Polarity Management
ByAt some point in their lives, everyone has to deal with polarities, aka, sticky problems with two or more interdependent and opposing, yet equally correct, answers.
Polarities cannot be solved, and if they are left alone and not addressed at all they will have a destructive effect. That’s why leaders and organizations who mange their polarities will be more productive, effective and overall successful. Polarity Management is a way to think of the problem with a “BOTH/AND” rather than an “EITHER/OR” mentality.
Last week Mike Monar spoke at the Polarity Management conference in Chicago, IL hosted by Polarity Management Associates. He addressed the polarity of decision making; what type of situation calls for what style of decision making? What kind of decision making methods should managers use? What are the warning signs that a particular style is not working?
To address this particular polarity, Mike discussed a polarity management tool called a Polarity Map, like the sample one we have included below. A polarity map contains:
- a positive outcome,
- a negative outcome,
- two interdependent yet opposing answers to the problem,
- an upside and a downside to each answer to the problem,
- action steps for each answer to achieve and maintain the positive outcome and
- warning signs for each answer so one can recognize when it is time to move to the opposite answer.
For more info and discussion, feel free to click the title of this blog post and leave a comment!
References and Resources ::
