decision making

Make It a Debate, Not an Argument

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Have you ever been paging through an article and stumble across a quote that just stops you in your tracks? Here’s one attributed to Adlai Stevenson that recently caught my eye. Stevenson was talking about political campaigns, but I think the idea can be applied to many situations. He said that the challenge was to not just win, but to win “without proving that you are unworthy of winning.” I think that sentiment speaks to integrity, grace, and fair-mindedness.

Recently some of my colleagues and I were at a retreat, sharing information about helping facilitators manage decision making and conflict in groups. I realized that Stevenson’s sentiment can also be applied to helping groups make decisions.

discussionOne of the trickiest situations for a facilitator can be encountering and effectively handling disagreements among group participants. Making decisions in groups is difficult and often messy, but helping a group make complex decisions is one of the most important tasks of a facilitator. The lively discussion that is part of the group decision making process, however, often involves people who feel passionately about their ideas, and sometimes that passion can escalate to a discourse that is unhelpful at best, and can often be damaging to the group or individuals involved.

The facilitator’s job is to create an environment where sharing a diversity of ideas is viewed as an important part of the process to create stronger, more sustainable solutions. In Facilitation at a Glance, a handy field guide to facilitation, the author, Ingrid Bens, highlights two different kinds of discussions that can occur among group members.

Bens describes productive disagreements as debates. In this type of conversation, individuals are open to the ideas of others – even when they may be different from their own. Everyone strives to understand the views and perspectives of the other group members, and remains objective and focused on the facts.

Arguments, on the other hand, are a type of discussion that is often unproductive, and may damage relationships and group momentum. According to Bens, in an argument, people assume they’re right and are often not really listening to the ideas of others. The discourse often results in personal attacks or blaming.

So how can a facilitator encourage a debate (and discourage an argument)? Bens suggests that a facilitator:

  • remain neutral,
  • restate differences so they can be understood,
  • highlight areas of agreement,
  • encourage folks to focus on the facts (not emotions or assumptions),
  • Teamworkslow down the discussion by encouraging individuals to paraphrase what they are hearing each other say and allowing only one person to speak at a time.

Creating shared agreements can help groups reach the finish line with their integrity and friendships intact. When it comes to group decision making, debates that lead to compromise and collaboration are essential to helping group members be worthy of their win.

The content of this site is published by the site owner(s) and is not a statement of advice, opinion, or information pertaining to The Ohio State University. Neither text, nor links to other websites, is reviewed or endorsed by The Ohio State University.

Becky NesbittBecky Nesbitt is an Assistant Professor and Extension Educator in Community Development with OSU Extension.  For more information about Becky and her educational efforts, visit here.

When New Energy Development Comes to Town

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Energy Education 2016-04-28What communities in Ohio feel the most significant impact of new energy development? Rural communities with relatively low population density and little economic and social diversification experience the most significant effect according to research. Such communities are exposed to the long-term economic fluctuations experienced by natural resource dependent economies. They cannot easily absorb change and the development that has been associated with challenges related to social and family services, agriculture and land issues, and community infrastructure. How can we help? We can focus on increasing community capacity and enhancing education and training.

How is Extension part of Energy Education?

The decision-making phase of energy development can involve conflict and misinformation. Extension professionals in Ohio have provided research-based information to allow stakeholders and landowners to make informed decisions. Many times controversies centered on energy development are emotionally charged and often influenced as much by values, beliefs and social interaction as by dollars. By combining Extension’s wide expertise into one program, all types of stakeholders can be more effectively engaged.

How do Extension professionals work collaboratively?Energy Education #2 2016-04-28

OSU Extension has the ability to provide multi-disciplinary programming to inform landowners, stakeholders and interested community members about the social dimensions, economic issues and landowner issues associated with sudden energy development. The key to such efforts: working with stakeholders to design audience-specific programs. Multiple engagement methods are used as well as the formation of energy committees specific to certain topics to facilitate co-discovery efforts.

