Busting mediation myths:
Are some of the key principles of mediation really there for the mediator or the parties?

 Presented by Katherine Graham

About the Presentation:

There are two key challenges for mediator. First, getting parties to the table; and second, getting over impasses and stuck moments. But how mediation is currently practiced may not be helping the parties either to engage, or to resolve. Some principles may have become ‘good practice’ as they exist in order to protect less able or newly trained mediators. I will review the pros and cons of some of mediation’s core practices, and outline three variations of the traditional mediation process. You will hear a fresh and different view from the UK’s leading workplace mediation expert, about mediation; you will understand what taking a needs-based approach to mediation should mean in practice, and come away feeling more confident in when and how to flex your mediation practice.

This is a session for experienced mediators to stop and think about their own practice and explore whether taking a less process-driven approach might offer more to people in conflict.

About Katherine:

Katherine has 22 years' experience in the field of workplace dispute resolution. She was promoted to Managing Director in the company’s restructure in 2009; prior to this she was Director of Dispute Resolution.

Katherine continues to practise as a mediator and is asked to mediate relationships which appear to be beyond repair or where issues of equality and diversity underpin the conflict. She has delivered more then 300 mediations, often working at the most senior level mediating complex disputes between directors, partners, and CEOs. Katherine is comfortable working with multi party, group and departmental conflicts, and developed CMP’s group mediation approach. Katherine has led and supervised CMP’s own pool of mediators since 2001.

Katherine is actively involved in developing courses which keep CMP as innovators and leaders in the conflict management and dispute resolution arena. Together with John Crawley she developed the model of Interactive Mediation™ and has constantly pushed the boundaries of mediation as an informal dispute resolution process. She has designed and delivered mediation training programmes to accredited OCR and ILM standards, including developing CMP’s Advanced Mediation Practice programmes. Katherine acts as the internal verifier for our OCR accredited and ILM endorsed courses.

Katherine is one of the UK’s most experienced workplace mediation experts and now represents CMP on the Civil Mediation Council’s Workplace Mediation subcommittee. She was the inaugural Chair of the Institute of Conflict Management, an independent institute aiming to set standards and good practice in the training of conflict management skills from defusing aggression through to physical restraint techniques. Her understanding of investigations into bullying and harassment allegations resulted in the UK's only Best Practice Standards for Investigating Grievance and Disciplinary Issues, now endorsed by the Manchester Business School.