The Power and Art of Mediation

In the past two decades, I have been involved with many high profile mediation’s. This has become a key feature in many of my past and present engagements.

 

Be it, disputes between trustees, disputes between employee and trustees, issues with regulators or between family business partners. Each time, I came in when all options have been exhausted and there is a stalemate, risk of self-destruction or Charity Commission intervention.

 

With Allah’s blessing, I have always prevailed and have been able to resolve the matter amicably. My suggested solutions and plans achieved satisfaction by all parties and a “win win” solution for all with a clear way forward, Allhumdulillah.

 

Although the outcomes were satisfying, the journey to it was often bumpy with lots of grit, patience, and sacrifice involved.

 

My approach to mediation is not conventional. Often the traditional culture forces the disputing parties to accept each other’s demands. Emotions and Islam is used to exploit each parties guilt and force corporation on moral grounds. This seldom results in long term and lasting solutions.

 

My approach is far, from it.

Mediation should be about justice, fair judgement and agreeing on what is right and fair, in the context of the overall objectives of the organisation and its expected destination.
 

For me, mediation is about justice, fair judgement and agreeing on what is right and fair, in the context of the overall objectives of the organisation and its expected destination.

 

This should not be about personal wins. Mediation or compromise should be about both parties winning, not the strong overcoming the weak which is often seen in traditional mediation.

 

In each mediation, I employ the following same principles:

 

Mediation requires a SMART overall objective

 

I determine the overall SMART objective. Something, I can visualize and touch. Something that makes both parties stronger and win. This is the utmost important part of any mediation. Weak or no objectives, results in outcomes that are weak and at times unfair.

 

Empathy is the ingredient to success

 

I place myself in each parties’ shoes and explore the pressure points. Having empathy is the key ingredient for building trust. Empathy should be the starting point for any mediation.

One must see wood from the trees

 

Once the pressure points are identified, I iron them out against the overall objective. It is at this stage; I separate out the noise and the wood from the trees.

 

Baggage needs offloading

 

People carry baggage that they need help with offloading

 

People carry baggage that they need help with offloading. Sacrifices and compromises must always be for a bigger objective and cause.

 

I make an effort to identify and offload this baggage which is often built up over a longer period based on personal experiences and perceptions. Often brushed under the carpet and ignored – never dealt with and it becomes the monster that stops common sense to prevail.

 

Once I am left with the genuine concerns and risks, I build bespoke solutions, based on my professional judgments and experiences – Again, against the overall objectives of the mediation.

 

Closure needs work

 

The mediation is then “closed” by all parties agreeing to “my solution”. By this time, I have earned the trust, strong emotions are ironed out and the focus for both parties is on the “win win” solution. The details are agreed and then signed off.

 

All the above is accompanied and peppered with hard work, difficult discussions, listening, patience, moments of quiet meditations and a hard resolve from me with no compromise.

 

Mediation is most relevant at the top

 

People in positions of responsibility often end up carrying lot of baggage – this builds up over time, much depends on them being able to work effectively with each other. This is not always possible, and this inability of being able to work together often risks bringing the whole building down with years of “building” and “achievements” to a dramatic loss.

 

This is where mediation then becomes that tool that can put the train back on its track.

 

Mediation is not about making people love and hug each other – its about achieving objectives and making sure the train gets to its destination.

 

Mediation is not about making people love and hug each other – its about achieving objectives and making sure the train gets to its destination.

 

End –

 

Author: Nasir Rafiq is a widely experienced Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and a Charity Financial Governance Expert.

 

He is the Managing Partner of Dua Governance, a Charity Governance specialist accountancy firm.

 

Nasir has held many senior finance positions within the UK charity sector and continues to advise many charities on governance and leadership matters.

 

Email: info@duagovernance.com

Important Lessons from Strawberry Picking

Strawberry picking is a fun day out for all ages. This outdoor activity has it all, sweet fresh berries, a walking exercise and a family fun activity of picking various fruits from their plants.

 

In this innocent activity, one can also “pick” many lessons for individuals and organisations. As I walked through the various fruit lines, I started to pick many of these lessons and came across the following four valuable lessons:

 

Lesson 1: Sweet fruits are on branches that hang down

 

Branches full of fruit are the ones that hang down with the weight of their fruits. This is also true in real life. Individuals that are humble and flexible are the ones that attract people and affection like that branch full of fruits.

Individuals and leaders that are arrogant and inflexible tend to find themselves like those branches pointing in the air with no fruit – nobody likes them or entertains them. Its not the branch that matters but the fruit on it – In real life we forget this.

It’s not the person but the personality and personal conduct matters.

It’s not the person but the personality and personal conduct matters – both define qualities the person and make it so that people benefit.

 

Lesson 2: Size, colour, and design does not matter

 

Many strawberry farms, also grow many other berries as well. From strawberries to raspberries and blueberries. Each berry is different in size, colour, plant, and taste. When ripe and juicy each of them energises the taste buds and gives immense pleasure.

 

The key word here is “ripe” and “ready to eat”.

