The Mediator’s Trap: Success and Failure of Solution-Focused Negotiation

Why do negotiations fail when mediators believe they should succeed? And, why do negotiations succeed when mediators believe they are probably going to fail? A comparative analysis of various negotiating interactions indicates that a major reason for such miscalculation is an improper assessment of the situation by the mediators. In the first case (expected success—actual failure), the mediator believes the major barriers are tactical, while, in fact, they are strategic. In the second case (expected failure—actual success), the mediator believes the main barriers are strategic, while, in fact, they are only tactical. I suggest labeling this type of miscalculation—The Mediator’s Trap. This paper describes The Mediator’s Trap to demonstrate the limitations of human mediators. It suggests looking at a Brief Solution-Focused Negotiation—an intensive short-term interaction—as a case study to demonstrate the problem. The paper concludes that the first challenge of Brief Solution-Focused Negotiation is to turn the opposing parties into a negotiating community. This configuration facilitates human mediator performance.