polarity thinking overview
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Polarit Thinkin *
Polarity Mapping
NeesaSweet
neesasweet@braidedrivergroup.com
*PolarityThinkingandMapscBarryJohnsonandPolarityPartners usedbypermission
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Polaritiesaretwoequallyattractivepossibilitiesthatexistintensionwitheachothersuchasapart(forexampleabusinessunit)andawhole(forexample,theentireorganization).Overemphasisononepoletotheneglectoftheotherleadstoitsdownsideandeventuallytheupside,
then
the
downside
of
the
other
pole.
I
fnotmanagedwell,thepolaritycycleisexperiencedaswildoscillations,leadingtowastedtimeandresources.Poorl mana ed olaritiesleador anizationsandindividualstocreatethefuturetheyfear. Wellmanagedpolaritieshelpthemcreatethefuturetheydesire.
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Polarit
Thinkin
Organizationsoftenthinktheyhaveaproblemtosolvewhenwhatthey
reallyhave
is
apolarity
to
manage.
Polaritiesarevaluesandattributesthatcomeinpairs. Overfocusonone
leadstofocusontheother,which,inturn,leadstovacillation,wasted
timeandwastedresources. Whatiswantedisthebestofboth.
Wheneither
or
answers
arent
clear,
its
because
the
choices
may
actually
bepolarities.
Breathin is like a olarit :
Youcant
decide
to
do
one
or
the
other.
Breathinginleadstobreathingout.
Breathingoutleadstobreathingin.
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SomeIdentifiedPolaritiesereare ore
Action Debate
Be Focused Hang Loose
Directive Decisions Participative Decisions
Build Relationship Get The Job Done
Care For My Business Unit Care For Whole Company
Care Of Customers Care Of OrganizationPolaritiesareinterdependentpairs. Neitheris
intrinsicallybetterorworsethantheother.
Change Stability
Clarity Flexibility
Coaching Culture Directive Culture
Collaboration CompetitionTight Loose
Overfocusononeleadstotheother.
Peopledescribepolaritiesinlanguagethatis
meaningfultothem,sodifferentsetsofwords
mightdescribe
similar
polarities.
art o e
Common Sense Facts
Competitive Collaborative
Creativity Standardization
Customer Service Service To Organization
Efficienc Qualit
Somegenera ze po ar ty escr pt ons,
suchaspartwholeortightloosemay
alsodescribemorespecificsituationssuch
asbusinessunittheoverallorganizationor
directiveleadercollaborativeenvironment.
Initiator FollowerInnovation Tradition
Interdependence Self-reliance
Long Term Short Term
Mission Margin
eta n mp oyees re ew a ent
Short-term Long-term
Supportive Management Evaluative Management
Tradition Innovation
Traditionalist Change Agent4
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A licationsof
Polarit
Thinkin
StrategicPlanning
ManagingUnsolvableProblems
Assessment
Performance
Collaboration
Negotiation
TeamDiscussions
SurfacingHidden
Issues
UncoveringHiddenAttitudes
TeamandIndividualCoachin
Mediation
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ThePolarityMapGreaterPurpose
WhyBalancethePolarity?
Howwillwegainor
maintainthepositive
resultsfromfocusing
onthisleftpole?
Howwillwegainor
maintainthepositive
resultsfromfocusing
onthispole?What?
Howwillwegainor
maintainthepositive
resultsfromfocusing
onthispole?What?
Upsideof
rightpoleUpside
of
leftpole
What?Who?By
when?Measures?
Measures?Who?Bywhen?
Measures?
DownsideDownside
Measurableindicators
thatwillletyouknow
thatyou
are
getting
intothedownsideof
this ole
Right pole Leftpole
Measurableindicators
thatwillletyouknow
thatyou
are
getting
intothedownsideof
DeeperFearfromlackofbalance
. .
PolarityMapsaregraphictoolsthatshowtheupsidesanddownsidesofpairs,warningsignsof
overfocusoneitherpole,andpotentialactionstepstobalancethepolarityandreachdesired
goals.
