Although there are different schools of thought concerning the role of a mediator and how he or she should best handle the process of facilitating a session, there are certain traits that are undeniably necessary for any mediator to possess. Regardless of what type of conflict you focus on in your business, or the type of client you most often see come through the doors of your office, harboring and honing these traits will ensure that you have what it takes to be a success in this field.

1. Humanity
This trait is vital in establishing trust and respect—two essential ingredients for any successful mediation session. Mediation often involves heightened emotions and it takes a large dose of humanity to be able to navigate the stormy waters those emotions can stir. Often, the only way to truly mediate a conflict is to achieve unity with all parties involved; it is through this aspect of mediation that the mediator serves as a bridge between the disputants, allowing them to find a common ground and meet there to reach a settlement.

2. Diligence
Mediation is not an easy task and requires a finely tuned work ethic on behalf of the mediator if success is to be achieved. The best mediators are proactive, persevering and almost relentless during the mediation process—all traits that ensure the conflict is resolved as quickly as possible so that the disputants can get back to business as usual.

3. Trustworthiness
In order to reach a level of true neutrality, both parties in dispute will need to trust that you are working on their behalf. As soon as the scales tip to favor one side over the other, you’ve lost your ability to mediate the conflict successfully. This is why it is important that a mediator maintain the trust of both parties, without question, and the only way to do this is to remain as fair and non-biased as possible during the course of the mediation session(s). Once a mediator has established himself or herself as trustworthy, that train goes a long way in making sure clients leave the table with good things to say about your services. Their reference will be the cornerstone of your business, and your trustworthiness (or lack thereof) will be what makes or breaks that cornerstone.

4. Intelligence
An intelligent mediator wins the confidence of his or her clients quickly. When your clients value your expertise and knowledge and trust it explicitly, your work with them will flow much smoother because they will respect your opinion and suggestions. Developing your knowledge base through professional development and personal study is a good plan to enact in order to grow your business and reputation for the long-term.