TrainSMART’s Polarity Thinking Workshop addresses the problems in your organization that just don’t seem to go away. It introduces Barry Johnson’s Polarity Thinking as a way to understand the sometimes hidden forces of opposing values at work in organizations and people.
You will learn how to surface these forces, map them graphically with a tool called the Polarity Map, and how to manage them.
The workshop also includes an overview of the online Polarity Assessment tool that helps organizations gauge and manages polarities in a large organization. Polarity Thinking helps leaders and their organizations more efficiently and more sustainably reach their goals.
Target Audience
Leaders, managers, and supervisors dealing with complexity and seemingly intractable issues; also appropriate for individual contributors in knowledge roles
The Problem
Should we centralize or decentralize? Should we be tightly hierarchical or loosely managed? Often, leaders view these issues as problems to solve and decisions to be made, when, in reality, they are polarities to manage. In fact, organizations often go back and forth, exhausting employees and wasting resources.
Our Solution
You, Will, Learn to…
Recognize how values in organizations and individuals come in polarity pairs
Approach intractable problems as polarities to manage rather than problems to solve
Identify particular polarities that need to be managed in your organization
Use the Polarity Map as a way to visualize and diagnose current reality
Identify early warnings and action steps that can be managed through the Polarity Map
Gain practice in using Polarity Thinking and the Polarity Map
Course Outline
Defining Polarities
Introduction to Polarity Thinking
Applications of Polarity Thinking
Identified Polarities
Assessment
Identifying the Polarities at Work in Your Situation
The Polarity Map Graphic Tool
Parts of the Polarity Map including:
Your highest purpose and greatest fear
The upsides and downsides of polarity pairs
The infinity loop as a measure of how well a polarity is managed
Early warning signs of badly managed polarities
Action steps that can be taken to manage polarities well
Managing Polarity Pairs
Facilitating a Polarity Discussion
Getting “Unstuck” When the Normal Flow of Polarity
Energy is Blocked
Practice in Applying Polarity Thinking to Your Own Situation