Polarity Management – Transcending Paradoxes and Dualities
Summary
Usage
Many issues we struggle with and divide us are not one-sided and problems that we can solve. They are polarities – also called paradoxes, dualities, dilemmas, and wicked problems – that need to be managed. In the presence of polarities, we get caught in debates and struggles over which side is “right”. Polarity management helps us see and navigate address paradoxes and balance the interdependence of opposing forces. We work to see the greater system and then leverage the upside and mitigate the disadvantages of each side. This approach can be used in individual coaching, teams, organizations, communities, and in other complex systems. It serves as a tool for participatory decision-making processes, resolving conflicts constructively, envisioning future scenarios, identifying key priorities, implementing strategic objectives, and evaluating results.
Description
- Candor and Diplomacy: Balancing honesty and tactfulness in communication. Candor involves speaking openly and honestly, while diplomacy involves being sensitive and considerate in delivering the message to maintain positive relationships.
- Big Picture and Details: Striking a balance between focusing on the overarching vision or strategy (the big picture) and paying attention to the specific tasks, processes, or intricacies (details) necessary for achieving that vision.
- Develop Bonds and Maintain Distance: Finding the right balance between building strong relationships and maintaining professional boundaries. Developing bonds involves fostering connections, trust, and camaraderie with team members, while maintaining distance involves preserving objectivity and avoiding favoritism.
- Confidence and Humility: Navigating between self-assurance and modesty. Confidence involves believing in oneself, making decisions, and inspiring others, while humility involves acknowledging one's limitations, being open to feedback, and recognizing the contributions of others.
- Control and Empowerment: Managing the balance between maintaining authority and delegating power. Control involves exercising authority, setting direction, and ensuring accountability, while empowerment involves trusting and enabling team members to take ownership, make decisions, and innovate.
- Reward the Team and Reward Individuals: Striking a balance between recognizing collective achievements and acknowledging individual contributions. Rewarding the team involves celebrating group successes and fostering a sense of unity, while rewarding individuals involves acknowledging and incentivizing exceptional performance or effort.
- Collaborate and Compete: Navigating between cooperation and competition. Collaboration involves working together, sharing resources, and leveraging collective strengths to achieve common goals, while competition involves striving for excellence, driving innovation, and achieving personal or organizational success.
- Centralization and decentralization: Balancing the need for centralized control with the benefits of distributed decision-making.
- Short-term and long-term focus: Managing immediate demands while planning for future sustainability and growth.
- Cost and quality: Striking a balance between cost efficiency and delivering high-quality products or services.
- Continuity and transformation: Maintaining stability and embracing change for innovation and adaptation.
- Tradition and innovation: Balancing respect for historical customs and the need for new ideas and technologies.
- Team competency and individual competency: Fostering collaboration within teams while recognizing and developing individual skills.
- Mission and margin: Pursuing organizational purpose alongside financial sustainability.
- Responsibility and freedom: Providing clear accountability while allowing autonomy for creativity and initiative.
- Justice and Mercy: Balancing the principles of justice and mercy within legal and social systems.
- Change and Stability: Embracing change for progress while maintaining stability in essential areas.
- Individual Freedom and Social Responsibility: Ensuring personal liberties while maintaining a sense of duty to the community.
- Growth and Sustainability: Pursuing economic and developmental goals while preserving the environment and resources for future generations.
- Diversity and Unity: Valuing the uniqueness of individuals and groups while fostering a sense of belonging and common purpose.
- Globalization and Localization: Embracing the interconnectedness of global systems and economies while supporting local cultures and businesses.
- Equity and Efficiency: Striving for fairness and equal opportunities while optimizing resources and processes for maximum productivity.
Sample Activity
- Chart: Draw a 2x2 chart on a whiteboard or a slide and name the two polarities on the ends of the horizontal axis. Label the top of the vertical axis as the positive side and the bottom as negative.
- Mapping: This initial step includes identifying what is present when you are in the "upsides" and "downsides" of each pole. Working quadrant by quadrant, ask the group to identify what is present in easy space. Add these to the chart.
- Early Warnings: Rather than react to a negative polarity, it can be helpful to discuss what are early indicators that the system is tipping into a downward spiral.
- Action Steps: Next, explore concrete ways to enhance the upsides and avoid the downsides of each pole, understanding what will be achieved by managing it well, and the consequences of managing it poorly.
- Shared Commitments: With a shared understanding, a group can commit to common actions that increase the upside and reduce the downside and plan for monitoring efforts to spot early warning signals.