1.5 - About University

Dialogue is about thinking together. It involves balancing advocacy with inquiry andbroadening the focus of conversations. In dialogue, people question the total process ofthought and feeling that produced the issue or conflict. Elements of successful dialogueinclude:✔✔✔✔inviting or giving people the choice to participate;generative listening, whereby people quiet their inner voices and listen for deepermeaning in what others are expressing, saying, or feeling;self-awareness and ability to understand how you and group members see the world;a willingness to surface and inquire into the assumptions behind one’s thinking, torefrain from imposing one’s views on others, and yet not to hold back what one isthinking.Successful dialogue requires that the leader:❑❑❑❑❑Use an external facilitator, or act as the group facilitator himself or herself. The processis initially unfamiliar to many and often surfaces challenging emotions and misunderstandings.Recognize that you can’t force dialogue, but you can create an environment that promotescollective inquiry.Allow the process to work without a specific outcome in mind. (Dialogue will fail if itis rushed or directed toward decision making.)Maintain a high level of self- and group awareness. (Pay attention to what is happeningwithin the group and within yourself, by taking time-outs to discuss how the dialogueprocess is going.)Explore all disagreements, even those that appear to be minor, using them as opportunitiesfor improved understanding within the group.H OW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL“… the word ‘dialogue’ comes from the Greek dialogos. Dia means through. Logos means the word, or morebroadly, meaning. … The result is a free exploration that brings to the surface the full depth of people’s experienceand thought, and yet can move beyond their individual views.”—Peter Senge et al, THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE FIELDBOOK:STRATEGIES AND TOOLS FOR BUILDING ALEARNING ORGANIZATIONWhen a challenging issue is raised in a workgroup or team (e.g., a new business strategy), emotionsare raised, people can espouse polarized and mutually exclusive positions, and differencescan seem irreconcilable. A leader or group facilitator, skilled in leading groups through dialogue,can help them reach a better understanding of each other’s underlying values, assumptions,and perspectives. Through facilitated dialogue, entrenched and strongly held underlyingassumptions can be surfaced, allowing the group to move to a new level of understanding, todevelop new options for action, and to achieve a consensus that members might have thoughtimpossible prior to participating in facilitated dialogue.Use these charts as a checklist when preparing for a discussion or dialogue within yourworkgroup or team.SECTION 8 TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATION 243