Does being a mediator make you a better parent or vice versa?

I was having coffee with an old client last week, an HR Director from the Rank Group. We hadn’t seen each other since I trained him and his colleagues to become accredited workplace mediators, and we were catching up on work and our kids. He posed an interesting question that I have been reflecting on ever since.

He asked me ‘Do you think that becoming a parent has made you a better mediator?’ My immediate response was that it was other way around, and that I am a better parent because I use my workplace mediation skills. I am more patient (well…most of the time!), I listen and empathise, and I don’t try and solve their problems for them.

But perhaps becoming a parent has changed my perspective too. The other day, my 5 year old asked me what I did in a workplace mediation, and I told him how I helped people who were having arguments with each other, and he told me it sounded boring! I responded that being a mediator was anything but boring, but it made me smile and brought some humour to a job that can sometimes seem void of laughter.

I think mediation and conflict resolution skills inform everything I do, whether it’s parenting, or how I interact with my friends and family. It’s all work in progress, but I’m confident that the core mediation principles will stand me in good stead.


ocn imi
Consensio
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.