Many meetings between different parties are held in various arenas, and everything from business deals to therapy and counseling all the way to a divorce involves various parties convening to accomplish something together. Leadership team facilitation is, in short, the ability to take charge of a meeting and make sure that it is productive, fair, and involves clear and meaningful communication between all parties involved, whether they be business professionals, lawyers in a divorce mediation, commercial disputes, and more. Leadership team facilitation can allow any meeting of different parties to produce results that everyone can be satisfied with, and it takes different forms in different contexts. Facilitating team leaders can allow certain individuals to lead the direction of a meeting, and leadership team facilitation makes good results possible. How might different parties use leadership team facilitation to produce good results in family mediation, couples mediation, and more?
Different Ways to Use Leadership Team Facilitation
Divorces can often be a hotly contested affair, and statistics are kept in the United States to see how often American adults are getting divorced and what happens during the proceedings. A married couple may get divorced for a number of reasons, some of the more common ones being infidelity, verbal or violent abuse, drug or alcohol substance abuse, or simply serious differences in lifestyle, spending, or personal compatibility. Statistics suggest that one divorce begins every 36 seconds, which figures to 2,400 per day, and some of these cases may be bitterly contested between the two spouses, especially if there are children, a large bank account, or major assets such as a vacation home, cars, or an RV involved. Often, the spouse who is filing for divorce will hire a divorce lawyer to help them and represent their side in divorce court, and in response, the other party may hire such a lawyer as well. These lawyers may use the law and the spouses’ context to try and advocate their clients’ sides, but a mediator may be involved as well.
In some divorce cases, there is less to dispute, and the spouses may not even feel the need to use divorce lawyers, instead opting for a mediator. This mediator’s job is not to take sides or offer solid advice (unless asked for that advice). Instead, the mediator will help resolve disputes by encouraging each spouse to communicate clearly and effectively, and to help them generate new ideas and present them to the other party. In a sense, the mediator helps draw out the best from each party and guides them toward a productive conclusion. Sometimes, even if the two divorcing spouses have both hired lawyers to represent their interests.
In the workplace, leadership and mediation have a major role to play as well. There may be disputes in the workplace for a number of reasons, such as wrongful termination of an employee or discrimination (or at least the perception thereof). A business deal between two different parties may involve a mediator as well if there is a lot on the line, and a mediator can help each side work with the other to find the best possible outcome. Here too, a mediator’s job is not to take sides or provide their own input, but to help each side generate meaningful ideas and offers, and to stay on topic and keep thinking in a productive manner.
Sometimes, mediators or job coaches will be hired to help a manager learn effective methods for mediation and conflict resolution at the workplace, and this may be especially useful if the manager is new to his or her position or if that manager is feeling overwhelmed, or even if the just have a disagreeable personality. Coaches can help managers of all levels figure out the best ways to generate ideas, promote cooperation among others, and be productive at all times, once again drawing out the best in someone else. After all, it is generally agreed that the five main components of relational leadership are: empowerment, inclusion, purposefulness, ethical behavior, and process orientation. This can go a long way toward making a manager and their department or entire workplace more productive and minimize conflict between individuals or departments, or even other businesses.