{"id":271,"date":"2012-03-04T23:26:44","date_gmt":"2012-03-04T23:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ceotucson.com\/?p=271"},"modified":"2012-03-04T23:27:38","modified_gmt":"2012-03-04T23:27:38","slug":"how-ceo-peer-advisory-groups-can-change-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/?p=271","title":{"rendered":"How Peer Advisory Groups Can Change The World"},"content":{"rendered":"
Thanks to Leo Bottary, Vice President for Public Affairs at Vistage International<\/em><\/div>\n

When you consider the nature of today\u2019s public discourse \u2013 with the right screaming at the left and the left shouting at the right \u2013 you hear the noise loud and clear, but no one is ever really listening.\u00a0 And if they ARE listening, it\u00a0isn\u2019t to understand the logic behind an opposing argument; it\u2019s to collect punch lines that bolster one\u2019s own point of view.\u00a0 People listen selectively for ammunition they can repeat at cocktail parties or share in blog posts.\u00a0 I call it ammunition because it rarely serves to strengthen one\u2019s own position; instead, it\u2019s aimed at shooting holes in another\u2019s point of view and, too often, in a fashion that\u2019s intellectually dishonest.<\/p>\n

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One of my favorites attributes of the Peer Advisory Group is that it is a safe haven for what scholars would describe as \u201cskilled discussion.\u201d \u00a0 It\u2019s a place where people see others as special rather than different. A setting where participants really listen to one another.\u00a0 And more importantly, an environment that embodies Stephen Covey\u2019s 5th Habit, \u201cSeek first to understand, then to be understood.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s not the place for debate \u2013 where the goal is to be right.\u00a0 Nor is it the place for pure dialogue, because helping members come to a decision is an essential benefit of the interaction.\u00a0 It is where skilled discussion lives and thrives!\u00a0 Here\u2019s the best definition I\u2019ve found for it:<\/p>\n

\u201cA way of talking that leads to decisions. Skilled discussions are infused with rigorous critical thinking, mutual respect, weighing of options, and decision making that serves the groups\u2019 vision, values, and goals. A skilled discussion\u2019s goal is to reach decisions. In its Latin roots, decide means to kill choice. Thus, a discussion is aimed at eliminating some ideas from a field of possibilities so that stronger ideas will win. Groups who are skilled at discussing employ many cognitive operations related to critical thinking, but not in any particular sequence.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn its most ineffective form, to discuss is to hurl ideas at one another. Discussing ideas, in unskilled groups, often takes the form of serial sharing or advocacy. Decisions are attempted through a variety of either voting or consensus techniques. When discussion is unskilled and dialogue is absent, decisions are often poor quality, represent the opinions of the most vocal members or the leader, lack group commitment, and do not stay made<\/em>\u201d (Garmston & Wellman, 1998).<\/p>\n

While the noise of today\u2019s public debate may spike television ratings, it\u2019s a poor excuse for communication in a civilized society.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s a recipe for gridlock and division.\u00a0 Give me skilled discussion any day.\u00a0 Peer Advisory Groups can\u2019t change the world, but what we learn from them and how we can lead and inspire others to communicate based on that experience, could make a big difference.\u00a0 People who regularly participate in these groups will tell you that for them, it already has.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to Leo Bottary, Vice President for Public Affairs at Vistage International When you consider the nature of today\u2019s public discourse \u2013 with the right screaming at the left and the left shouting at the right \u2013 you hear the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,12,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership","category-peer-advisory-groups","category-tips-and-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=271"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":275,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271\/revisions\/275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceotucson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}