Working With Polarities: Finding a Middle Way With Deep Democracy

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Short Description

Whether overt or subtle, endemic patterns of unproductive conflict abound in politics, business, and communities.The purpose of this workshop is to explore the human tendency to dismiss conflicting points of view and to introduce practical concepts and tools that can enable listening, understanding, dialogue, and reconciliation even when faced with radically different viewpoints. Participants will practice exercises probing polarities, balance, and deep democracy while exploring an issue of importance that might typically devolve into unproductive dualistic debate.

Detailed Abstract

2016 was marked by sweeping changes in the political climate, including Brexit in the UK, the elections of Marine LePen in France, Frauke Petry in Germany, and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, and culminating with the election of Donald Trump in the United States. Clearly, the ‘populist’ voter is sending a message for change that can no longer be ignored in the Western world.

Notably, these political changes have been accompanied by toxic language and unproductive conflict as polarization increases between competing segments of society. Much of this discourse is evident in the social arenas, for example in heated debates over the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, the Zwarte Piet controversy in the Netherlands, and a variety of immigration crises across the globe.

Disagreement and mistrust, however, are not unique to the public sector. Although expressed in more subtle ways, we also see endemic patterns of unproductive conflict in our businesses and organizations.

Clearly these factors are beginning to erode confidence in our institutions and the individuals who lead them. In fact, as the January, 2017 Hot Spots newsletter reports, in addition to the historic decline in trust in the media and political sphere, there has also been a “significant decline in trust towards companies” and their CEOs. A key factor in this decline is attributed to a widespread failure to listen to other perspectives - a core leadership skill that is vital to the practice of democracy, both within organizations, and across our broader society.

These concerns and questions are central issues for the presenters, a Dutch-American team comprised of consultants, small business owners, and scholar-practitioners who work at the intersection of business, academia and civil society. As professionals and committed citizens, the presenters are concerned about the habit of “either/or” thinking that squelches respect and prevents the possibility of civil discourse and compromise. This “crisis of dualism" is further exacerbated by a segmented society, and stimulated by social media, where we are increasingly surrounding with like-minded people. Given this trend, we become progressively more inclined to dismiss other viewpoints rather than explore them, creating a huge divide and a threat to our organizations and communities.

The purpose of this workshop is to explore the human tendency to dismiss conflicting points of view and to introduce practical concepts and tools that can enable listening, understanding, dialogue and reconciliation even in the face of radically different viewpoints.

In this workshop, the three presenters will first introduce the notion of polarities, or what Barry Johnson (1996) describes as “sets of opposites which can’t function well independently” (p. xii). Typical polarities include opposing notions such as “autocratic vs. participatory,” “individual vs. community,” and “centralization vs. decentralization.” In an interactive exercise, participants will be invited to engage with one or more polarities to experience the downside of choosing one viewpoint over the other, and explore the advantages of finding balance or a “middle way” between the two extremes.

In the second half of the workshop, the presenters will introduce Deep Democracy, a practice developed in South Africa during the transition from apartheid to democracy (Lewis, 2008). Participants will learn and practice exercises based on the tenets of deep democracy, exploring an issue of importance which might typically devolve into unproductive dualistic debate. The objective is to seek the inherent voices of wisdom by ensuring that all voices are heard, particularly those on the margins. In the process, tensions and conflict are confronted and resolved, resulting in transformation and sustainable change.

Sub Unit

• Business Leadership

Presenters

• Martha F. Miser, Aduro Consulting, LLC

• Petra Bosse, Bosse in Business