Transcript Mediation and Stronger Project Management

Mediation and Practicing
Project Management Skills
Clay Springer, PMP
Managing Director
Four Points, LLC
Adventures in Mediation
 Tremendous growth experience
 Never the same thing twice
 Low Reward, High Reward
 Success gets defined differently
 Lucky you live . . .
For Today
 Provide an understanding of the
Mediation Process
 Highlight Project Management Skills
that are used during the process
 Flag some of the Pitfalls that may
occur along the way
 Recap some techniques in Mediation
that can be applied to your projects
Mediation and Project Management
 Mediation shares several aspects with
Project Management
 Mediation underscores the power and
importance of “soft skills”
 Mediation skills serve to build stronger
Project Leaders
Conflict and Project Management
 Some degree of Conflict is present in all
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Projects
Conflict isn’t always a bad word
Success is in managing Conflict
Most conflict is managed through
negotiation
But sometimes the stakes are higher . . .
Conflict Resolution Methods
Negotiation
Mediation
Arbitration
Litigation
a
High
Communication
Low
Low
Formality
High
Low
Cost
High
Control by Participants
High
Voluntary
Low
Coercive
A Look at Mediation
 Cooperative process to resolve differences
 Practical, relatively informal, and direct
 Empowers parties to retain control of their
decision
 What Mediation isn’t:
 Imposed solutions
 One-sided
 A legal proceeding
When does Mediation Work?
 BEFORE Court
 When Parties have difficulty
working face to face
 When the Participants are ready
The Mediation Process
Fo
ru
m
St
ag
e
Set-up
Positions
Mediator’s Opening Statement
Parties’ Statements
Separate Sessions
(context and completeness)
Interests
Separate Sessions
N
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
eg
Options / Solutions
ot
St ia
ag ti
e on
Agreement
Options
Mediator’s Confer
(caucus) in between
sessions
Positions vs. Interests
POSITIONS
INTERESTS
What the Party Wants
Why it is Important
 “I want my money
back”
 “I want a published
apology”
 “I want them to stop
spreading rumors”
 “I want the same
position back”
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RESPECT
APPRECIATION
REPUTATION
SECURITY
APPROVAL
RECOGNITION
SELF-ESTEEM
Mediation seeks to understand, but not necessarily change, interests
Mediator’s Opening Statement
Parties’ Statements
Separate Sessions
(context and completeness)
Separate Sessions
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
Options / Solutions
Setting the Stage
Agreement
Mediator’s Opening Statement
5 minutes
 Gets peoples head in the game
 Establishes trust in the people and the
process
 Provides the ground rules for the session
Skills for Project Managers:
• Providing structure
• Building Trust
• Establishing Boundaries • Removing judgment from the equation
• Being Success Oriented • Reinforces your Role as Facilitator
Mediator’s Opening Statement
Parties’ Statements
Separate Sessions
Advance Work
(context and completeness)
Separate Sessions
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
Options / Solutions
Agreement
10 minutes
Set-up
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Meet your Co-Mediator
Review the Case Files
Recap Similar Cases
Agree on Approach
Skills for Project Managers:
• Preparation
• Surveying the Landscape
• Bonding w/ Team Leaders
• Clarifying Roles
Mediator’s Opening Statement
Parties’ Statements
Separate Sessions
(context and completeness)
Separate Sessions
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
Options / Solutions
Summarizing Issues
Agreement
Parties’ Statements
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5 – 10 minutes
Each Party gets a turn
Gets Parties thinking about solutions
Reining in Parties
NOT a gauge of potential success
Skills for Project Managers:
• Managing Emotions
• Creating ownership
• Keeping Parties on Point
• Note-Taking
• Keeping an open mind
The Mediators’ Caucus
 Crucial component of the Mediation
 Should be done after every round
 Builds the relationship between the
Mediators
 Opportunity to confirm what’s being said
Mediator’s Opening Statement
Parties’ Statements
Separate Sessions
(context and completeness)
Separate Sessions
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
Options / Solutions
Agreement
One on One Sessions
Information Gathering
Separate Sessions
(context and completeness)
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5 – 15 minutes
each
One or two Alternating individual sessions
Equal opportunity isn’t always equal time
Getting both sides of the story
Uncovering Relevant Facts and Information
Skills for Project Managers:
• Creating Rapport
• Depersonalizing
• Documenting Facts
• Focus on the Task at Hand
• Confirming Information
Mediator’s Opening Statement
Parties’ Statements
Separate Sessions
(context and completeness)
Separate Sessions
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
Options / Solutions
Agreement
One on One Sessions
Getting at the root of the Mediation
Separate Sessions
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
5 – 15 minutes
each
 Inventorying the important stuff “interests”
 Open-ended and probing questions
 Confirming key positions and interests
Skills for Project Managers:
• Active Listening
• Knowing Personal Bias
• Dropping Assumptions
• Avoiding tangents
Mediator’s Opening Statement
Parties’ Statements
Negotiation
Separate Sessions
(context and completeness)
Separate Sessions
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
Options / Solutions
Agreement
What the Parties can live with
Options / Solutions
5 – 10 minutes
 Tempering expectations
 Protecting interests
 Gauging comfort levels
Tools for Project Managers:
• Focus on Stakeholders
• Proposing options
• Timing, Timing, Timing
• Creating ownership
Mediator’s Opening Statement
Parties’ Statements
Separate Sessions
(context and completeness)
Separate Sessions
(probing, polling, confirming interests)
Options / Solutions
Agreement
Creating the Agreement
What both parties will walk away with
Agreement
10 - 20 minutes
(often joint)
 Often no more than a page
 Clarity with flexibility
 The agreement they own
Tools for Project Managers:
• Validating Scope
• Closure with Stakeholders
• Documenting appropriately
Specific Techniques to Practice
Fact-Finding and Active Listening
 Reframing
 depersonalizes
 underscores neutrality
 Reflecting
 gets feelings out
 shows you understand
 Open-Ended Questions
(remember: no therapy)
 where you find the iceberg
 gets Parties out of the shell
 Summarizing
 directs the focus of the
conversation
 distills and confirms
Negotiation and Agreement
 Identify “Currency”
 often isn’t money
 provides options
 Pacing
 Tempo and emotion are linked
 Back in the Driver’s seat
 Self-Checks
 Your solution, or theirs
 Keeping your stuff of the table
 BATNA
 Realistic possibilities
 Regenerate ownership
 Clarity
 The best agreements are short,
simple, and straightforward
Navigating Trouble Spots
Trouble Spot
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Anger
Poor Communication
Power Imbalance
Impasse
Cultural Differences
Strategies
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Notice
Acknowledge
Translate
non-verbal
Deflate
Make
it safe
Balance
speaking time
Temperature
Check
Specify
Partialize
(chunk)
Role Reversal
Break
Reschedule
Reinforce
Sidestep,
defer
Evaluate
and
confirm
SavingorFace
Confront
Flag
misperceptions
Empathy
Separate
people from
problem
BATNAnon-verbals
Watch
Respect
Recap
 Each step of Mediation pulls Project
Management Skills into Play
 Successful Projects are those where the
Stakeholders own the Outcome
 Mediation Reinforces the Role of the
Project Manager as Facilitator
 When your Teams feel that you are there
for them, Winning comes easy
Questions?
Want to learn more?
Phone: (808) 521-6767
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (808) 741-6953
Email: [email protected]