Two Reviews of "Common Ground On Hostile Turf"

Common Ground On Hostile Turf: Stories From an Environmental Mediator by Lucy Moore, Island Press, Washington, 2013
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Author and Mediator Lucy Moore shares her professional experiences by describing her work in New Mexico, where there was “...stress over land and water resources against a backdrop of cross-cultural tension and a high rate of poverty.” Various arguments came from several angles: Hispanic and Native American, environmental and business, state and federal agencies, and funding from the East and Midwest.

Moore believed that everyone involved needed to know who was involved, so she encouraged all to share their personal life stories. It worked very well to “...help people express themselves honestly and to ensure that others are genuinely
listening.” When she insisted on that same kind of life-sharing in another case, however, it backfired. The participants simply wanted to get down to work finding solutions.

The rules Moore formulated over her years of mediation provide a useful guideline for us all—Seek common goals and specific solutions, find enemies in common and satisfy curiosity. She asks participants to respect the privacy of the talks, to speak using the “I” word, and to refrain from personal attacks. “...trust and respect among adversaries are possible,” she says, “...once everyone is able to be honest, vulnerable, open and respectful. Then the “...logjam of warring studies and legal threats may break loose.”

For me, one of the most revealing findings in her work was the long-time residents’ view of the “entremetides—those who interfere where they don’t belong.” Environmentalists’ focus is philosophical; residents’ caring is personal. Environmentalists worry about wildlife and the planet’s future, while residents worry about losing their land tomorrow, losing it for family.

One of Moore’s observations is the need to be sensitive to issues of power as well as to differences in caring. Lawyers use legalese; scientists use data; bureaucrats raise barriers to ideas; “tribals” play history or culture cards. If problems are approached honestly and communicated immediately, mediation can work in three areas: substance, process and psychology.

With her very readable story-telling in this book, the author opens up possibilities in the world of difficult communication for all of us.

Guest Blog
Posted on 04/01/2015 by Don Neeper. Thanks to him for these excerpts.

In her book, Common Ground on Hostile Turf, Lucy Moore shows that resolution of conflict depends more on the sharing of personal stories than on the facts, legal arguments, or moral claims of the parties.
Living in Santa Fe, Lucy Moore served for decades as a mediator in southwestern land, water, and waste arguments. With a profound sympathy as well as professional analysis, she offers ten cases in which the opposing parties either devised a resolution, or failed to do so, depending on whether they had trust or grew into trust by sharing personal histories, feelings, and preferences.
Although Moore’s own ten stories in this book bring the reader into empathy with land and water issues of the Southwest, the lessons are universal, lessons familiar to professionals who work with the conflicts in marriages, churches, schools, corporations, and governments. Moore shows how culture, historical events, sense of power, and personality affect negotiations. Trust and respect are possible among adversaries, but first each must come to understand the life and experiences underlying the opponent’s position. That understanding develops through each person’s telling his/her own story—how he came into the conflict, how he grew up, what children the person has, what experiences affected him most. Personal sharing creates vulnerability, and vulnerability generates trust. Trust might allow a resolution other than winning and losing..
Conclusion
Instead of focusing on victory, those who resolve conflicts must tell stories about their homes, what they treasure most, the friends they relish, their worries, and what they would like to see when they look out on the world, even for their last time. Moore didn’t say it quite that way, but I think that statement captures her message. Before we can resolve hostile turf, we must find common ground.
For the entire blog see http://neeper.net/blog-74-common-grou...