Can You Practice Polarity Thinking? with Cliff Kayser

Jun 19, 2020

Consultant Cliff Kayser discusses the importance of polarity thinking in workplaces, offering examples of balancing polarities like 'me and we' and 'us and them.' He shares case studies from healthcare and law enforcement, emphasizing the need for common sense but not common practice in implementing polarity thinking.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Polarity Thinking and the 'Both/And' Perspective

01:31 • 8min

Exploring Polarity Thinking in Organizations

09:21 • 6min

Embracing Polarity Thinking for Sustainable Outcomes

15:17 • 9min

Exploring Bringing Out the Best in Others at Work

23:56 • 2min

Cliff Kayser is a consultant who brings 25 years of experience with senior-level OD internal positions with the Washington Post and the National Cooperative Bank, as well as his external consultancies and coaching practice with experienced and successful partners, polarity partnerships and the Institute for the Polarities of Democracy. Cliff is on faculty at American university’s master’s in OD, and a coaching fellow for George Mason University Center for the Advancement of well-being, which is where he and I met.

In this week’s episode, we explore how to balance “either/or” thinking with the need for “and” so we honor competing polarities when it comes to the way we work together.

Connect with Cliff Kayser:

https://www.experienceit.com/

You’ll Learn:

[01:40] - Cliff explains what polarity thinking is and why it matters in workplaces.
[02:26] - Cliff offers some examples of the common polarities workplaces have been grappling with over the last 12 months.
[03:38] - Cliff explains how teams and workplaces can navigate the polarities of “me and we” and “us and them”.
[06:07] - Cliff provides an example of how a healthcare company has navigated the polarities of centralized and decentralized resources.
[10:05] - Cliff shares a case study on polarities of how Charleston Police Department navigate the tension of law enforcement and community engagement.
[15:47] - Cliff explains why polarity thinking is common sense but not common practice.
[18:32] - Cliff shares where OR thinking can be useful.
[22:48] - Louis asks cliff if he’s ready for the lightning round.

Your Resources:

Thanks for listening!

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Until next time, take care! Thank you, Cliff!