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Constructive Conflict Guide > Civic Knowledge and Skills That We Can Use to Help Ourselves and Our Society More Constructively Handle Intractable Conflict > Stripping Away "Overlay" Problems That Make Conflicts Appear More Intractable Than They Really Are > Collaborative Problem Solving/Consensus Building
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BI Article
Leaders and Leadership
James MacGregor Burns, observed, "Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth." These resources examine the dynamics between a group and their leader.
BI Audio/Video
Daniel Stid Reflects on Ways to Strengthen and Improve U.S. Democracy
Democracy expert Daniel Stid talks about the challenges of American democracy, particularly on the quality of leaders, what statesmanship means, and how we can get more statesmen to run for office.
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Collaboration Problems
The best decisions usually come out of collaborations where people with different expertise and viewpoints collaborate to evaluate problems and develop solutions that will meet the needs of people of all political stripes. But hyper-polarization makes such collaboration very difficult. Opponents don't trust each other, they don't believe each other, and they seldom are willing to sit down with the other side to listen and learn.
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Promote Collaborative Problem Solving
Much of the success of democratic systems stems from their ability to identify shared problems, assess the strengths and weaknesses of possible solutions, work through differing opinions and priorities, and reach workable compromises.
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Collaborative Problem Solving/Consensus Building
Collaborative Problem Solving (also called consensus building) is used to settle conflicts that involve many parties and complicated issues. The approach seeks to transform adversarial confrontations into a cooperative search for information and solutions that meet all parties' interests and needs.
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Collaborative Problem Solvers
The complexities of modern society make it very difficult to negotiate agreements on ways to solve problems that wisely and equitably balance competing interests. Collaborative problem solvers can help us do this.
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Consensus Builders
Consensus Builders go beyond the negotiation and mediation of relatively small scale disputes to help those involved in complex, multi-party disputes develop a broad consensus on ways of handling complex clusters of interlocking issues that affect large numbers of people and involve multiple interest groups.
Colleague Activities
From Rugged Individualism to Self-organized Connected Communities
An essay illustrating the trend of participatory, collaborative leadership replacing individual leadership in organizations.
Colleague Activities
Combatting Authoritarianism: The Skills and Infrastructure Needed to Organize Across Difference
An article arguing that it is time to face the authoritarian threat in the United States and begin organizing, using peacebuilding strategies, to build a cross-cause, multi-sector movement.
Colleague Activities
The Dawn of System Leadership
The deep changes necessary to accelerate progress against society's most intractable problems require someone who catalyzes collective leadership.
Colleague Activities
How Young Leaders Are Helping Bridge Divides
In this episode of 12 Geniuses, Layla Zaidane, CEO of Future Caucus, discusses the important role that young leaders can play in addressing political polarization and building a brighter, less divided future.
News and Opinion
A Time for Statesmanship
A detailed and eloquent argument calling for the rediscovery of civic-minded leadership and the need for civil servants committed to advancing the common good (not just their political fortunes).