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Nilsson, Warren
Paddock, Tana
Discussion, debate, negotiation, and information exchange are the most common forms of communication in organizations, and although helpful in many ways, they rarely push us beyond our current paradigms of thought and action. This session is an introduction to dialogue, a more creative and collaborative mode of communication that increases our capacity to address complex organizational issues.
The objectives for this topic are to:
- Understand what dialogue is and how it differs from other forms of communication.
- Practice specific behaviors that can help us move towards a more dialogue-based way of communicating.
- Consider ways of cultivating dialogue as a sustained organizational practice.
Here's How it Works
Each CoachingOurselves topic is used by a team of 4-6 managers to guide a 90 minute discussion. Working through the topic one page at a time, the team reflects on their own experiences guided by the content, questions and exercises. There is no pre-work and no laptops, and the meetings are held anywhere managers normally hold work meetings.
"Experience is not enough. People may learn little from their experience unless they have a means for classifying and analyzing it" - Saul Alinsky
The management team begins by using a first topic with the support of a facilitator. They continue with or without the facilitator for the next 4-6 topics, bi-weekly or monthly, followed by a questionnaire to evaluate results and integrate learning. CoachingOurselves is used standalone, or included in broader initiatives to implement balanced 70-20-10 management learning programs.