How tightly do you hold on to your agenda?

With one hand or two? 

The grip you have on your agenda matters if you’re interested in genuine dialogue.

The problem: an iron-fisted grip on what we want can consume our attention, drive us inward and leave no space for the other. This flows into our conversations, transforming them into monologues rather than dialogues… or at least that’s how it feels. 

If we want to enter into the space of real conversation, we must make room for the other. 

That doesn’t mean we don’t have an agenda or something we want. Instead, we hold our agenda with one hand, leaving the other free to reach out to the other person. 

This way of engaging in conversation is at the heart of true collaboration and partnership. 

It challenges us to embrace the uncertainty of not knowing where the conversation may go in return for the opportunity to discover and create together. 

We explored this need to embrace uncertainty at yesterday’s leadership offsite for Addressfinder. We mapped the spectrum of conversations in our teams, explored the essence of what it means to have a real conversation and looked at how to cultivate deeper conversation.