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      KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
     ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
                 Volume 37, April 2004
    Publisher: © Key Associates, 2004
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com

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This Issue: On "Dialogue: Thinking Together"

This is a monthly electronic magazine for anyone 
who wants to be a better leader, coach, facilitator, 
or simply, to tune up their people skills.  It is a 
complimentary publication, devoted to the next
evolution of Quality Thinking.

View Earlier Issues

Contents:

"Education is a kind of continuing dialogue, 
and a dialogue assumes, in the nature of the case, 
different points of view.
                                         -Robert Hutchins (1899-1977)

"When men exercise their reason coolly and freely 
on a variety of distinct questions, they inevitably fall 
into different opinions on some of them. When they 
are governed by a common passion, their opinions, 
if they are to be called, will be the same."
                                          -Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)

"I think we ought always to entertain our opinions with 
some measure of doubt. I shouldn't wish people 
dogmatically to believe any philosophy, not even mine."
                                          -Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
 
"You are young, my son, and, as the years go by, 
time will change and even reverse many of your 
present opinions. Refrain therefore awhile from 
setting yourself up as a judge of the highest matters."
                                          -Plato (427-347 BC), Dialogues, Theatus

"It is hard enough to remember my opinions, 
without also remembering my reasons for them!
                                          -Frederick Nietzsche 1844-1900)

"The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied 
with your opinions and content with your knowledge."
                                          -Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)

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WHAT'S HOT IN LEADERSHIP
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CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT 
FOR DIALOGUE AND LEARNING TOGETHER.

INVITING DIVERSE OPINIONS FROM
ALL STRATA AND WALKS OF LIFE. 

DEMONSTRATING THE VALUES OF 
FREE INQUIRY--LISTENING, RESPECTING,
SPEAKING THE TRUTH.

SHARED INQUIRY, WHERE JUDGMENT 
IS SUSPENDED AND DEEP ASSUMPTIONS 
ARE UNEARTHED FOR EXAMINATION.

DISTRIBUTING POWER AND LEADERSHIP,
PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
TO HAVE A VOICE.

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MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
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Most of us who have achieved high rank are also
well-educated, high-powered professionals, who are 
committed to excellence.

We are also the toughest learners.  Did we not
achieve our stations through knowledge--by having 
the right answers when called for?  We have become
very good at defending our positions and deflecting
blame elsewhere.  There is a lot at risk, needing  
to be viewed as all-knowing and mistake-less.

In fact, we have probably made few mistakes,
therefore we have never learned from them.

It is a bold step to let go of "defensive reasoning" 
and position your leadership as seeking the answers, 
rather than having them.  For this reason, this issue
is devoted to a different way of thinking together--
dialogue.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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How do we "dialogue ?"

The work of Bill Isaacs (1999) is very helpful here.  
He defines dialogue as "a conversation with a center,
and not merely sides."  Where discussion is an analytical
tool, to break things apart and decide on action; 
dialogue is generative, a "shared inquiry," where there
is no single answer.

A circle is the best formation for people to speak 
and think freely together.  Rather than a technique, 
dialogue is more a quality of being.   Isaacs 
outlines four behaviors essential to dialogue:

VOICING - speaking the truth about who one really 
is and how they think.

LISTENING - without resistance or imposition.

RESPECTING - awareness of the integrity of 
another's position.

SUSPENDING - suspension of assumptions, 
judgment, and uncertainty.

We seem to be stuck in that academic mode of
combative discussion.  How do we get unstuck?  

It's interesting--discussion, percussion, concussion--
all share root meaning.  Get the clanging concept?  
We are taught to challenge and dispute each others'
ideas, in order to win the battle and show up 
the smartest.  Being right is far more important 
than finding the best answer.

Being stuck in Positions is "Advocacy"--where the 
goal is to WIN the argument.  "Inquiry," on the other 
hand, is looking into the data and assumptions
behind the positions, in order to LEARN (see Peter Senge).

A useful exercise is to ask people to expose their
thinking--their data, rationale, interests, logic trail
behind their positions.  This is WHAT I think and 
here is WHY I think it, in an orderly, non-interrupting
way.  Then encourage Open Questions, e.g., 
"What are your views?" for more information.

