Written by My Collaborative Team President, Edward S. Sachs, ACP
Over the past few weeks at our Happy Hour, we have been having a spirited discussion about the makeup of our out of court practices. Should we be Collaborative exclusive, or should we be open to other out of court processes such as cooperative or “collaborative light”?
This discussion was sparked by Woody Mosten’s discussion at our last Collaborative Introductory Learning Program. Woody encouraged attendees to consider offering unbundled services utilizing our training as peacemakers and providing clients the same services we have been accustomed to providing but with a Peacemaker’s attitude.
Many of our attendees agreed with Jeff Wasserman and Irene King’s belief that we should be Collaborative exclusive. We shouldn’t be downplaying the brand and we face the possibility of brand confusion when we use cooperative or “collaborative light” tactics. If we so strongly believe that the Collaborative Process is the most effective way to help families through the difficult process of divorce, then we shouldn’t settle for anything less of a process.
Carolann Mazza, a My Collaborative Team founder, believes that we should adjust our service offerings to fit the needs of our clients. The peg needs to fit the hole. She did make the distinction that we shouldn’t be calling the process Collaborative unless it is a full collaborative team, but ultimately helping people resolves their disputes in a peaceful manner is her goal regardless of how they get there.
No matter what your beliefs about your out of court practice, it is vitally important to assess your clients. Will they be a square peg that doesn’t fit into the round hole? Will they be a square peg that can be carved into a round peg that will ultimately fit in the Collaborative Process? The assessment should be able to provide the Collaborative team with a roadmap for adapting the Process to fit the clients.
This Thursday, September 22nd at 1:00 Eastern we will hold our ninth Collaborative Introductory Learning Program session. Zanita Zacks-Gabriel, Robin Sax and Brian Galbraith will share their secrets for Assessing Your Client for the Collaborative Process. Also joining the discussion will be Shelby McCaw who will show us how the Separation and Divorce Readiness Indicator can help with the assessment process.
