Mediator Tips
Issues of Trust

As any good mediator knows, people in conflict are rarely clashing over the subject matter of that dispute alone; their interests are a large part of the dispute as well. Unfortunately, a dispute will often lead to feelings of mistrust between the two parties as they will each feel as though the other person is acting in a mean or deceitful way (especially if the dispute is over a contract that was broken). Building back trust is an important part of getting the parties to reach a resolution. Unfortunately there is no formula for building back trust, but a good understanding of the types of trust-based conflicts people have may help in figuring out the right way to approach the issue. Steven L. Schwartz, the Managing Partner of ADRSolutions, LLC, divides trust-based conflicts into three types: calculus-based, knowledge based, and identification-based.

Calculus-based conflicts generally involve the immediate situation at issue, that is, issues where the parties are focusing on the specifics of a contract breach, for example. In these cases the parties generally do not have a long-standing relationship. In knowledge-based conflicts the parties have a more detailed knowledge of the others’ habits and activities. They are friends or acquaintances that have known each other for a while. When parties in this type of relationship lose each others’ trust, they are losing trust in that person’s qualities and not just their performance. Finally, in identification-based conflicts the parties have deep seated feelings or an intimate relationship that has lasted a long time. A betrayal of trust of this sort is taken very personally by each party, as they end up losing trust in the entire person they are in conflict with, not just an aspect of them. A solution to this type of lack of trust will have to address the deeply felt emotions each party carries.

Learning to identify the type of relationship, and thus level of trust, each party shares may help you discern what path to follow in a mediation to reach a solution.