Extra Strength Conversation
When your group needs to have an “extra strength” conversation and you prefer the safety and guidance of a professional facilitator you may consider hiring a GPC trained facilitator or a one or two day training/facilitation session.
"If a group can discuss the undiscussable, they can solve the unsolveable."
CLIENT COMMENTS:
“Annette brings an extraordinary combination of high intellect, keen insight, excellent perspective and unending good humor to a process that causes everyone who accepts the challenge to grow as a communicator, leader and human being and the whole organization to grow together. Though many of our partners were skeptical about our prospects at the beginning, all were deeply affected and very appreciative at the end. It was the shot in the arm we all needed."
“The result of our two days with Annette is that six months later we are still lifted as an organization and have the tools and a common understanding, which has allowed us to confront issues that previously held us back. We should have done this a long time ago."
Availability: Annette Simmons reserves ten days per year for this type of work. If those dates are already booked we have another consultant who knows the material, has successfully used it, and can also adapt the material to your specific needs.
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Why use Dialogue?
Why use Dialogue?
The process of Dialogue is developmental for a group. It shifts the norms of the group away from unproductive patterns (fighting, nursing old resentments, discussing everything but the problem, cycling through the same old grievances, agreeing to do things they have no intention of doing, etc.) to new norms of honest communication and shared responsibility. Groups at an impasse find new, more creative solutions, let go of blame, and re-negotiate working relationships.
What is Dialogue?
Dialogue is a fundamentally deeper form of communication. Each member of the group peels back rigid opinions to expose underlying assumptions. At this core level, individuals discover many old assumptions have outlived their usefulness and, more importantly, individuals in the group find they share the same goals and objectives. Once everyone feels like they are “in the same boat,” the group then assembles new assumptions and agreements that sustain collaborative action and facilitate communication down the line. Individuals who only saw their piece of the puzzle (and believed others were “way off-base”) walk out with a much bigger picture and a greater respect for the other people in the group.
How does it work?
Group members commit to the hard work of dialogue by identifying a compelling “what’s in it for me” reason and embracing the level of effort that outcome might require from them. Next is a crash course in group dynamics where the group is exposed to the five stages of dialogue and the eight predictable escape behaviors groups typically use to avoid tough issues. This exposure pre-empts negative habits that usually sabotage discussion. Experiential exercises help group members stay mindful of (and take responsibility for) their thoughts and actions during the dialogue. The group’s heightened awareness ensures their communication is more open, honest and creative than usual. Eventually, this more intense, more courageous level of communication becomes a new habit.
How long does it take?
The first session of Dialogue takes one day. The first half of the day is spent doing exercises designed to shift the norms of the group and stretch individual’s perceptual agility. The “real dialogue” occurs in the afternoon. Many groups desire follow-up training to strengthen their new skills.
What results have others achieved through Dialogue?
A group of doctors were so frustrated with infighting they were ready to dissolve their practice. They spent one day in dialogue and traced the animosities and perceptions of unfairness to one core issue. They discovered that a simple change in administrative procedures could save the practice. One year later the partnership is thriving.
A high-tech corporation used regular dialogue to reduce turnover by half in two years.
A senior team, about to fire one of their VPs in a bloody turf war, spent three hours in Dialogue. When they were through, they had cleared the air, decided not to fire the VP and had instead designed a workable timetable for him to move on with no hard feelings. Everyone was happy with the outcome. Facing this tough issue, early on, and as a group, avoided destructive months of wasteful political infighting.
A design team and their production engineers collectively rated average levels of trust at less than 30%. Productivity suffered greatly – deadlines were being missed. Using Dialogue the combined groups collectively created a plan to build trust. By the end of the meeting trust was already up to 70% and within four months their project was back on schedule.
A governmental department split across lines of union and management was wasting too much time processing formal grievances with no resolution. They were introduced to the Territorial Games material and to Dialogue. One day of dialogue solved problems in a matter of hours that the formal grievance process had stretched out over a year.
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