Dialogue

DEVELOPMENTAL LEVELS

Theory of Developmental Levels (Herb Shepard 1965)

Primary Mentality A zero-sum game between individual and

group If an individual co-operates, the group gains But the individual loses out

Secondary Mentality The co-operative group gains more viewpoints And strengthens each person’s individuality

CONSENSUS

Facilitated workshops usually aim for consensus

Consensus is defined as: General agreement Absence of sustained opposition Taking account of all parties’ views Reconciling any conflicting arguments

www.bsigroup.com/en/Standards-and-Publications/About-standards/Glossary/

Attempts to gain consensus can degenerate into forcing people to say that they agree

DIALOGUE IS MORE AMBITIOUS

Negotiation aims to arrive at an agreement between parties that differ

Collaboration aims to share decision-making

Consensus aims to reconcile conflicting views

Dialogue aims to find a new understanding, leading to new ways to think and act that, in turn, lead to other new ideas

WHAT IS DIALOGUE?

DIA = through LOGOS = word / meaning / gather together > relationship DIALOGUE = flow of meaning through relationships

TQM seeks to solve the problem of errors,not by correcting errors after they occur, but by changing processes so errors don’t occur in first place

Dialogue seeks to solve the problem of fragmentationnot by rearranging the components of conversation, butby uncovering and changing the underlying structures

that cause fragmentation in the first place

EARLY (first?) USE OF DIALOGUE

To improve conversations among physicistsDavid Bohm (1965) advocated:

Groups of 20–40 people meet in a circle(enough people to avoid any family dynamic)

For several hours each day, over several days No agenda Try to suspend preconceptions and prejudices Look at process, at how thoughts have moved

EARLY (first?) USE OF DIALOGUE

David Bohm describes Dialogue as: 1st person speaks 2nd person hears similar meaning (not the

same) As 2nd person replies, 1st person sees a

difference between what he meant to say and what 2nd person heard

This difference suggests something new As dialogue continues, new content

emerges So they are creating something in common,

new

BOHM’S PHILOSOPHY

Bohm on PhysicsReality involves unbroken wholeness in flowing movement

Bohm on DialogueThought is a collective enterprise arising from how we

discourse

Conditions for effective dialogue All participants must "suspend" their assumptions,

literally, to hold them "as if suspended before us"; All participants must regard one another as colleagues; There must be a facilitator who holds the context of

dialogue

MEETINGS ARE LONELY PLACES

Most of the time, we think alone: We defend our position We look for evidence to prove that

we are right and others are wrong We avoid being vulnerable to other

opinions We withhold information We feel hurt or betrayed We lose respect for the other side

HISTORY

Cultures that used dialogue survived for a long time: e.g. Native Americans, Ancient Greeks, Maoris

So, is dialogue something we already know?or is it something we have forgotten?

CLAIMS for DIALOGUE

When F W de Klerk visited Nelson Mandela in prison,they devised a new context for South Africa

John Hume & Jerry Adams talked privatelyabout how to stop violence in N. Ireland

In both cases, dogmatists went to great lengths to prevent these conversations. .Isobel thinks the magic here was that the conversations were out of the public eye.

A new “mind” emerges, if:Participants believe that maintaining good feelingswithin the group is more important than holding to their fixed position

HARGROVE

A dialogue is a conversation where:There is a free flow of meaning … and Diverse views & perspectives are encouragedPeople desire to learn from different

colleagues

Collaboration is based on inspiring visions It is deeply purposeful, focused on practical accomplishments

that are carried out in conversations

FACTS model