'kon gres 2011 - LEADR's 11th international ADR conference

The impact of personality structure on workplace mediation outcomes

Podcasts, powerpoints and/or papers from the presentations are available to LEADR members and
'kon gres 2011 participants via a password protected area. Click here >>

Find out more about inflexible personality patterns, their impact on mediation and strategies to deal with them.

jenny This exploratory study investigated the links between personality structure and levels of satisfaction with workplace mediation. The sample consisted of 76 mediation participants from client organisations of PPC Worldwide who were provided with a workplace mediation service. The data collection was conducted over a five year period. Thirty five percent and 32% of the participants respectively scored over the cut-off diagnostic point for a narcissistic personality pattern and a histrionic personality pattern. The results of the quantitative study provided partial support for the hypothesis that participants with an inflexible personality structure are more likely to have lower levels of satisfaction with mediation.

Specific findings indicated that participants who scored higher in the dramatic cluster (narcissistic, histrionic, borderline, sadistic, and anti-social personality styles) were significantly more likely to achieve lower satisfaction with mediation. More specifically, higher scores in the borderline personality scale were significantly predictive of lower levels of satisfaction with mediation process and outcome scales. Finally, participants who used denial as a defense during mediation were more likely to indicate lower satisfaction with mediation process and outcome. These results provide mediators with evidence that may help them to tailor mediation strategies that take account of inflexible personality patterns.

I intend to provide a 20 minute summary of results as stated in the abstract. I will then provide a 20 minute exercise that focuses on identifying inflexible personality styles and strategies to engage these personalities in a positive experience This will be presented by asking the audience for their ideas and presenting my own ideas afterwards. If it is possible I would like to record the audience responses and then email a combination of their ideas and my own as a type of tool-kit to work with inflexible personalities. The final few minutes are for discussion of specific situations and or strategies that relate to inflexible personalities.

Podcast: Listen to Jenny talk about this session pre-kon gres (5 mins) >>

Jenny Ellison

I trained as a counselling psychologist, am registered as a clinical psychologist and have a masters in organisational psychology. I am writing up my PhD this year on the impact of personality structure on workplace mediation outcomes. This research is an attempt to integrate my work in the above three fields.

I have worked at PPC Worldwide as a consultant / psychologist for about 10 years training, coaching, mediating, and counselling. Most of my consulting work these days is based on mediation and coaching. The most common theme that arises in this work is the challenge engaging inflexible personalities – hence the PhD research which has provided some helpful answers.