When negotiation fails: alternative dispute resolution

Hi. I'm Susan Raines, and today we're going to talk about what to do when negotiation fails. I've done a lot of mediation cases, arbitration cases, other kinds of processes. We're going to talk about those today. These can be done for large problems that need to be solved, and they can also be done for those everyday problems that arise in the workplace when there are impasses related to wages, working conditions, team dynamics. We can also bring in mediators or arbitrators for some of those issues. So we're going to really talk about what are the different alternative dispute resolution processes used for decision-making and resolution. We'll use that term ADR, alternative dispute resolution. That's an alternative to litigation or an alternative to impasse.

Great leaders proactively negotiate to address conflict. Remember from an earlier talk, leaders who are conflict-avoidant tend to not rise very high in their organizations or their careers because it is the job of managers and leaders to resolve conflict and solve problems. We want to normalize and encourage different perspectives. Of course, people are going to have different ways of looking at the same problem. We want to learn about those through asking good questions. We want to show confidence in our ability to work with others and solve problems together like saying something like I bet if we put our heads together, we can find a solution that works for everybody. Then, when we need the help of a third party, we want to choose the right process to make sure we're not wasting too much time or too much money, or that we're not spending too much time in impasse when we could have been solving the problem and moving on. What are the patterns from your organization? What are the kind of disputes that arise over and over that you might need some help addressing? So stop for a minute and think about the kind of disputes your organization generates. Those could be external disputes with customers, clients, patients, regulators, and they can also be internal disputes. So workplace problems, things like that. It's best if we can see obstacles as opportunities and growth challenges. When I run across a problem, I try to be curious instead of obstinate. I say, "Wow! What's going on here? How did this happen? What can we do about it? I wonder what they're thinking." Those are the kinds of questions that help us move toward problem-solving rather than getting dug in. How you respond to problems will make or break your reputation. Leaders do not build their reputation based on how they sail the ship during the calm seas. It's during the storms and the rough seas that our leadership abilities are on full display. We want to look forward to these challenging times as opportunities to really shine.