Travelthroughtheupsidesanddownsidesofeachpoleisrepresentedbytheinfinityloop.
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Mana in
Polarit
Pairs
Theinfinitylooptraces
UpsideofX UpsideofY
pairisbeingmanaged.
Normalflowisfrom
thedownside
of
one
poletotheupsideof
theother.
X Y
Inawellmanagedpolarity,attentionispaidtobothpolesandmaximumtimeisspent
intheupsidesofthepoles. Balanced,moreprofitablecircumstances,areexperienced
andthusspendingmoretimeinthedownsidesofthepoles.
Actionsteps
and
early
warning
signs
are
used
to
help
manage
polarities.
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Polarit
Ma in
FacilitatesDiscussion
PolarityMapscanbeusedtofacilitatediscussions
aboutstrategy,
performance
and
other
issues.
Thepowerofthemapscomesfromtheirabilityto Inafacilitateddiscussionwithkey
stakeholders: ,
thathonorsthevalidityofdifferentwaysofapproachingsituations,andthatbuildsinmechanismsforbothactionandreflection.
Mapscanbedrawninformallyonflipchartsand
1. Definethedifficultyordifficulties
2. Determinerelevantpolarities
3. Buildthepolaritymap:
a. Fill
in
the
higher
purpose
and
deeper
fearb. Fillintheupsideoftheleftpole.
filledinbyafacilitatorasexecutivesorothergroupstalkabouttheirsituations.
Theycanbecreatedmoreformallyincomputertemplates. Thereisalsoacomputerized
. .
d. Fillintheupsideoftherightpole.
e. Fillinthedownsideoftherightpole.
f. Fillinthewarningsigns
g. Fillintheactionsteps
4. Foreachquadrant,imaginebeinginthe
.
Oncepeople
understand
the
concept
of
polaritiestheybegintoseeinterconnectedpairsinmanyfacetsoftheirwork. Theyareabletousetheseinsightstoclarifyand
5. Determinethe
infinity
loop
path
6. Assessanddetermineaction
a ressimportantissues,toma e etterdecisionsandtotakemoredecisiveaction.
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Polarity
Map
Example:
Continuity
and
Change
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Infinity
Loop
Lets
You
Track
How
Polarity
is
Managed
TooMuchTimeinDownsides
ReadyfortheFutureFallingBehind
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UnbalancedPolarity
WillSoon
Start
to
Experience
the
DownsideofChangeUnbalanced
PolarityMissingAdvantagesofChange
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Gettin
Unstuck
ThePolarityMapcanhelpanorganization
orgroupgetunstuck.
Thenormalflowfromthedownsideofthe
leftpoleistotheupsideoftherightpole.
Well
managed
normal
flow
Sometimes,though,thereisconsiderable
resistancetodoingso. Thenormal
movementiseffectivelyblocked. Theway
outistoreversetheflow.
To hel eo le et unstuck chan e the
pathoftheinfinityloop. Insteadoftrying
togodirectlytotheupsideoftherightpole
whenpeopleresist,visitthequadrantsas
below. Imaginebeing
1. first,intheupsideoftheleftStuck
Blocked1
5
2. thentake
the
bridge
to
the
downsideoftherightpole
3. gototheupsideoftherightpole
4. gototheupsideoftheleftpole
5. finally,revisitthehigherpurpose
Reversing
theflow
pathway4 3
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Polarity
Map
Example:
Short
Term
and
Long
Term
Focus
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Polarity
Map
Example:
Business
Unit
and
Company
13* Thanks to John Scherer, Center for Work and the Human Spirit** Thanks to The Strategy Academy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands*** Thanks to Todd Johnson, RivertownConsultants
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7/30/2019 Polarity Thinking Overview
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PolarityMapExampleInformationSharingandInformation
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Thank
You
NeesaSweet
neesasweet@braidedrivergroup.com
15
Certified Consultant
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