In real life we focus too much on size, colour, ethnicity, and political affiliations, like the farm the world is full of variety – what should matter is maximising the ability and impact of individuals and organisations.

 

When ready the fruit will taste the best on their own plant – it’s wrong to expect the blueberry to grow and taste good on a strawberry plant or vice versa.

Like plants, individuals are at their best in their own environment and identity – this should be respected, celebrated, and protected for them to “ripe” and excel.

Like plants, individuals are at their best in their own environment and identity – this should be respected, celebrated, and protected for them to “ripe” and excel in all walks of life and organisations. Where this is ignored, it’s the organisations and leaders that lose out from the potential talent and resource those individuals could have offered.

 

Lesson 3: It’s the picking that dictates the quality of the basket

 

The fun in strawberry picking comes with holding the basket and picking the fruit into it. The thousands of plants have thousands of fruits hanging on them at different stages of their life, some ripe and some not as ready. They hang in groups and on different branches. Depending on their position on the plant and branch – they can taste different, sweet, or bitter.

 

It is how and when they are picked determines, the quality of the fruit in the basket. A farm full of fruit that looks unripe may still generate a basket with ripe and colourful tasting fruit. This requires effort and time for the picker to dig deep in finding the ripe fruit.

 

Organisations that have good quality staff have impeccable recruitment practices – they reach out and plan carefully to find and retain the right talent. These organisations then stand out and achieve their objectives – It is then the basket of fruit gives the right pleasure and visuals.

Those that go on a “picking” spree influenced by numbers and digits (nothing more) tend to end up with the wrong mix of fruits in their basket.

Those that go on a “picking” spree influenced by numbers and digits (nothing more) tend to end up with the wrong mix of fruits in their basket. The basket will eventually cost them at the counter and the fruit will be of no use, leaving a bitter taste. I see this often in organisations, especially charities.

 

Lesson 4: Season and gardening make the difference

 

As we are walking out of the farm, we came across some berries out of season – their plants were fruitless and resembled wild bushes with no use.

 

We were so wrong.

 

Given the right season, care and effort the farmers will put into them, they are to taste better than the sweet berries in season we were tasting today.

 

In real life, the same mistake is made with individuals and organisations. We are trigger happy to right them off not realising that we may be meeting them in the wrong season or all they require is care and effort to blossom.

Instead of waiting for the right season or investing in care and training, we judge them and leave them with wrong labels. Hence losing out from the ability and impact they could have shown.

 

Like sweets berries, individuals and organisations require the right environment, care, training, mentoring and guidance to grow and bear fruits for many to enjoy.

End –

 

Author: Nasir Rafiq is a widely experienced Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and a Charity Financial Governance Expert.

 

He is the Managing Partner of Dua Governance, a Charity Governance specialist accountancy firm.

 

Nasir has held many senior finance positions within the UK charity sector and continues to advise many charities on governance and leadership matters.

 

Email: info@duagovernance.com Website: www.duagovernance.com

 

The question of control

Trustees often battle with this question with different answers and approaches. Often conflicts between trustees and management are underpinned by this predicament. Charities are set up by humans and run by humans. The mistake is made when the human factor is ignored. The answer to the question of control lies in how humans normally behave and respond.

When a child is born and throughout the toddler years, parents feed, clothe, hold their hands and constantly check on them. When the same child grows up, becomes an adult and starts university the approach of the parents changes. There is no need to directly feed, clothe or hold hands.

The parents approach changes to now ensuring enough money is in the bank account, direction is set, good university is secured with appropriate accommodation. The constant physical checks turn into keeping an eye on academic results, who the friends are and quality of work experience and references. Same child, same parents, same love but the whole approach changes.

If the approach does not change and the parents remain like they were when the child was a baby or teenager then relationships between parent and child risk becoming sour, challenged and damaged. Charities are the same. When they are set up, they need full attention and involvement of the Trustees, however when they grow large, the whole approach must change. When it does not, this results in relationship between trustees and management to suffer and eventually breakdown.

Like the parents learning from other parents before them, trustees must also learn and apply successful experiences of other trustees and charities. Below are some techniques that have always worked.

Reconciling bank statements to information held by the charity

This should never be underestimated. Tidying up book keeping, preparing good quality year end accounts and picking up fraud, all depends on it. This applies to Charites of all sizes and complexities. Banks are third party organisations and they hold information in a certain way reflecting the instructions from the charity trustees and / or management.

When the bank information is reconciled against information held by the charity which reflects how the charity is run, this has an effect of a third party check over charity finances. This is why a charity with good financial control will always have an effective bank reconciliation process. Trustees should concern themselves about it as it aids control.

Checks and balances on the CEO

A charity with a paid CEO / Manager suggests the charity has grown and requires a different approach. Hand holding by trustees and constant checks should no longer be the case. If this is the case then there is something wrong with either the trustees and / or the CEO. The following are five key checks and balances that have proven to work in larger charities:

1. A robust strategic plan and budget that sets out the framework for the CEO to operate within. Without it, a blind ends up leading a blind, creating issues of trust when difficult decisions need to be taken.

