Family Mediation TEAM problem solving- The 'Mediation Teaming' approach.

The Family Mediation Team Model - (Article I wrote 8 years ago)

Why ‘integrated family mediation’ will become the norm?

Well here we are, in 2015. (Article I wrote 8 years ago)

Some argue that family mediation has finally come of age. A great deal has been learned over the last 20-30 years about what works and what doesn’t work with mediation but very real challenges still exist, if family mediation is to live up to the prominence it has been given by Government in recent years and the public funds (Legal aid and Vouchers) being channelled its way.

Let’s start with four core professional belief statements, which may be contentious.

·????????First, I strongly believe that the majority of separating couples and their circumstances are suitable for the family mediation 'dispute resolution' model, in one form or another.

·????????Second, I believe that the majority of separating couples are quite capable of reaching their own agreements in mediation, with the right support. The key words here are of course ‘with the right support’.

·????????Third, I believe that it is our role and duty as family professionals (and by family professionals I include mediators, lawyers, therapists, financial and child experts and so on) to find better ways of working together to provide the right support for these couples, their families and children, through separation and beyond.

·????????Fourth, I believe that there is a way this can be done which benefits everyone concerned, which will therefore by definition guarantee the success of the family mediation dispute resolution model and ensure that many more separating couples are able to use mediation successful, avoid court, keep their costs to a minimum and reach their own agreements (rather than 'outsourcing the decision making process to others').

For the purpose of this article I wish to focus on my third and fourth beliefs and?specifically how we can all work together more effectively to help the separating couple reach their own agreements in respect of their children and their post separation financial arrangements.

(This becomes ‘the central shared purpose’, a statement of shared values, common to all those involved and essential to the success of this model- see below).

I certainly do not underestimate the challenge that these aims and beliefs present to family professionals but equally, I think there is a logical answer.

The answer is family mediation 'TEAMING' or at least, this is what I am calling it.

I realise of course that these beliefs may not be a very popular, especially among my solicitor brethren, many of whom still see each themselves in competition with mediators for the same clients, but fear not, solicitors and mediators perform very different but equally essential roles for the separating couple in this Family Teaming model.

The major challenge is how we change the culture and mind set of fear and competition and combine the very different family professional roles to create a cohesive, efficient and effective integrative service for the separating clients.

As a quick aside, I read the following short quote many years ago, which readily springs to mind and goes something like this; ‘others don’t have to fail for us all to succeed’. To me this means, we all need to spend more time focusing on reasons and opportunities to collaborate and succeed and less time worrying about what others are doing. There is a role for us all in supporting the separating couple.

This approach is central to this article.

I seek to argue that the integrated or integrative mediation teaming is the answer because every professional and client involved in this mediation process model benefits from using it in very pronounced ways.

This is one important reason why it is becoming successful and will continue to be successful! Everyone benefits and especially the separating couple.

Integrated mediation is based on the process of ‘teaming’. So, what is integrated teaming, why is it so successful, what are the main challenges and how will these be overcome (see below)?

The practice of inter-disciplinary teams working in a truly collaborative way is hardly new. Indeed, much has been researched and written about it.?A good example of this is a series of articles in the Harvard Business Review magazine April 2012 focusing on the rewards of ‘teaming’.

Indeed, my integrated mediation team model was even referred to in the Report of the Family Mediation Task Force nearly 10 years ago in June 2014 (para 76 “In Devon ‘mediation teaming’ brings in the appropriate professionals including mediators, lawyers, accountants etc to help resolve couples’ differences”) as one of a number of innovative and creative approaches to dispute resolution.

It is often worth looking at what other countries are doing to understand where we might be heading in this country. Annex C of the Report of the Family Mediation Task Force, sets out these international comparisons, which makes very interesting reading.

In this country, integrate professional teams are used to good effect in the NHS and construction industries, for example but the challenge for the mediation model has more to do with the need to construct effective online collaborative inter-disciplinary team working from different offices and locations as well as in the mediation room itself, in a co-ordinated, efficient and cost effective way.

This is akin to some of the international collaborative business project teams in the Harvard study already referred to.

Let’s have a look at some key principles and features of family mediation team practice.

There are of course the founding mediation principles of neutrality, confidentiality, voluntary to which must be added others relating to team working such as accountability, empowerment, mutual respect…..

Having established the main founding principles let’s have a look at some of the essential features of integrated family mediation.

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Mediation teaming

At the heart of integrated mediation is the process of ‘mediation teaming’ which is the process of bringing together the right professional, at the right time in the process, in the most appropriate role and in the most efficient and effective way, around ‘a common purpose’ (see above).

