Atkins Mediation Services

Poor Behavior #3: Pitting People Against Each Other (2/06/12)
Vivian Scott
Continuing the Dirty Dozen list of 12 behaviors that cause conflict at work and then are attributed to the catchall phrase, “personality clashes”, I’m adding: #3 Pitting People Against Each Other

High Conflict Mediation and Ethics (1/30/12)
Ann Begler
Working with high conflict people requires skill that goes well beyond facilitating a conversation. Some mediators do it well and some should never try. If a mediator sees it as his or her responsibility to make a fair assessment about competency in this regard, everyone is well served – clients, mediator and the system, itself.

Mediation Works, But Will it Play in Macedonia? (1/23/12)
Michael Diliberto
The article describes the status of mediation in the Republic of Macedonia and the cultural issues that affect whether or not the Macedonian judicial system should adopt compulsory mediation. The article also provides persuasive alternatives from other jurisdictions that are used to encourage mediation.

Personality Clashes: A Dozen Dirty Behaviors (1/16/12)
Vivian Scott
A smart guy and I are creating a webinar series for employees on the topic of conflict resolution. In the one section we decided to break down what it means to have a “personality clash” with a coworker.

How to Destroy Your Chances for a Raise (6/27/11)
Vivian Scott
Some employees think that if they suck up a little during the few weeks prior to a review, the boss will forget or overlook the fact that they’ve made mistakes, presented sloppy work, badmouthed others, had attendance issues, and generally did as little as they could to get by. Not so.

Edison: Opportunity is Disguised as Work (6/05/11)
Steve Mehta
Steve Mehta describes how full-time mediators become successful.

Motion Picture Comes To Life (5/06/11)
Laura Kaster
This is a brief summary of the 9th Circuit appeal in the Facebook case and: Facebook v.Winklevoss and its teaching for advocates in mediation. It also discusses the movie Social Network which was based on the Facebook dispute.

Conflict Resolution in the Holy Lands (4/11/11)
John Shaffer
I recently returned from a conflict resolution training of unusual depth and dimension. It is an experience I wish for all my family and friends, co-workers and neighbors. I say “it is” because the journey this training is a part of is not over; in fact, I’d say it has hardly begun.

Transparent Mediation: Giving Away Our Strategies (4/03/11)
Alan E. Gross
Mediators often offer classes that introduce and practice skills designed to convert disputes into opportunities for understanding and change. However, during meetings convened to address specific disputes, these same mediators rarely share or explain the strategies that they advocate in trainings. Failure to include training elements may miss an opportunity to benefit the parties and to facilitate acquisition of effective skills.

Conflict Coaching (3/27/11)
Robin Amadei
This article defines conflict coaching, describes areas in which conflict coaching can be used, and illustrates an example of how a conflict coaching process might proceed.

Playing the Role of Coach (3/14/11)
Diane Cohen
Someone I know works for a large retail corporation, and has been suffering fears of being fired recently. As he talks about his concerns, he speaks with anger and resignation about how other people tell him that he is being targeted to be fired and how unfair his manager is in his criticisms. As a friend, I engaged him in a dialogue about his work and the criticisms the manager was offering and asked for his objective view about the specific criticisms. It turned out that there were areas in which he thought he could improve.

Tammy Lenski Sees the Sunset of Her Career Blog (3/07/11)
Tammy Lenski
Six years ago, I began writing the Making Mediation Your Day Job blog. Five years ago I began blogging chapters and sections of my soon-to-be book of the same name. Two years after that, my mediation marketing book, Making Mediation Your Day Job, was released and went on, happily, to win several awards.

Teaching People To Fish In The Sea Of Conflict: The Benefits Of Conflict Coaching (1/10/11)
Lorraine Segal
My goal as a conflict intervention specialist is always to teach and empower others. I don’t just want to resolve a conflict for them, but help them gain skills to heal their own conflicts. Conflict coaching is a valuable approach to achieving this goal.

William Hartgering: Mediation Likeness to Improvisational Theater - Video (10/31/10)
William E. Hartgering
William Hartgering explains the satisfaction he gets out of mediating and seeing parties change throughout the process.

Zumeta, Zena: Joys and Satisfactions of Training - Video (9/28/10)
Zena Zumeta
Zena Zumeta talks about what has pleased her in terms of the field. She states that training professionals is a joy so they can in turn train and use collaborative techniques with clients and employees.

Wakeen, Terry: Personal Rewards from Mediating - Video (9/07/10)
Teresa Wakeen
Terry Wakeen talks about how she feels like a better person as a mediator than she did as a litigator.

Michelle LeBaron: Three Differences in Conducting Trainings - Video (7/11/10)
Michelle LeBaron
Michelle LeBaron talks about three things she does differently in mediation trainings she conducts: not role-playing, deepening capacities instead of teaching skills, and not teaching culture in modules.

Success Leaves Clues: A Profile Of Patricia Porter (5/31/10)
Tammy Lenski
A few months ago, Texas conflict coach Pattie Porter, whom I knew only via Twitter at the time, approached me about being on her BlogTalkRadio show, The Texas Conflict Coach. Ever since, I’ve been listening to Pattie’s show and have been impressed by both her practice-building strategy and the professionalism with which she carries it out.

The Psychology Of Mediation, Part I: The Mediator’s Issues Of Self And Identity (1/18/10)
Elizabeth Bader
The following article is excerpted from Elizabeth Bader’s forthcoming article in the Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal. The IDR cycle is the cycle of inflation, deflation and realistic resolution that typically occurs in negotiation and mediation.

Sigurdson, Glenn: Mediators Do Not Eliminate Differences - Video (1/04/10)
S. Glenn Sigurdson
Glenn Sigurdson believes that the role of the mediator is to work with the parties to design a process that creates an opportunity to have a conversation about their differences.