More information about Extension program areas working jointly on a common topic is available by contacting bond.227@osu.edu.

(Submitted by Cynthia Bond, Assistant Professor and Extension Educator – Guernsey County & Crossroads EERA)

Evidence of your passage

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happiness

Happiness…it’s important to Americans – in fact, the unalienable right to search for happiness is touted in the U.S. Declaration of Independence: “…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The document that represents the foundation upon which our country was built, calls out the importance of happiness – now that’s something. I won’t deny that being happy is important, and it sure does feel good, but is it all that matters? Is happiness the goal, or is it a byproduct of something more meaningful?

From the time I was an undergraduate, and heard a political science professor talk about his experience as a young child in a Nazi concentration camp, I’ve been fascinated with the stories of Holocaust survivors. Hundreds of books have been penned by these remarkable people, and a recurring theme among them seems to focus on the survivors’ ability to find meaning, even in the most bleak and horrible situations.

Viktor Frankl, a noted neurologist and psychiatrist, wrote in his memoir, Man’s Search for Meaning, about his experiences at Auschwitz and Dachau. Frankl examines the importance of finding significance, even in unbearable circumstances. He writes that a person who, “knows the why for his existence, will be able to bear almost any how.” Wow, that’s definitely about more than just feeling happy. But Frankl goes on to say that, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” Maybe his point is not that we should chase happiness, but that we can choose it – that in our pursuit of meaning, we choose an attitude that allows us to be helpful, grateful and kind – an attitude that opens us to happiness – or at least to a more positive emotional state.

It reminds me of a quote I read recently from Pope John XXIII. He said, “Do not walk through time without leaving worthy evidence of your passage.” Perhaps when we find meaning in our lives, by serving, loving, educating, helping, protecting, enlightening, supporting others, we discover that happiness is not the goal of our existence, but it is the consequence of our actions and our intentions. By pursuing and creating purpose in life, we ready our hearts and minds for the joys – both large and small – that we choose to experience along the way. So, although the pursuit of happiness may be a different journey for every person, our common goal may be a desire for each of us to create a more meaningful passage through time.

Becky Nesbitt is an Assistant Professor and Extension Educator in Community Development with OSU Extension. To learn more about Becky’s educational efforts, visit go.osu.edu/seekexcellence.

Making informed decisions

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In today’s world, where any question or problem can be answered by a 0.5 second Google search, it can be easy to get caught up in an information overload and difficult to separate fact from fiction. Truly now, more than ever, I argue that sources of knowledge are needed. Providing unbiased, factual information that is relevant to our stakeholders is the core mission of Ohio State University Extension and Ohio Sea Grant. This is the value and impact that an Extension program can provide.

There are often times when our opinions or foundational knowledge on a topic may be challenged – in conversations with friends, colleagues or family. During these times, I encourage you to utilize your local Extension Educator – we are here to help tackle some of the most difficult topics with factual information, to enable you to make an informed decision.

In Ohio Sea Grant, we focus our knowledge on understanding our Great Lakes water resources and the challenges that come with managing these resources. We have an uphill battle against misconceptions on everything from climate change to zebra mussels, but we fight this battle with the most valuable weapon – knowledge. Our knowledge comes from working with researchers to fully understand an issue and the science behind that issue, and our expertise is in communicating that science-based information in an easy-to-understand format through education and outreach.

Orlando post 2015-01-15 #1

Photo credit: Ohio Sea Grant

Below are just a few examples of ways to access some of Ohio Sea Grant’s science-based, unbiased sources of information:

In 2015, I challenge you to think about where your information comes from, and, if you question its validity – to reach out to those sources of credible information, such as Ohio Sea Grant and OSU Extension, to build your knowledge around a topic. As they say, knowledge is power!

(Submitted by Sarah Orlando, Clean Marina/Limnology Outreach Coordinator, Ohio Sea Grant Program)