mediatorinthemaking.com

The following is a selective listing of Boston area mediation, conflict resolution and negotiation trainings and events for April and May 2008.

Find additional training listings at Mediation Works, Inc. (basic training or advanced) and the Harvard Program on Negotiation.

________________________________________________
April 9, 2008 2pm to 4pm
ADR Professions Colliding:
Addressing the Tension Between Mediation and Collaborative Practice
from Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation, Inc.
Presenters: Lynda J. Robbins, Esq., and Karen J. Levitt, Esq.

Location: Arnold Room, Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA

________________________________________________
April 13 - 16, 2008
International Ombudsman Association Annual Conference
3rd Annual Conference of IOA: “Making a Difference-The Ombudsman Impact”
The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA

________________________________________________
April 16, 2008 8:30 - 10am
(Continental Breakfast at 8am)
Dispute Resolution Forum
from Harvard Law School and the Program on Negotiation
Speaker: Rikk Larsen, mediator, trainer, conflict coach, Managing Partner at Howell Larsen Associates, founding partner of Elder Decisions

Location: John Chipman Gray Room, 2nd Floor, Pound Hall

________________________________________________
April 17, 2008 2pm - 5:30pm
Assessing and Addressing Power Imbalances:
Abusive Relationships and the Collaborative Process
from Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council
Presenter: Professor Margaret Drew, University of Cincinnati College of Law

Location: The Walker Center, 171 Grove Street, Newton, MA

Attendance is limited, so register early at Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council
________________________________________________
April 28, 2008 9am - 4pm
Managing Conflict in the Workplace
from Cape Mediation
$150.00($125 by 3/28)

Location: Willy’s World Wellness & Conference Center in North Eastham

“Workplace conflict is inevitable … Learn a proven problem-solving model
and practical skills to help deal with conflict between staff, management, and customers.”

________________________________________________
May 2-9, 2008
CDSC Basic Mediation Training
from Community Dispute Settlement Center

Location: CDSC, 60 Gore Street, East Cambridge, MA
Cost: $695 ($650 if registration recvd. by April 3)

________________________________________________
May 21, 2008 11:30am to 2pm
(Social Time 11:30am to 12pm)
Overcoming Impasse – Tools to Empower Parties to Reach Agreements
from Mediation Works, Inc.
Presenters: Chuck Doran and Josh Hoch

Intended Audience: MWI Court and Divorce Panel Members
“Participating in mediation can be difficult for parties. After time, impasse can seem too difficult to overcome. Join Chuck and Josh for some advanced mediation skill training as they share techniques and discuss strategies for empowering parties to be able to overcome impasse, stay focused, and reach agreement.”

I am enjoying reading my peer mediation student’s blog over at Better Than Misery.

The latest post, Newsflash: No money in mediation,  of course caught my attention.

I can relate to this:

I think it has to do with the general public learning what it means and why its beneficial. Lately I have been thinking about alternative kinds of manifestations of my conflict management degree, including online dispute resolution projects.

You might have read me wondering here if most careers are careers in conflict resolution, and if conflict is just too sexy for most people to care to resolve rather than fight to the win/lose bitter end.

It amazes me to read a mediation student in Israel writing thoughts and experiences so similar to my own in the U.S. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one exploring these questions right now.

When working for my undergrad, I felt like I was going at light-speed with the knowledge that I would reach the light at the end of the tunnel, my professional life would start and my work would pay off. Seems like sometimes we mediation students feel like we could just be spinning our wheels.

Partly because I’m not doing the professional work I expected with my undergrad,  I’m ok with not knowing where this mediation work will lead. I know I really enjoy it, I seem to have aptitude for it, I’m finding opportunities as I go, and I’m using these skills every day in both professional and personal settings.

Any other mediation students out there? Pros who’ve been there? What are your thoughts?

Monster and CareerBuilder searches for Boston area jobs with the keywords “mediation, mediator, conflict resolution” return hundreds of jobs. Hundreds. And yet, as I’ve described in recent posts, the field of mediation is described as an overcrowded field terribly difficult to break into (and with a very bright future should you break in).

What’s happening here? The jobs are vastly different. An Administrative Assistant position at Northeastern University’s Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. Lots of Human Resources Manager positions calling for, among other things, effective conflict resolution skills. Ditto for Project Managers at places as different as State Street Corporation and The TRANE Company. Labor Relations Manager for the American Red Cross. Customer service and support roles also abound. Organizational Development and Learning Consultant for Partners Healthcare.

The trends I’ve been able to spot in these seemingly disparate jobs are that the greatest concentration of them are in management. And most of them include requirements of strong negotiating and effective communication skills, in addition to conflict resolution or mediation.

My questions far outnumber my observations at this point.

Does today’s workplace require all professionals, at least all managers, to be skilled in the arts of conflict resolution, mediation, negotiation and communication? That would be fabulous. Though my experience is that such skills are seen as happy bonuses in professionals adept at skills more directly related to the work on their desks.
But if this is becoming the new universal requirement … How could this change the conflict resolution and mediation professional fields? Will it push such professionals to develop their respective fields more deeply? Force even more focus on training than practice?

