With each of my facilitation activities, I am encouraged that there are groups and organizations who believe that collaboration and open exchange of ideas and alternatives is still a great way to go! This may be counter to the current political climate both here in Canada and with our southern neighbours, where it appears that entrenched positions, political “hardball”, and lack of flexibility rule the day.
I encourage participants to be active listeners and provide concise, thoughtful responses. In situations rife with conflict, I remind participants, “If we respect each other’s right to an opinion, even if we do not agree with that opinion, we have come quite a way along the road toward a desired outcome.”
