In the late 1990\u2019s when our children were still at primary school, we went to see a few live bands \u2013 perhaps \u2018groups\u2019 would be more accurate than \u2018bands\u2019 \u2013 that I wouldn\u2019t have otherwise gone to see. There was a huge difference in quality. B*Witched were so poor it made me angry at the time having spent so much money on the tickets, and 911 were not much better. But there were also some very good gigs, too. Both Spice Girls and Steps put on excellent shows which we all enjoyed \u2013 in fact I enjoyed far more than I ever thought I would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consequently, when I recently saw a short series advertised on Sky TV about Steps potentially reforming, I was sufficiently interested to watch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having watched the first of the four episodes, I understood more about why and how they had broken up as a group \u2013 and it was abundantly clear that it had not been a happy event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The more I saw of the programme, the more apparent it was that it was a great advert for mediations, the reasons they happen and what they can achieve. For this reason, it made it captivating viewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For anyone unfamiliar with mediation, it is a process to help resolve (generally) interpersonal disputes within the workplace. It usually involves a third party \u2013 the mediator \u2013 bringing the two or more sides together with the aim of achieving a mutual agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mediation can be most effective when used at the start of any disagreement, before the conflict escalates in the workplace. An early intervention can prevent the sides from becoming entrenched, and stop the situation engulfing other people or members of the team. If there is no early intervention, there is the potential for the dispute to become more serious \u2013 and possibly for it to become so serious, the relationships involved cannot be reconciled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conflict between individuals that is not managed effectively is also potentially expensive for organisations \u2013 lost productivity, related sickness and legal advice are all serious costs. And if the situation is not resolved, they can lead to tribunals. According to the conciliation service ACAS, in 2007-8, the number of individual employment tribunals rose to over 90,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having said all that, I am not saying that mediation is a panacea, and there are some cases of conflict where it will not be suitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it could have worked for Steps. In fact, the programme demonstrated an extended version of a mediation \u2013 and was an excellent example of how beneficial it can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the latter end of their 5 years together, factions formed within Steps (they were definitely out of step \u2013 sorry, couldn\u2019t resist it!). They started to talk about each other rather than to each other. They made assumptions about what was going on rather than find out what was actually happening. They didn\u2019t value other members and so made no attempt to listen to them. And they viewed their world judgementally in terms of adjectives rather than fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things got so bad that two of the group resigned an hour before the final show of a tour \u2013 leaving the other three to go on stage trying to take in the enormity of the end of their band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ten years on they had agreed to meet up. It was visibly apparent from the start how much anger and frustration some members had been carrying during the intervening years. It was very uncomfortable for others. But they had started talking. And they started to listen. They were asking inquisitive questions, talking in terms of their feelings, and explaining why they had one things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But several months of not talking and then 10 years of anger and other negative emotions are not properly dealt with in one meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several meeting took place \u2013 some as a whole group and some within smaller groups where there were still tensions. They now had time \u2013 something they had little of when recording and touring. It showed how investing time in a team makes it stronger and more productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually everything had been said. It didn\u2019t make the wrongs right, but it enabled each of them to move on. The feelings had been explored and put to bed \u2013 they were \u2018left luggage\u2019 rather than \u2018baggage\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the programme it was apparent that it had been helpful for all of them. There had been learning \u2013 about themselves and each other. They were more comfortable with each other, and in some cases the relationships were stronger than they ever had been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Okay, it was TV and was to promote a reunion and a new tour \u2013 we only saw what we were supposed to see. But the emotions weren\u2019t put on \u2013 and whatever might have been left out of the programme, it was an excellent example of how mediation can work. But if you find yourself in such a situation, or are managing something similar, don\u2019t leave it 10 years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for the new tour, I\u2019ll give this one a miss \u2013 but if the concerts are as good as last time, they will be well worth a visit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the late 1990\u2019s when our children were still at primary school, we went to see a few live bands \u2013 perhaps \u2018groups\u2019 would be more accurate than \u2018bands\u2019 \u2013 that I wouldn\u2019t have otherwise gone to see. There was a huge difference in quality. B*Witched were so poor it made me angry at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,16,26,1],"tags":[404,400],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":380,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions\/380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breathe-pod.org.uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}