Two coworkers clash. Most “mediations” devolve into blame loops with no resolution. Chapter 10 shows a refactor: use empathy, skip mind-reading, ask better questions.
The story
Two coworkers collide, and Slack starts to buzz,
An inbox turns hot, a thread on fire.
We try to “fix” it with logic and force,
Then feelings short out, like frayed wire.
🟢 Before: “Let’s mediate” becomes a blame Olympics
You pull two people into a room. One says, “You made me feel…,” the other says, “Well you always…,” and suddenly you’re debugging a human app with zero logs. Everyone wants to be *right*. Nobody has bandwidth to be curious.
The result: performative apologies, passive-aggressive latency, and that fun vibe where meetings feel like dental work.
🟢 After: Mediation as a calm refactor
Chapter 10 of *A Practical EmPath: Rewire Your Mind* by Scott Howard Swain frames mediation on a deceptively radical idea: empathy, even toward the “opposing” party. Not agreement. Not surrender. More like neutral, steady equanimity so trust can boot up.
Swain’s PEP process gives you a clean sequence: objective observations, name feelings, identify values or needs, then make positive, actionable requests. Translation: less mind-reading, more signal.
Add a private, calm space and active listening, where people can ask clarifying questions, and you stop forcing solutions and start creating connection. Bonus move: steel-man each side’s deeper motivations, not their loudest sentence.
Want a workplace where conflict resolves without collateral damage? Read Chapter 10.
Creative Robot