I know people on my team have good ideas and questions,
yet they seem reluctant to speak them.  How do I draw
people out ?

Creating a safe environment for dialogue means 
overriding years of negative experience in group 
discussions.  Carl Rogers aptly pointed out that
JUDGMENT is the single greatest barrier to 
communication.  People have watched the process 
of introducing an idea, having people beat up on it, 
debate it, then decide on it or throw it out.   Then 
call for another idea.  And get nothing.

Wouldn't it be pleasant if we could ask people to 
view ideas as "theories," as something separate 
from the person?  So that there is no failure or 
shame when an idea is examined.

It would also help if we adhered to the creative 
process of "divergence before convergence."  
Generate lots of ideas, giving everyone a voice 
around the table, before applying any decision rules.

It is also useful to have a Facilitator, whose job
it is to "hold the space."

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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
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See our other e-zine issues on "Learning Organizations"
(http://www.mkkey.com/Key%20Associates/ezine14.htm),
"Effective Listening" 
(http://www.mkkey.com/Key%20Associates/ezine30.htm), 
and "Mediating Conflict" 
(http://www.mkkey.com/Key%20Associates/ezine7.htm).

Courses on Learning by Dialogue
http://www.learningbydialogue.com/

How to bring dialogue into the classroom
http://www.abacon.com/lefton/dialogue.html 
and http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr2recib.htm
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OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES 
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Selected websites on Dialogue
http://laetusinpraesens.org/links/webdial.php 

Read the Power and Promise of Deep Dialogue
http://global-dialogue.com/  from The Global
Dialogue Institute.

David Bohm is a thought leader in dialogue.  Read his paper:
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/nest/imager/contributions/scharein/various/Dialogue.html 

A summary of Peter Senge's distinction between
dialogue and discussion, with ground rules
http://www.abilitynow.com/Projects/Acorn/dialogue.htm

Some tips on team dialogue
http://www.yk.psu.edu/~jlg18/450SandE/cs_debate_4.PDF
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ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS                              
************************************** 
Argyris, Chris. "Teaching Smart People to Learn."
Harvard Business Review, May-June 1991, 99-109.

Baker, Larry L. Listening Behavior. Englewood 
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1971.

Bolton, Robert. People Skills. New York: 
Touchstone, 1979.

Deming, W. Edwards.  Out of the Crisis.  
Cambridge: MIT Press, 1986.

Fischer, R., & Ury, W. Getting to Yes. Boston, MA:
Houghton-Miflin, 1981.

Garvin, David A. Building a Learning Organization. 
Harvard Business Review, July-August, 1993, 78-91.

Hall, Edward T. The Hidden Dimension. 
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966.

Isaacs, William.  Dialogue and the Art of Thinking 
Together.  NY: Doubleday, 1999.

Key, M.K. Creatively and constructively managing differences. 
In M. K. Key (Ed.) Managing Change in Healthcare: 
Innovative Solutions for People-based Organizations. 
Chicago: McGraw-Hill, 1999.

Kreps, Gary L. Organizational Communication. 
New York: Longman, 1986.

Nonaka, Ikujiro. The knowledge-creating company. 
Harvard Business Review. November-December, 1991.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey & Sutton, R.I. The smart-talk trap. 
Harvard Business Review. May-June 1999.

Reardon, K. Interpersonal Communication: 
Where Minds Meet. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 
1987.

Rogers, Carl R. & Roethlisberger, F.J. 
Barriers and Gateways to Communication. 
Harvard Business Review. November-December, 
1991, 105-111.

Sandwith, Paul. Building quality into communications. 
Training & Development. January, 1994, 55-60.

Senge, Peter M. The leader’s new work: Building learning 
organizations. Sloan Management Review, Fall, 1990. 7-23.

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and 
Practice of the Learning Organization.  Currency/Doubleday, 
1994.

Senge, Peter M & Kleiner, Art (Eds.) et al.  The Fifth 
Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building
a Learning Organization.Currency/Doubleday, 1994.

Senge, Peter M. et.al.  The Dance of Change: The 
Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning 
Organizations.  New York: Doubleday, 1999.

Whitney, Diana & Amanda Trosten-Bloom.  The 
Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide 
to Positive Change. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler,
2003.