5 Reasons Every Business Needs a Mediator . . . And How to Find the Right One
Are you a business owner? Do you have a mediator to help you stabilize and grow your business? If not, you and your partners and staff are vulnerable to wasting time by making poor decisions and operating less efficiently and less profitably.
When to Use a Mediator
Here are five key reasons why and when every business should have a mediator — either someone from inside the organization or outside:
- You have at least one partner either actively engaged or kibitzing on the side. The more partners you have, the more you need a referee. If the partners are family members or significant to each other, don't go into discussion-decision-action mode without a mediator.
- You find yourself second-guessing yourself and so you hesitate too long. You need a listener.
- You have too many choices to make. You need an interviewer.
- Your business is stalled and not moving ahead. You need the right processes and procedures to get moving again.
- Your business is a roller coaster or it's like riding a wild horse or a tiger. It seems to be getting away from you because it's moving so fast and holding on is difficult. You need to slow it down a little and look at it critically with someone who can propose a direction as well as record what's happening for you.
Characteristics of a Good Mediator
It doesn't have to be a professional certified mediator, lawyer, or someone with some mediation training but you need the right person who can:
- Make sure everyone is heard and everyone remains civil.
- Keep the partner or partners from choosing sides and creating a "we vs. them" silo environment.
- Develop or follow a procedure and keep everyone focused.
- Identify and summarize key points and not get bogged down in minutiae that is not important to the situation. A good mediator also must be able to isolate and provide enough appropriate detail to understand the rationale behind the points of the discussion that will lead to decisions, goals, and actions.
- Have enough self confidence along with a good sense of humor in order to handle difficult discussions with sometimes difficult or highly opinionated people. This will also help them to deal effectively with those who let emotions take over or who might resort to a power play against others engaged in the discussion.
Internal vs. External: Making the Right Choice of Mediators
The mediator can be someone internal. This works if you don't expect this person to advise you but to facilitate and record. It helps to think of them as a facilitator with sharp elbows. It doesn't work so well in the stalled or roller-coaster business where this person needs to be more than a recorder and timekeeper; the stakes are too high.
Be prepared however to bring in and pay for an outside business counselor when you need more direction. You want someone who is able to function as part negotiator, mediator, advisor, and arbitrator. This person may even need to be at least part dictator because that's the way it has to be to be compliant, to accomplish goals, meet obligations, become profitable, etc. They need to be able to direct the parties involved to the best way to accomplish the desired goals efficiently and profitably. This person could be a lawyer, accountant, insurance or marketing firm, or business growth management advisor.
Finding the Right Mediator from Outside the Organization
The key to success with an outside mediator is ensuring they have a good grasp of how to account for and integrate other areas of your business into any decisions or actions. They shouldn't have tunnel vision limited to their specialty; they have to be able to think on their feet, propose ideas and alternatives, and to adjust their procedure to cope with the ebb and flow that happens in high stakes issues.
How do you find out if someone is the right mediator for you in a more delicate or complex situation? Ask them about their background and knowledge of other areas of business — operations, technology, sales, marketing, financial management, record keeping, administration, compliance, legal, and human resource management. If they are too limited, don't bring them in for major issues that would affect your growth and profitability.
For more on mediation, check out Mediation.org.
