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Six
Sigma and More:
David Schwinn
dialogues about dialogue.
by
David R. Schwinn |
Over the weekend, I was
listening to a piece on National Public Radio (NPR), entitled “Bridges.”
In it, the commentator was asking negotiation consultants how to get
your way in a negotiation in which you have no power. He got several
good answers. The one he seemed to like best was “Seek first to
understand.”
This idea of seeking first to understand took to me to another recent
experience. A young Japanese student in my Managing in Circle class led
our circle by asking questions that had been bothering her. These were
questions that her counselors suggested were too dangerous about which
to inquire. She asked us what we thought about the United States,
President Bush, freedom, democracy, religion, and the war in Iraq. We
had a wonderful conversation that enlightened all of us. We
unintentionally found common ground in unanticipated places. The
dialogue process we used permitted us to disagree without attacking one
another. To refresh your memory, dialogue involves:
1. suspension of
judgment
2. assumption of
identification
3. inquiry and
reflection
4. listening
Another simple way to
describe dialogue is to contrast it with discussion, the mode of verbal
discourse about which we are most familiar. Here’s a summary comparison:
| Dialogue |
Discussion |
| Learn and discover |
Tell and sell |
| Ask questions |
Justify and
defend |
| Explore multiple
perspectives |
Gain agreement
on one perspective |
| Uncover and question
assumptions |
Defend
assumptions |
| Consider both/and |
Consider
either/or |
| Suspend judgement |
Judge right or
wrong |
| Respect one another |
Seek power
over one another |
Dialogue is a tool that
enhances connections. Enhanced connections provide social glue. Social
glue is one way to describe culture. Turning Six Sigma into a culture is
a powerful way to strengthen the effort.
So here’s this month’s challenge. Ask people what they think about your
Six Sigma effort. Begin the dialogue. Ask your boss. Ask your peers. Ask
the people who work for you. Ask your suppliers. Ask the people who
provide you funding. But start with a sincere effort to seek first to
understand or you are likely to hear what your partner thinks you want
to hear instead of what they really think. The dialogue will strengthen
the connections. The content will provide “treasure” that can make your
Six Sigma effort better.
As always, I welcome and appreciate your input. I’m at support@pqsystems.com
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