It was a pinch-me moment to be in Toronto this month teaching dialogue skills to the Schmidt Science Fellows. Why would scientists even consider let alone invest in this approach? […]
The benefits of authentic dialogue in international settings
Tag: dialogue
Turn tension into triumph
With the UK general election only a week away, our news streams and TV screens have been full of fractious discussions and accusation slinging. “Politican’s staff room squabbles” is how Rachel Cooke in The New Statesman summed up the recent TV election debates. After watching Rishi Sunak and Kier Starmer go head to head, she […]
The challenge of speaking out
Ayesha’s voice sounded tight as she spoke. “I’m struggling and I wonder if you can help? It’s my boss. He speaks at 10,000 miles an hour and I can hardly get a word in. None of us can. We have team meetings that aren’t really ‘meetings’ at all.” This sounded familiar. Many of the managers […]
Not to decide is to decide
Decades of research tells us that about half of organisational decisions fail to achieve their goals. They either unravel after a meeting has ended or have unintended consequences. Many meetings don’t end in decisions being made. As we all know, waiting to see what happens is often not an effective way to make a decision. […]
Slay the silence
The news that King Charles has cancer has prompted messages of support from across the world. Rishi Sunak announced it has been ‘caught early’, and both Joe Biden and Donald Trump sent their best. Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly expressed their good wishes as they start to work […]
Stop The Sabotage
Management culture often makes a mess of meetings. Group think means conviviality trumps people telling the truth. Managers are disconnected from the people they serve and make decisions in a vacuum. When mistakes are made, the ‘blame game’ starts rather than managers seeking to learn from what has gone wrong. These dynamics have all played […]
Lead Change Through Dialogue (Part 2)
Open communication is motivating for groups who need to innovate. To stimulate this, leaders in these disruptive times need a communication competence that fosters dialogue. As I said in my previous post: Leading change through dialogue is challenging, but not nearly as hard as trying to promote change without this. There are many obstacles to […]
Lead Change Through Dialogue (Part 1)
Leading change through dialogue is challenging but not as hard as trying to lead change without dialogue. To innovate during these fractured times, leaders must engage hearts not just minds, walk their talk, turn activists into allies, and have a bold vision without being domineering. With this approach, transformational change becomes possible. Authentic dialogue among […]
Disagreeing Agreeably
“Between what is said and not meant, and what is meant and not said, most of love is lost.” Gibran, K. (1923) The Prophet It hardly needs to be said that the world needs better dialogue right now. Without good dialogue, love is lost between partners, teams, organisations and nations. With fruitful dialogue, collaboration replaces ruthless competition or entrenched conflict. […]
Being In The Room Together
“In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change“ Reinhard Stelter Our inability to talk with one another is at the root of all conflict. Whether it’s a war between nations, a fight between departments or a stand-off between CEOs, the common factor is an unwillingness to meet the ‘other’ and to be changed by […]