The Presidential election reminded me of mediation: in both, one can not rush the process. Any attempts to do result in failure.

Approximately, 107 days ago, President Biden withdrew as the democratic nominee and suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris take his place. She had 107 days to convince the American public that she was the right person for the job. And we know how that turned out.

Why? The democrats rushed the process. Let us use mediation as an example. Typically, it has several stages. In the first stage, the mediator usually provides an opening statement explaining what mediation is all about and the process. This stage is important because it allows parties to begin to get to know the mediator and allows the mediator to start building trust and rapport with the parties. Without that trust and rapport, the mediator will never succeed.

Did Vice President Harris have enough time to allow the American public to get to know her and to build trust and rapport? Many say “no.”

The second stage is for the parties to tell their stories. Why they are there at mediation and what they hope to resolve in its process. This stage is critical because each party needs to be heard and acknowledged before that party is capable of moving forward in the process. Parties need to be listened to and heard before they are willing to move on.

Once the parties tell their initial story, it is the mediator’s job to delve deeper into the story, expand the information that was given, identify issues and organize an agenda so that problem solving can begin.

While Vice President Harris did a lot of listening, did she REALLY hear what she was being told? Did she really delve into and expand the issues that were bothering middle America and use that information to come up with a “way forward” and  “to turn the page”? Based on the vote totals, it seems not. The agenda she set out was not the one that middle America wanted.

This leads into the problem solving and persuasion stages. That is, the mediator having learned what issues need to be resolved and having set an agenda based on the parties’ needs and interests, employs “shuttle diplomacy” to discuss with each party their options to resolve each issue. What may be their best way forward? This is where the “bargaining” occurs- where demands are made countered with offers and each side makes concessions to reach a middle ground that each party can live with. Where the proposed resolution is “good enough.”

But, if the mediator has set out the wrong agenda and/or fails to address the needs and interests of the parties, an impasse will be reached. All the “shuttle diplomacy” in the world will not work if the proper issues and/or the needs and interests of the parties are not being addressed in the first place. Is this why Vice President Harris reached an impasse with the voters?

The final stage-settlement- depends on the prior stages. If the prior stages are successful, then there will be a settlement; otherwise, an impasse is the ending.

Mediation takes time and is a process of transformation. It cannot be short circuited. At the outset, the parties are adamant that they are right, and the other guy is wrong. They view the matter only and solely from their perspective. Through the process of information gathering and sharing, each learns that there may be a different perspective to the story. Slowly, viewpoints and mindsets change, and tiny concessions are made to reach a middle ground. It is all deeply psychological.

But it all takes time. And perhaps 107 days just was not long enough.

…. Just something to think about.

-------------------------------------

Do you like what you read?

If you would like to receive this blog automatically by e mail each week, please click on one of the following plugins/services:

and for the URL, type in my blog post address: http://www.pgpmediation.com/feed/ and then type in your e mail address and click "submit".

Copyright 2021 Phyllis G. Pollack and www.pgpmediation.com, 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Phyllis G. Pollack and www.pgpmediation.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.