Where are all of these professionals learning their skills? Are they all dedicating 40 hours to basic mediation training? Online courses promising to turn them into skilled mediators in a few short hours and without those pesky other people? I know a lot of mediators find their bread and butter in training … mediator courses, on-site corporate trainings, one-on-one coaching. Perhaps that is where true growth lies.

I’ll need to do more research and watch the job markets closely to understand much more than I now do. In the meantime I look forward to hearing from folks out there already thinking about these questions and more.

This morning, on the treadmill, my wandering eyes found a very exciting flat panel TV showing in very exciting HD a very exciting courtroom drama. You know the kind, with two people airing their private lives before a judgmental judge (yes, I’m aware of the unfortunate but rather fitting language).

A few minutes later, I look up again to find a divorce courtroom drama and I recall an article I read recently saying something like that working with a mediator can cost 1/4 what it would to go to court. Don’t quote me on that as I’m very possibly misquoting. But it is easy to find literature touting the merits of mediation vs. court for a range of disputes, especially divorce.

As I wondered why anyone would choose to air their private lives before a snappy judge and the daytime TV watching world, I had an idea. Maybe conflict is just too exciting for us to avoid.

Can you imagine what would happen if Divorce Court was replaced with The Mediation Room? Would anyone watch two spouses learning to manage conflict and speak to each other constructively thanks to the leadership and facilitation of a mediator?

I recall being amazed to watch a party at (real live) small claims court mimic so deftly the stereotypical People’s Court plaintiff, complete with totally unrelated personal insults, I could’ve believed it was scripted.

Yes, I realize we could easily debate the actual reality of “reality” court TV shows. But I think it is more important that enough people watch these shows to have kept them on the air for possibly decades. Or keep about seven hours of such shows a day on network TV now. (Yes, seven hours at last check of Comcast listings.)

So how do we minimize the allure of the down and dirty conflict? How do we make constructive communication more exciting than petty insults and flailing unkindnesses?

Perhaps it’s the people who like to watch. The people who don’t come to mediation. Perhaps these people are our true clients.

Thanks to James Stinson and his blog, Therapeutic Family Law, for citing this interesting article.

Los Angeles mediator Christine von Wrangel recently published an article entitled, “Mediation: A Lucrative Career or a Ticket to the Poor House?” Full text here.

I’d like to share a few of her words as a contrast to my recent post, The future’s so bright.

Why does the Superior Court pay every judge, secretary, clerk, and janitor, yet refuses to pay the mediators?

Mediation may be interesting, challenging, and meaningful for the individual, society and many professionals. Many mediators pride themselves in creating a more harmonious, peaceful society. Yet only few mediators have succeeded to establish a practice which allows them to not only spread harmony and piece but also earn a comfortable living.

An interesting and far less optimistic view than what we were recently given by U.S. News and World Report’s Best Careers article.

U.S. News & World Report’s annual listing of best careers is out. And … drum roll please … mediator is included for the first time. You’ll find it under the headers, Best Careers for a Changing Job Landscape and 31 Careers With Bright Futures.

One factor leading U.S. News to give mediator the nod this year is its resistance to offshoring. It makes sense. We can’t very well have all of our conflict resolution occurring across the vast oceans or continents.

Each career listed comes with a day-in-the-life feature, and an executive summary. Considering what I’ve learned thus far from experienced pros, I’d say these pieces are pretty on point.

The pros noted are that

• Mediators can provide a better alternative to hiring a lawyer when conflict is unresolved, as mediators “can often help resolve a dispute less expensively and with less conflict…”
• “Most mediators love their work, helping people beat their swords into plowshares.”

And the cons…

• Mediators outnumber mediation jobs.
• Low barriers to entering the field (just a 40 hour training) continue the overpopulation.
• Overpopulation of the field means “most mediators do not earn a middle-class income for one to five years.”

This matches well the message in Jeffrey Krivis’ and Naomi Lucks’ recently published, “How to Make Money as a Mediator (And Create Value for Everyone).” Chapter one can be summed up thusly: If you love mediation, if you live for it, if you work very hard every day to build up your skills and connections, you have a chance at putting food on the table doing something you love. Otherwise, pursue something that will better suit you.

So. Do you fit Krivis’ and Lucks’ profile of the top tier mediators?

• Do you love mediating? Are you good at it?
• Do you inspire trust? Are you likeable?
• Have you cultivated relationships with referral sources, or will you be able to?
• Are you ready to work hard? (Long days, late nights, and less time with family and friends.)

If you’ve answered yes to all of the above, you might have a good chance at what’s being reported as one of the top careers with a bright future in the U.S.

If not, I hope you won’t despair. I believe the skills trained mediators possess are vital to our local, national and global communities. The more I learn about conflict, the more I see how people trained in conflict resolution are desperately needed in our offices, stores, schools, government bodies, busy streets, families and friendships. Even if it’s not your bread and butter, you can take heart in knowing that you’re part of a movement.