I arrived at the client’s location and was being given the grand tour, as well as my hosts’ perception of the conflicts I was there to mediate. As we chatted about the upcoming session, one of them smilingly asked, “Are we the worst group you’ve ever worked with?”

Almost EVERY group asks me something along those lines, usually with a grin that seems to indicate that they are hoping that my answer is yes!

This puzzles me.

Right now, the best I can figure is that we all want to feel that we are special in some way. And if the reason that the group is hiring me to mediate is because they are in conflict, well, they’re clearly out of the running for the Most Functional Team award. They may as well go for the Most DYSfunctional Team award.

Do other mediators and consultants get this question?