If you find yourself thrust into the role of mediator in a dispute between team members, functions, or other parties, use these three principles to get you started on the right foot:
- Acceptability. You must be acceptable to both parties. They need to see you as someone who can help them resolve their dispute. You have to have credibility with them. They must see your skills as being essential to resolution of the issues in contention.
- Impartiality. You must be seen as having no vested interest in the outcome of the dispute. If you convey that you are more disposed to one point of view vs. the other, you are not a qualified mediator.
- Confidentiality. Insure that what is conveyed to you in private stays private. If one party tells you something that is in confidence and you reveal it to the other, you will have a hard time regaining trust and cannot be effective in a mediation role.