|
We follow an informal, confidential, yet structured process to help disputing parties work through and resolve conflicts. Participants feel safe, have the opportunity to be heard, and learn new ways of communicating.
|
|
Mediation is an informal, confidential, yet structured process in which a neutral third person, called a mediator, helps disputing parties work through and resolve conflicts. The power of this outside intervention helps parties caught in destructive patterns of communication and power struggles, to find common ground, discover options for resolution and learn constructive ways of communicating. As a result of using mediation, participants find a forum in which they feel safe, have the opportunity to be heard, learn new ways of communicating, and that creative solutions emerge.
Mediation also:
Unresolved disputes are costly because they harm relationships, disrupt the community, family or workplace, depress productivity, and ultimately create a risk of expensive, uncertain, and protracted legal proceedings. ACDRS has a range of mediation styles and matches them to suit the needs and expectations of the parties. ACDRS recognizes that parties have different needs which may require a different style and has the flexibility to address interpersonal conflicts as well as differences over legal, monetary or policy issues. |
|
Conflict coaching helps employees, supervisors or anyone who desires to resolve an on-going conflict by providing the support, focus, and guidance necessary to turn an unproductive conflict into a constructive solution. Conflict coaching, a one-on-one confidential process, helps individuals not only resolve current disputes but also helps prevent unnecessary ones. Conflict coaching is designed to help individuals find clarity, a new sense of direction and oftentimes more effective relationships.
Many people choose conflict coaching to prepare for mediation or use it for additional support post-mediation with respect to any challenging aftermath. When the other party is not willing to use mediation, conflict coaching may give the support, courage and skills needed to bring about the best outcome without resorting to hiring an attorney. Waiting for conflict to escalate and then reacting undermines workplace morale. With conflict coaching, an organization can show its commitment to respectful workplaces and relationships. In very short, focused conversations, ACDRS conflict coaches can quickly analyze the barriers to effective communication, strategize new ways of approaching an issue and support positive changes in relationships. |
|
Facilitated Dialogues are similar to mediation but are used when there is no discrete complaint or grievance to resolve. Instead the parties may have run into difficulties relating to each other in the workplace and that has hampered productivity. In the facilitated dialogue process, the facilitator will interview each person separately and privately to learn what has been going well between them, and what needs to improve or what difficulties they have encountered and what they would like to see change. The facilitator/mediator helps each party separately determine their goals for the conversation and to hone in on what is at the heart of the matter.
At the dialogue itself, the facilitator/mediator helps the parties set guidelines for the conversation, goals they would like to achieve, a list of topics they need to discuss and then moves them towards mutual understanding. Philosophies ACDRS uses to drive the conversation depend on the parties themselves but are drawn from Appreciative Inquiry, Narrative Mediation and concepts of Restorative Circles. Elements of transformative mediation are also used to help the parties gain recognition and empowerment. |
|
Effective teams have members who are fully committed to a common goal and mission, are mutually accountable to one another, trust one another, work in collaboration, share in leadership and are more than the sum of their parts. Ineffective teams may work on a common goal, may feel accountable but only to the manager, the members don’t have a clear stable culture, conflict leading nowhere is frequent and the individual members may or may not accomplish their own goals.
ACDRS can determine where the obstacles to optimum team performance lie and design the right team building program for your organization. |
|
ACDRS helps groups from small work units through the entire organization enhance their performance through learning how to resolve inter-personal and/or organizational conflicts constructively and to communicate or negotiate more effectively. Our approach usually begins with an organizational assessment which ACDRS uses to develop a lively, interactive training package customized to the needs and culture of the organization.
Training programs ACDRS has developed in the past teach skills that clients can rely upon to increase productivity and improve communication. For example, participants in our person-to-person feedback in the workplace classes have learned how to overcome discomfort with conflict and develop the confidence to approach another person successfully about an issue. They also learned how to respond appropriately when someone approached them with an issue. Classes in topics such as managing across generations, facilitation, mediation, negotiation, interest based bargaining and memorializing agreements are also available. |
|
ACDRS specializes in facilitation of groups tasked with solving complex problems. Our skillful facilitators come from a broad base of professional experience that affords a real-world understanding of issues and allows us to help groups focus on solutions that will work and will be durable over time.
When facilitating groups, we work with group members to assure that the process is fair and accessible to all parties, that there is an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the group’s progress is tracked so that no issues are lost or left incompletely resolved. Our facilitators create a successful process while remaining neutral to all of the parties. |
|
When you’re ready to get started, call us at (206) 367-1994 or contact us to let us know how we can help you.
|
SEATTLE BUSINESS MEDIATION
Dee Knapp, J.D. is a certified mediator and on the mediation roster for the American Arbitration Association. Combined with her extensive employment litigation experience, she guides parties to their own solutions while avoiding court imposed ones. Dee is also a dynamic speaker and trainer.
|
SEATTLE, WA
Office: (206) 367-1994
Mobile: (206) 612-7263 
|
SHORTCUTS
|
|
