As a facilitator, you’ll almost certainly
find yourself dealing with tough issues, those that are prickly, messy, perceived
differently by stakeholders, and often with a degree of heat attached. This
workshop is designed to introduce you to a toolkit that you can use in helping
groups and individuals converse about such issues productively. You’ll likely
also find the method helpful in getting ready to talk about issues of concern
to you, personally.
A proposition to be examined is that three
default behaviour patterns tend to get in the way of effective conversations on
tough issues: reacting to new information and experience, judging others
negatively, and “dancing around” (side-stepping, smoothing over) difficult
aspects.
The OBREAU Tripod is a counterweight to
these default behaviours. “OBREAU” refers to three practices:
- Working from OBservation (noticing as far as possible prior to interpreting)
- Attributing REasonableness (allowing that others are reasonable)
- Speakingwith AUthenticity (saying what is true for you while keeping connections with observation and reasonableness).
· The OBREAU Tripod can be applied in a
variety of settings; for example, in supporting large group dialogue, executive
coaching, and in leadership, team and culture development initiatives. The
Tripod can provide a light structure to aid the emergence of greater clarity
and shared meaning with virtually any multi-faceted issue.
In this session, we will apply the OBREAU
Tripod as a large group in considering an issue, possibly a corporate
controversy that has received recent press coverage. As well – and as far as
possible within the limited time available – participants will be able to try
out the OBREAU Tripod in helping them think through a thorny issue that matters
to them personally, and discuss the results with colleagues.
You will walk away with ideas about
enabling and facilitating more productive conversations, about creating safe
environments in which people can speak up, and about how you, personally, can
strengthen your own ability to engage effectively with others on tough issues.
About Don
Dunoon
As an
independent consultant, Don Dunoon has over 20 years’ leadership and
organisational development experience. He is the author of In the Leadership Mode (Trafford, 2008), a book that frames
leadership – as distinct from management – in terms of interventions to build
shared meaning and elicit energy for change with contentious issues. He is the
author of articles in international journals including one with acclaimed
Harvard mindfulness researcher, Dr. Ellen Langer. Don is also developer of the
OBREAU Tripod.
He will
be offering a highly experiential one-day workshop, Facilitating Conversations for Shared Meaning on Tough Issues, in
Sydney on 10th June. This is an opportunity to deepen and extend your skills in
facilitating in contexts where people are dealing with issues they feel
strongly about, particularly in helping groups move toward common
understandings (as distinct from technical solutions) and in fostering group
and individual development.
You can find out more about Don here and visit his website here.
Venue:
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Jones Street, Ultimo corner Thomas Street. Room 5.580 Level 5, Building 10, Take the lift to level 5, cross the atrium footbridge, walk straight ahead to room 580.
From 5:30pm to 7:30pm sharp | No RSVP - Just turn up | Donation $5
