Why “healthy” disagreement is important — at work and beyond
Why “healthy” disagreement is important — at work and beyond
With only a handful of weeks away until the 2024 election, we’re examining political polarization in America at the company level as part of our Office Politics series.
We’ve already explored some tools to help employees who disagree about policy and politics have civil conversations. Now, we’re looking at how to teach the technique of defusing polarized workplaces. Michael Reszler is a program director at the Aspen Institute, which has a project called The Better Arguments Project. The initiative teaches healthier ways to disagree at work or in the community.
Reszler spoke with “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio, and the following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
David Brancaccio: We’re talking about deeply held values in many cases. These values are who we are, and among those values are lines we will not cross. But you’ve come up with, and your team has come up with, a way to kind of have dialogue — even if you’re not going to be won over to the other side?
Michael Reszler: Too often the way for moving forward has been, “Well, we just all have to agree.” The challenge to that is to actually let people put their disagreements on the table. And so Better Arguments is a series of techniques and methods to have those conversations where people can be open and honest about what they believe, without focusing on winning the debate. If you come into a discussion and the intention is “I’m going to win this debate,” then you’re already losing one of the great powers of debate and discussion, which is illumination, helping to figure out what’s the depth of this issue. And so Better Arguments just helps you figure out a pathway to have those conversations.
Brancaccio: This is a tough question, Mike, but if you’re not in it for the euphoria of knowing you won, what’s in it for the participant? What do you get out of a process that’s about more deep listening and getting a sense of where people are coming from?
Reszler: What you get out of it is the opportunity to actually help solve big problems in a democratic republic. The ability to come together and disagree and work through the disagreements is essential.
Brancaccio: You hear phrases like, from the conservative side, they want to “own the libs,” the liberals. Or, on the other side, “we need to crush the Make America Great Again movement,” as defined by Donald Trump. And you’re saying, if trying to make society a better place is the goal, making progress is the goal, this is not the way you should frame things.
Reszler: No. I mean, it’s right in the preamble to the Constitution, right? We’re working toward a common good. And throughout American history, compromise has been recognized — that when you have free individuals who all get to contribute to government, you are going to have to make compromise. And we live in a world today where, for many people, compromise is seen as hypocrisy. So in a democracy, the ability to compromise, I think, is something that we have lost. And I’ll just mention that for the last 80 years, we talk about going to war with ourselves all the time: war on crime, war on poverty, war on drugs. And we forget that when you go to war within a country, the enemy is always people that are your fellow citizens. And that rhetoric has just, I think, populated how we think about disagreement.
Brancaccio: And in the workplace context, it may be going to war with your colleagues. And I understand why, for instance, communities wouldn’t want their PTA meetings or their city council meetings devolving into fisticuffs. But tell me, what, some companies have recognized this as an issue that needs to be dealt with within their own ranks, within the companies?
Reszler: The old idea that people checked their beliefs, their values, everything about them at the door when they punched the clock in, and then they somehow picked them up again when they punched out, was never true. And I think it’s particularly untrue today. By focusing on common things, common goods within your company, you can help to focus. But the other reason why you want to have a place where people disagree, where people get to think outside of the box, where people get to challenge ideas, then you can create an entrepreneurial place where new ideas are allowed to challenge. Second, because many organizations are trying to help communities solve big issues, they run into people who really disagree with their approaches in those situations. You need to have a process so that your company and the customers, the communities you’re trying to serve, can all be working together.
Brancaccio: Give me a taste, though, of the process — how Better Arguments would approach this with a group.
Reszler: So the first thing is, no matter what discussion, debate you’re having, there’s always three parts to that debate: The first one is to understand the history of it. The second one is being aware of what you believe, being aware of the other side, practicing some humility, emotional intelligence. And third, recognize the power in any situation. Some people will have more power than other people. Be aware of those dynamics, be aware of who’s speaking, not speaking, etc. By making yourself aware of those situations, we talk about taking winning off the table. This is not about, you know, rewarding friends and vanquishing enemies. This is about trying to reach toward solutions that we can all share. But to do that, you’ve got to practice some humility. You’ve got to be open and honest, and you have to listen well. Being open and honest doesn’t mean you have to give up your values. It doesn’t mean you have to give up your beliefs, but it does recognize that in a democracy, if everybody simply says, “I’m immovable,” nothing changes.
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