Stories of Impact
The Theory and Practice of Mediation
From clunky conflict to textbook resolution
Christine Otto
Education Sector
Christine Otto, a senior director at a regional education service agency, mediated staff disputes for years, but the results weren’t optimal. The Theory and Practice of Mediation (TPOM) gave her a framework to improve.
Participant
Christine Otto
Organization
Multnomah Education Service District
Title
Senior Educational Services and Bridges Director
Sector
Education, public agency
Program
The Theory and Practice of Mediation (TPOM)
The Challenge
FREQUENT CONFLICT
STAFF DISENGAGEMENT
LACK OF TRUST
Since the pandemic, Christine saw more frequent staff conflict inside her agency, which led to decreased investment in finding resolution. Some level of conflict always existed, but, as Christine puts it, “The world and how people interact with others is evolving faster than what my skills support.”
She spent much of her career resolving conflict with the basic skills she learned, supporting change talk (motivational interviewing), judicious persuasion, mediated dialogue, and positional power, and mediating real situations. But she never felt like she had the right communication tools to mediate effectively.
When she watched expert mediators work, she could see they had a specific toolkit for helping people resolve conflict: “Conflict resolution is not a random process, even if it is tempting at times to approach it that way.”
So, last year, when Christine set her professional goals, she decided to focus on improving her mediation skills with interpersonal conflict to support better workplace communication and enhanced culture.
The Goal
She enrolled on her own, not as part of a team cohort, looking to increase her confidence and skill range in situations she already dealt with as a leader. Asked whether those expectations were met, her answer was one word: “Absolutely!”
Goals Going In
- More confidence when faced with interpersonal staff conflict, and support finding a path forward
- Additional skills to navigate high-conflict situations
- Professional growth
The Process
Foundations first
NCRC’s widely respected, 6-stage mediation process and interest-based negotiation were presented in an accessible way.
Ample practice time
Extended role-plays with a mixed cohort of staff and TPOM participants, so each person could practice their skills in real-time.
Experienced trainers
Trainers are present throughout the process to offer real-time feedback, support, and answer questions.
Immediately applicable
The skills learned in TPOM are designed to be used immediately in the workplace, community, or as the foundation for a career change.
Outcome
Shortly after the training, two staff members came into conflict. One was very elevated, brought in her union representative, and demanded that the other be fired or at least never work at her location again. She threatened a lawsuit if she had to work with him, saying she felt emotionally unsafe. The situation behind it was fairly minor, but it was the final straw for the parties involved.
In the past, Christine didn’t feel confident to offer mediation in situations like this, and instead would run it through the investigation process. Listening to both versions of what happened, she found herself using the framework from TPOM. She offered mediation, both agreed, and the session-which she framed with TPOM skills-went, in her words, “textbook perfect.”
Since then, she’s had several opportunities to use her mediation skills, while being more discerning about which conflicts to get involved with. TPOM helped her choose the right path when it came to conflict resolution: “I feel like my decision process about which path makes sense- mediation or not-is more thoughtful and centered on best practice.”
Head nods and non-answers, she notes, let people avoid ownership; a stated willingness to try means they are invested in it. The sessions she has mediated since feel smoother, even in the moments of discomfort, which she now expects.
Since Completing TPOM
Mediated a dispute that reached union involvement and a threatened lawsuit
In practice
Chooses mediation or another path deliberately, based on party willingness
Beyond her agency
Recommends NCRC to colleagues seeing the same rise in conflict
What Worked
Asked whether she would recommend TPOM to other organizations or individuals, she answered: “Absolutely.” Several colleagues told her they want to improve their mediation skills because conflict has increased in their own settings, and she referred them to NCRC.