spokesperson for the process if the media are following the story. A mediator might (with the parties' concurrence) push the parties to accept an accord (because they need someone to blame for forcing them to back-off the unreasonable demands they made at the outset). A mediator may also be called upon to monitor implementation of an agreement and re-assemble the parties to review progress or deal with perceived violations or a failure to live up to commitments.

Some professionals have both sets of skills; many do not. A group leader may have mediation skills and may be able to broker agreement by putting those skills to use. But, again, when the search for innovative solutions rests in the hands of one of the parties, it is often hard for the others to believe that the leader/mediator isn't trying to advance his or her own interests at their expense.