What About Third Party Conflict Management?
Sometimes two parties are so at odds that achieving the rational detachment necessary to solve conflicts becomes impossible. At these times a useful strategy is the dispassionate consultation of a third party.
Someone who is external to a conflict and intervenes between the parties to help them with their conflict management efforts is a third party.
Benefits of Third-Party Assistance
- Impartial
- Process expert
- Content expert
- Messenger
When Is Third-Party Assistance Needed?
Four Factors:
- Nature of the conflict
- Highly Emotional or Adversarial
- Complex
- Deeply held values involved
- Highly Emotional or Adversarial
- Stakes involved
- Continuation is too costly
- Importance of future relationship
- Valuable to all parties
- Continuation is too costly
- Climate of the conflict
- No rational discussion possible
- Impasse or deadlock
- Lack of trust and communication
- Stakeholders need a face-saving opportunity.
- No rational discussion possible
-
Time has become an issue
Third-Party Roles (Impartial)
- Mediator - Seeks a jointly determined, win-win resolution
- Facilitator - Smooths procedures and processes for a productive interaction
- Observer - Offers objective descriptions of the situation
- Arbitrator - Has authority to decide the settlement of the conflict
- Enforcer - Has power to impose settlement and conditions on the parties.
Can you identify a third-party role that you play at work and answer the following questions about that role? If you can you will be more likely to accept the input of a third party resolution.
- What activities do you conduct as a third party?
- What values underlie your third-party role?
- What obstacles do you face in this role?
- What conditions are necessary for you to carry out your role effectively?