In his book ‘Tomorrow’s lawyers’ professor R Susskind writes about the process of ‘decomposing’ (deconstructing and then reconstructing processes in a more efficient way) to identify the most relevant professional for each stage of a process.

If once could construct the most efficient and effective family professional team, around a central purpose, for a particular set of family separation circumstances and challenges (money and/or children/communication etc) what would it look like, which professionals would you choose, for what role and at what point in the process?

Another challenging question to ask ourselves as family professionals is; what aspect of the process of supporting the separating couple to reach their own agreements (financial and children) can each of us do better and more cost effectively than other family professionals?

If we are honest with ourselves we can begin to form the most efficient and effective family professional teams around these questions and principles (and not primarily motivated by commercial narrow self interests).

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Facilitation

Mediation is essentially neutral facilitation.

More specifically it is the process of neutral facilitative problem solving in which a neutral facilitator assist 2 or more people to communicate, making joint decisions and working out successful outcomes for themselves.

In integrated mediation 'teaming' the mediator also performs the important task of team facilitation by bringing together (convening) the most suitable ‘problem solving team’ for the challenges facing them, ensuring that having formed the team, it functions like a team rather than a dysfunctional group of independent professionals.

The more the mediators (and other family professionals) work, practice and train in this integrated way, based on agreed principles, around the common purpose, the greater their understanding of the different family professional’s skills, experience and roles, the more efficient and effective they become at forming the ‘right team’ for the ‘right purpose’ and supporting each other to work together ie ‘mediation teaming.’- This is one of the major challenges for busy family professionals

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Practice Guides/Protocols/Agreements

Like any effective working model it is necessary to develop the right tools and resources in the form of practice guides, protocols and engagement agreements defining professional roles and boundaries. It is important that these are easily accessible.

I and our family mediation support team, and clients, have available to them the online Divorce Manual with all the support resources and materials they need for most divorces and separations.

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Knowledge sharing

It is important that the mediation team professionals are able and motivated to come together at regular intervals to reflect on what is working for them and how to improve practices. This sharing of experiences and insights is essential to the success of this integrated way of working.

At Compass Resolution Ltd we run regular online Mediation Support Team workshops discuss and learning from each other.

Out of this improved understanding of how each family professional works derives an increase likelihood of more cross referrals, better co-operation and more effective collaboration, as trust and confidence between professional team members increases.

As with every team formation it is impossible to avoid the forming, storming, norming and performing phases of team building but the key is to get through the storming to the norming and performing stages as quickly as possible!

The reality is that working in this ‘team way’ is not for everybody and will only attract those like minded professionals who are truly committed and motivated to working together as a professional team.

It is also important that there is a process and mechanism for sharing experiences and insights at a national online level and an effective way of capturing and harnessing all the most effective regional practices in a central resource for every family professional interested in practicing in this way and forming their own teams.

We are doing this at an organisational level at Compass Resolution Ltd and this is also being tackled at a County Alliance level but not so well at a National level.

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Building the work

Of course it is not enough to have a good inter-disciplinary team of family professionals to work with.

The integrated model can only develop and thrive if it is fed with work. The key is of course is an effective website and effective marketing team stategy to promote the awareness and understanding of integrated family mediation and its benefits.

Finally, let’s look at how we might put this all together in a very real and effective working model.

The process might look something like this;

1.??????Create a compelling vision, core purpose and strategy.

2.??????Find family professionals attracted to this way of working.

3.??????Create an organisational platform and vehicle

4.??????Create a web platform to promote awareness and understanding of this dispute resolution model- This provides a degree of ‘scaffolding’ for the team.

5.??????Create client and professional resources areas on the website such as lists of services, online expert interviews and training

6.??????Build the online inter-disciplinary team profiles and resources on the website.

7.??????Create mirror social media platforms with Google+, Facebook, Twitter

8.??????Create compelling content to inform and promote the practice, such as the Divorce Manual

9.??????Promote the website and engage actively in marketing with the team

10.??Meet regularly to share experiences and insights using online workshops

11.??Create useful precedents and resources

12.??Create an online platform to crowd source national experiences and insights about integrated ways of working such as a LinkedIn discussion group.

“ by pulling together the right people with the right combination of skills and training and giving them time to build trust, organisations can accomplish great things” Teamwork on the fly- Harvard Business Review April 2012

Integrative family mediation teaming is alive and thriving!

John Hind is a family, civil and commercial mediator, NLP practitioner, Divorce Coach, former lawyer, collaborative practitioner and national trainer.

He is Director of Compass Resolution Ltd and author of the Divorce Manual