Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Mediators Compete!

Shocking, isn’t it? It’s absolutely true.

Mediators compete for clients instead of working collaboratively. We compete for a variety of reasons; however, having a scarcity mentality tops the list. A scarcity mentality reinforces the notion that there are not enough paying clients for everyone. Your gain is my loss, so to speak. Action or thoughts seem to flow from a place of fear and uncertainty, rather than confidence and hope.

Abundance Mentality

I like to work from an abundance mentality. That means there’s an abundant pool of work available to anyone and everyone who wants it. I like to say we’re in a recession-proof industry. As long as there are human beings there’ll be conflict to resolve, even amongst the most skillful communicators!

My challenge is to find paying clients with needs that match my unique talents. It’s not a matter of if but when I find these clients because I’m not the only one looking. I have a team of champions who look too.

Select a Team of Champions

You can create your own Team of Champions. It can’t be just anybody (well, I suppose it could but you might not get the results we’re talking about) I fill my team with ADR professionals I admire and trust. It can be folks that I’ve worked with in the past or hope to work with in the future. Mainly, I like want teammates that share my thinking about ‘doing good and doing well financially’.

Then the fun begins. I study my champions and their work. We talk, email and share our perspectives. Aside from being a great learning opportunity, I also grow comfortable enough to confidently refer clients to them. I love being able to say, ‘I have just the right person for you’. Best of all my fellow champions do the same for me. I know that when something ‘just up my alley’ crosses his or her desk I’ll get a call. We collaborate, not compete.

Diving for pearls usually comes to mind when I talk this. Imagine that you have to dive into the murky, dark waters to find oysters that contain black pearls. Alone, your work is slow, tiring and doesn’t reap much benefit. But what happens when you team up with a diver seeking only pink pearls? You’re twice as likely to each find the gems you seek with less effort and more encouragement.


What does this mean to you? Ask yourself: do I have a scarcity mentality? What can I do today to create and support my own team of champions?

2 Comments:

At 6:49 AM, Blogger Gef Resolution said...

Hi Dina,

What a nice piece of article. I personally dont believe in "scarcity", though as a human being I am some times tempted to believe it.

I believe in great abundance which is there for every body. Abundance reminds us that our needs are met even before we ask for it. In our mediation practice, we need to properly connect to harness great abundance. I understand the universe to be a web of minds full of resources to meet individual and common needs. Champions in all fields are there ever ready to help if we believe in working in team.
Dina, your articles are part of this great abundance of knowledge. And as I read I feel connected to the ocean of abundance.

Those living in "scarcity mentality" ought to change. It only takes an instance for one to become conscious of abundance. It is this holy instance that enriches us in our mediation career. Is there with you now. Embrace it.

Remain Blessed dear friends.

Emmy irobi
Mediator in Poland

 
At 8:16 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dina,

Thank you for referring me to your website for this wonderful article. It is truly insightful and a reminder of how valuable the interconnection is between humans, not just for personal growth, but professional growth. As I have stated, we live in a culture of fear, especially when resources are perceived as scarce. If you were to study (or at least poke around on the web) and look for articles published by Robert Prechter (the Elliot Wave Theorist) he made profound observations of human behavior as it relates to the economic health of society and individuals...the obvious; when we feel financial abundance, we are gregarious and generous. When we are economically depressed, the opposite. All indications are we are in pre-1929 conditions so "fear" is going to become the dominant emotion. Unfortunately, we will have to modify our practices to help those who will be primarily motivated by fear.

Susan Cartier-Liebel

 

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