Core Competence Areas of RMMS Members

    The RMMS Foundation is developing a high-value standard for mediative risk work in complex business environments. 

    Our members contribute advanced expertise from psychology, business, and strategic mediation. 

    The standards are currently being refined together with our members and will form a living code of conduct, 

    methodological framework, and reference for high-value, for-benefit mediation in organisations.

    The following four clusters describe the key areas of competence that RMMS members are expected to master 

    in different depths. They serve as a shared map for defining tools, ethical guidelines, and practical standards 

    for advanced business mediation and strategic conflict work.

1. Business & Organisational Literacy

    RMMS members understand how organisations really work – structurally, financially, and culturally. 

    They speak the language of executives, boards, HR and operations, and can translate complex conflicts 

    into clear, decision-relevant insights.

   

• Strategic understanding of business models and value creation

   

• Experience with SMEs, family businesses and larger corporations

   

• Insight into governance, ownership structures and stakeholder interests

   

• HR logic and people processes (top-down and bottom-up perspectives)

   

• Change management and organisational transformation

   

• Understanding of performance pressure, KPI logics and role conflicts

   

• Ability to frame mediation outcomes in business-relevant terms

 

2. Psychology & Human Dynamics

    Advanced mediative risk work requires deep psychological literacy. 

    RMMS members work with human vulnerability, power, fear and decision-making – without pathologising, 

    but with high awareness and responsibility. Their practice is informed by an extensive study of professional 

    literature (more than 400 books in psychology, communication, systems theory and conflict work).

   

• Evidence-informed understanding of personality, motivation and defence mechanisms

   

• Systemic analysis of teams, families and organisations

   

• Trauma-sensitive communication in high-stress and high-risk situations

   

• Awareness of projection, transference and escalation patterns

   

• Reading non-verbal cues and micro-reactions in conversations

   

• Working with ego structures without humiliating or exposing people

   

• Balancing empathy with clear boundaries and role clarity

   

• Reflective practice and continuous self-supervision

 

3. Mediation Expertise & Methodology

    RMMS members have mediation as a core profession, not as a side label. 

    They combine solid training (including the legal framework of mediation) with many hours of real cases 

    in complex business and family-business settings.

   

• Certified mediation training in line with national mediation law and regulations

   

• Mastery of the classical mediation phases and process architecture

   

• Specialised experience in business and shareholder mediation

   

• Use of structured methods such as chair-switching, role-doubling and perspective shifts

   

• Conflict diagnostics and risk mapping before and during the process

   

• Designing safe procedural frames for highly escalated parties

   

• Balancing legal, psychological and organisational perspectives

   

• Documenting agreements in a way that is robust for long-term implementation

 

4. Advanced Strategic & Technical Tools

    Beyond classical mediation, RMMS members work with strategic tools that make complex risk landscapes visible 

    and manageable. They combine analytical thinking with humane communication and ethical responsibility.

   

• High-value diagnostic tools for mediative risk and conflict assessment

   

• Strategic communication design for boards, leadership teams and key stakeholders

   

• Decision frameworks that integrate human, systemic and economic dimensions

   

• Visual conflict and risk mapping (matrices, diagrams, layered models)

   

• Use of digital tools for documentation, analysis and follow-up where appropriate

   

• Development of internal guidelines and playbooks for organisations

   

• Ability to translate complex insight into clear, actionable recommendations

   

• Commitment to updating tools in line with new research and practice feedback

 

Outlook: Co-Created Standards

    Over the coming months, the RMMS Foundation and its members will transform these competence areas into 

    a concrete standard: practical tools, ethical guidelines, case criteria and a recognisable quality label 

    for organisations seeking truly high-value, advanced business mediation.