Common ground

…you have the whole system in the room where people take responsibility, so you are ready to explore the whole elephant.

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Increased cooperation and fast action on matters of shared concern create community and avoids conflict.

common ground is:

• a foundation for mutual understanding;
• shared beliefs or interests, a foundation for mutual understanding;
• a basis agreed to by all parties for reaching a mutual understanding.

In the context of a gathering, common ground is defined as:

those statements agreed to without reservation by every person in the gathering.

Explore the whole elephant to lay the groundwork for people to open up to each other. sticky problem space to . Collect and park lingering open conflicts to . Encourage everyone to go back to the future to , and crank out next year’s headlines.

Therefore:

Pick an issue on which finding common ground matters. Tell people you want to treat problems and conflicts as information until everyone understands where they are together and where they are not. Create an opportunity for dialogue where people confirm their areas of agreement. Compile a list of those items on which to agree to disagree. Pick one of depersonalize conflict, legitimate different perspectives, or integrator for finding common ground.

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Common ground is not compromise

When people agree reluctantly to propositions they consider partially okay, they end up endorsing positions they don’t hold. common ground:

• does not require anyone to go along to preserve harmony;
• describes real agreement at a point in time;
• does not require convincing others that your views are correct;
• includes acknowledging where you agree to disagree to ;
• acknowledges every person’s perceptions and validates unresolved issues.

Talking long enough to “know what we are saying to each other” is the key to finding common ground. Nobody has to give up anything to discover that.

Benefits of finding common ground

There are many benefits to finding common ground before solving problems or making decisions. common ground:

• saves people a great deal of time;
• reduces ambiguity and uncertainty knowing where there is full agreement and where there isn’t;
• flows the energy toward implementation instead of convincing those who do not agree;
• enables people take responsibility when they know where everybody stands;
• swifts action;
• pleasantly surprises people when they discover how much agreement exists.

Sources

• Don’t just do something, stand there!—Ten Principles for Leading Meetings That Matter by Marvin Weisbord, Sandra Janoff