The Art of Calling Out Room Dynamics

https://leadership.garden/calling-out-room-dynamics/

by andyjohnson0 • 1 year ago

3 2 1 year ago

What this article calls a superpower and exceptional leadership, I'd just call running a meeting. I'm hoping this really is not as rare as the article would imply, because it is a basic communication technique that seems to be quite common. If someone cannot control a meeting, that would get their career shut down pretty quickly based on what I've seen.

nonrandomstring• 1 year ago

If someone cannot control a meeting

There's more to it. Indeed, it's about letting go of control in ways that are safe and enhance function.

Emotional intelligence plus the courage and sense of legitimacy to deploy it is powerful. I wrote about its application in cybersecurity here [0]. I learned myself from friends working in forensic mental health.

Some would view it as an up-management technique, but that misses another point - that the objective is not to derail toxic control but to further the aims of the group.

A character poster child (literally) for this is the young Princess Leia in Deborah Chow's Obi-Wan Kenobi.

It's called "reflective practice" and is common in professions where there is high stress and occupational trauma. TFA covers a bit more than this and adds some interesting extras.

The obstacle for most is not the insight, but the courage and skill to lay the room psychologically bare, without causing harm. Without careful words it can be brutal, so techniques and safeguards are needed to make it okay.

People who are trained in reflective dialogue expect certain lines of questioning and are not phased when they encounter it. But it risks "exploding" insecure or malevolent egos who rely too much on hiding their personal ambitions and need rigit structural power dynamics to work.

This is no wishy-washy shit. The British Army has invested a lot in "EI", starting with officer training at Sandhurst. Ability to question chain of command properly leads to better operation, because it builds all-round trust.

Unfortunately a lot of people in business, who grew up on the "all-in" MBA testosterone, struggle with this sort of thing.

I'd highly recommend attending any opportunity for reflective practice training. I think it can help any professional.

[0] https://cybershow.uk/blog/posts/reflective/

The Art of Calling Out Room Dynamics

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