2. A CEO reporting and feedback protocol against the agreed strategy and budgets. The reporting skill of a CEO should be assessed at recruitment stage.

3. A competent legal and audit firm that regularly meets trustees and comments on Management decisions and plans. Trustees should make time for such professionals and should take their advice seriously no matter how difficult it may be to accept.

4. Fair and clear HR policies that dictate how human resource is managed with no trustee or management override. HR issues are often bubbling in the background, if not sorted with good policies and their application, then these bubble burst with ugly consequences.

5. An Audit Committee supported by a professional Internal Audit function. Its not enough to have independent members of the Audit Committee if it is not supported by an competent Internal Audit function.

The key message is that Trustees can remain the same in a charity but the approach must change as the charity grows and enters new challenges.

 

Author: Nasir Rafiq is a widely experienced Chartered Accountant and a Financial Governance Expert. He has directed large finance, HR, facilities and IT functions in charities. He is the founder and director of Dua Governance, a charity finance specialist accountancy and business advisory firm.

 

Charity Leaders: Why personal conduct matters

The charity sector represents public benefit. Leaders of charity offices often preside over limited resources in the context of the job required of them. They also take decisions on donor funds and their decisions can have a far-reaching impact on the people that work in charities and / or the beneficiaries.

 

Staff may be asked to sacrifice for the greater good, for beneficiaries sometimes this can be a matter of life and death or economic survival.

 

Charity leaders must be able to lead an effective team; their success depends on it.

Charity leaders must be able to lead an effective team; their success depends on it. In doing so leaders often have to take difficult decisions to bring the best out of them. The team must be able to trust and respect the leader. Leaders can train future leaders only when their followers can see them as role models and mentors.

 

In this context the personal conduct of a leader especially in the charity matters. It becomes the difference between success and failure. A leader may move mountains, people and followers will forget that – however the conduct on how those mountains were moved is what becomes the legacy of that leader.

 

It’s the personal conduct that touches people and followers and becomes part of the human memory and emotional history of the leader.

Below are some common leadership characteristics and conducts that I have experienced in the charity sector that are proven to make a difference:

 

Trust requires building

 

People and followers must be able to trust their leader. It is only through the trusting, it becomes easier for the people, followers and teams to sacrifice and backdown at their personal cost. Trust is created by being able to follow through on promises without compromise. Trust must be earned and does not automatically come with positions – The leader can build it or break it.

 

Trust must be earned and does not automatically come with positions – The leader can build it or break it.

Trust is built by being transparent in public and private communications. Consultations promote trust especially when the followers / team members know that they will be consulted – this builds trust within the team. Trust grows in humility by accepting mistakes when they are made, and all leaders make them. All this requires consistency and patience by the leader.

 

Fairness come what may

 

Leaders enjoy powers entrusted to them over those that follow them. How they use these powers for the greater good of the office they represent identifies their conduct.

 

Those leaders that don’t compromise on fairness tend to be more powerful and effective than those that compromise to benefit family, friends, or personal business interests – A leader may have favorites on a personal level – this must not skew the balance of fairness in the organisation.

Nepotism eats personal conduct like termites eating wood

Nepotism eats personal conduct like termites eating wood. One the face of it the wood has structure, the termites eat it from within. The wood sound then becomes hollow when tapped, just like the leaders that constantly compromise on principles over nepotism. When these leaders are tested, their teams abandon them over their hollow rhetoric.

 

Being fair and more importantly the perception of being fair (as important) is a crucial conduct that effective leaders often display. This requires the leader to stick to policy and process and become a role model in doing so.

 

Justice is not for the weak

 

Humans are not angels – they make mistakes or do wrong. Teams and followers are not immune from it. An effective leader when confronted with wrong, deals with it. As not dealing with it promotes it, grows it, spreads it – there is always a limit on how much dust can be swept under the carpet. Whenever (and it will) the carpet is removed, all is laid bare, and it is then reflected on the conduct of the leader.

 

Justice has its value when it can be felt and seen. This sets the standards and creates an environment where mistakes and wrongs are less made and discouraged. It becomes the moral compass for leaders and their followers / teams – with this compass they cannot go astray.

 

Being just becomes the moral compass for leaders and their followers / teams – with this compass they cannot go astray.

 

The good practice that is practiced

 

Leaders that tend to take personal conduct seriously, often lead organisations with:

  • effective HR and operational policy and processes that are followed,

  • good and consistent performance management processes,

  • effective organisational structures that achieve good quality consultation and accountability,

  • fair and effective recruitment policy and processes – the right person the right job,

  • a skillful rotating board that appoints the leader on merit and holds the leader accountable.

 

End –

 

Author: Nasir Rafiq is former Interim Finance & Corporate Services Director of Islamic Relief Worldwide (2016-2019). He has held many senior finance positions within the UK charity sector and continues to advise many charities on governance and leadership matters.

 

Nasir is the Managing Partner of Dua Governance Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors. A firm specialising in the charity sector.

 

He is a widely experienced Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and a Charity Financial Governance Expert.

 

Email: info@duagovernance.com