Create a Vision for your Mediation Business

Elizabeth Rosa, Founder and Principal, Resolve at Work

You may have always sought out a career in mediation, or you may be considering a change of career to bring your skills to this very important and meaningful area of conflict resolution. One of many career decisions we make during our working lives is whether to work for a commercial organisation or agency, or whether to go it alone and start your own business.

The decision to become a mediator is usually driven by the desire to conduct mediations and to help people resolve conflict. Many people who train as mediators then offer their skills as a sole trader or consultant as this seems to be where the most opportunities in this sector lie. In these instances, being a mediator means running a business as well as being a mediator. And like running any business, this brings joys and headaches with the territory.

To help set up in business there are many considerations that help guide the direction, or vision, of the mediation service you bring to the market. Most important of these, and true for any business, is the need to consider why you want to have the business.

Business coach Clare Harris of The Solopreneur Coach says, “Being clear about your WHY is important. Understanding why you want to be a mediator will help you in two main ways:

1. As the foundational motivation and purpose, that will keep you moving forward; and

2. To focus your service offering and marketing.”

A good starting point in this process is to review the reasons you want to be a mediator and set up as a business. To do this it is helpful to reflect on your motivations:

- what attracts you to being a mediator?

- what is it about you that makes you want to be a mediator?

- what individual strengths and skills will you bring to the role?

- what is it about your personality that leads you to want this role?

Next is to consider how you will be conducting your business as a mediator; for this you will need to look at your role:

- what do you want to achieve?

- how will you do your role – will it be full time or part time?

- how will your business fit in to your work/life balance?

- how would you like to feel running your own business as a mediator?

You will need to consider the marketing of yourself and your business. This will be driven by:

- your previous profession

- who your contacts are/ the number contacts you have at start-up

- your preference for means of communicating and connecting with potential clients

- your least comfortable way of connecting with potential clients

For your work direction, you need to pinpoint the best area or areas of mediation to target. This can be done by:

- considering your work background and what areas of mediation follow from this

- what areas most interest you

- what areas you think you can realistically connect with in terms of contacts

- what areas are you most suited to with your personality and style of engagement

Looking at all of the above will help you create a vision for your work. You can outline your vision according to the above categories.

What does the word ‘vision’ actually mean? Oxford Languages describes it as:

“The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.”

So, let your imagination run riot. But temper your vision with wisdom.

One way to imagine your future as a mediator is to keep an ear out for talks by mediators about their careers. You are a part of a large network and every mediator has a story of their evolution as a mediator. For each individual mediator, their experience has been different; they may have worked in more than one area of mediation and they may have combined mediation with work in another profession. Many find the skills they need to work with clients in conflict came naturally to them, while others may find that they had to develop these skills to be comfortable with conflict.

In listening to the stories of other mediators, you can reflect on what your personal preferences are and how best to evolve your mediation career.