Mentoring for Mediators
Mentoring for Mediators
There has been an enormous increase in the number of people trained in mediation over the past five years. Many of these people find themselves ready and willing to mediate, either professionally or within their own workplaces, but they are acutely aware of their own "mediation performance anxiety", because they recognise their responsibilities and are well aware that they have little or no practical experience.
Mediation mentoring is designed to address this problem by providing an experienced mediator to co-mediate with a less experienced mediator. The less experienced mediator obtains the mediation assignment and engages the mentor to help them discharge it.
The support extends to the provision of standard form documents and agreements, collaborative agenda setting and co-mediation at both Planning and Mediation meetings.
At each stage in the mediation the mentor provides responses, general support and feedback to the less experienced mediator. At the end of the mediation there's a full de-brief, with recommendations for further skills development.
Most new mediators will need this service for about 3 mediations (any size). In that time they should obtain levels of knowledge transfer and skills development that would otherwise take them at least 20 mediations to obtain.
Costs
It will be appreciated that this is a unique service - somewhat similar to professional supervision, but with the mentor much more closely involved in the actual professional activity than is usual in a normal supervision situation.
Fees are by negotiation. Typically, we charge 90% of the total mediation fee payable to the new mediator for the mediation. This may sound like a lot (it is!) but given the service provided the fee earned is usually very much less than our normal mediation rate.
It should also be noted that we are helping a potential competitor - who we would like to see become an effective colleague!
