The Building Bridges Model
Confidently facilitate meaningful conversations across boundaries to build trust and support collaboration.
Get the comprehensive guide to building bridges across difference.
Managing the Dialogue
Understand the four types of contributors in any emotionally charged discussion so you can respond accordingly.
The confident contributor is a person with high openness and high knowledge of the subject. They have done their own research and have at least a fundamental grasp on the topic. They will often engage with both humility and transparency because they realize they are on a learning journey. Their comments are often instructive and insightful. Amplify these voices to further the conversation.
Inelegant curiosity is exactly that and describes those who are open to learning but have low knowledge of the subject. They may ask questions that make them sound awkward or ill-informed (because they are). Reward the openness that gives way to inelegant curiosity because most people are in this quadrant, and many are attempting to become more knowledgeable about topics they’ve not had to think much about.
Misguided conjecture is a term we coined to explain the contributions of people who feel confident in their assertions about a topic but have already made up their minds about it. Their opinions are often incomplete or biased. When facilitating, you can ask questions to better understand where they’re coming from while inviting them to think more critically and broadly about their positions.
Disrespectful disruptors are people who don’t know much about the topic and don’t want to. They may resent being in the conversation In the first place and intend to dismiss or disregard others’ needs or concerns. In these cases, diffuse the negative energy and, if that doesn’t work, dismiss the individual or risk compromising your purpose and the psychological safety of others in the space.
Sponsor Well
There are five macro choices every effective sponsor is willing and able to make. Connect with us to learn more about our advocacy programs and experiences, which facilitate genuine connections across boundaries — and enables greater insight, access, and opportunity for those who need it most.
The Bridge to Aspiration
The Bridge to Aspiration is a practical tool you can use for yourself and in partnership with others to better define the skills and abilities in play today, the preferred destination—whether it be a role or a level or even a different kind of work—and the skills, knowledge, relationships, experience and behaviors it will take to get there.
The more specific the path forward is, the more easily you can make a way.
