On desks now - December 2011 issue!

Probing the X Factors in Multi-Party Mediations
Michael G. Cochrane

Multi-party mediations can call for an extra level of listening by the mediator as well as other participants. One of the many things I listen for are X Factors – motivators or de-motivators that block consensus. These X Factors can be simple but are not always obvious. It is sometimes only after long discussions involving genuine listening that suddenly out floats, like an epiphany, the X factor that has held that individual back from supporting an agreement.

Whether a participant or a mediator, consider the following X Factors:

1.    Positions:  “We must have X…”
It is not uncommon to begin a mediation/consensus building process with firm statements by one or more participants about their “bottom line” positions. They may be unable to describe their needs. Their script was written for them long before they sat down to talk. If they do not obtain or protect the things on their list, then they will be judged to have been a failure. A good process will allow this positional approach to be probed. “What is needed?” as opposed to “What is demanded?”

2.    History:   “We have always had X…”
Not unlike the “Positional” X factor, this one at least contains a clue to its origins.   “Where did X come from? Why was it put in place to begin with?  Are those assumptions still applicable? Probing the assumptions often reveals that history need not repeat itself.

3.    Ideology:  “We believe in X…”
With this X factor the motivation of the individual, or the group for whom he or she speaks, is linked to a belief. To be seen to abandon the belief could be interpreted as abandoning a core value. When was the last time you saw that happen? Gentle probing of the values beneath the belief will be needed.

Read Cochrane's other 7 factors in the current issue of Briefly Speaking.

Briefly Speaking

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