Comments on: Why are we so bad at the skill of inquiry? http://tangotraining.com/blog/2009/11/19/why-are-we-so-bad-at-the-skill-of-inquiry/ Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:58:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Anna http://tangotraining.com/blog/2009/11/19/why-are-we-so-bad-at-the-skill-of-inquiry/comment-page-1/#comment-185 Anna Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:26:23 +0000 http://tangotraining.com/blog/?p=205#comment-185 Nicole and Emily, thank you both for your thoughtful comments. I like the idea of re-wording inquiry in a more accessible way, thanks for passing along that thought! Nicole and Emily, thank you both for your thoughtful comments. I like the idea of re-wording inquiry in a more accessible way, thanks for passing along that thought!

]]> By: Emily Pittman Newberry http://tangotraining.com/blog/2009/11/19/why-are-we-so-bad-at-the-skill-of-inquiry/comment-page-1/#comment-182 Emily Pittman Newberry Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:44:30 +0000 http://tangotraining.com/blog/?p=205#comment-182 Anna, I'm thinking that the resistance of your students to the agenda of learning how to inquire more effectively may indicate that they and their managers have a different view of what stands in the way of the organization improving. In other words, the managers think the students don't listen and they think the managers don't listen to put it crudely. This would lead me to inquire if this is accurate and if so what to do about it. I believe this action would be congruent with your values of combining advocacy and inquiry, which I also support and practice. By the way, Roger Schwarz Associates who incorporate this guideline into their work have reworded it as "Combine stating your views and asking genuine questions." which I find is a bit more accessible to people not in our field. Check him out at www.schwarzassociates.com Anna, I’m thinking that the resistance of your students to the agenda of learning how to inquire more effectively may indicate that they and their managers have a different view of what stands in the way of the organization improving. In other words, the managers think the students don’t listen and they think the managers don’t listen to put it crudely. This would lead me to inquire if this is accurate and if so what to do about it. I believe this action would be congruent with your values of combining advocacy and inquiry, which I also support and practice.

By the way, Roger Schwarz Associates who incorporate this guideline into their work have reworded it as “Combine stating your views and asking genuine questions.” which I find is a bit more accessible to people not in our field. Check him out at http://www.schwarzassociates.com

]]> By: Nicole Gnutzman http://tangotraining.com/blog/2009/11/19/why-are-we-so-bad-at-the-skill-of-inquiry/comment-page-1/#comment-180 Nicole Gnutzman Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:18:44 +0000 http://tangotraining.com/blog/?p=205#comment-180 We see the same trend in our work, Anna, so you are not alone. Advocacy, as you have clearly identified, has become more than an art, it's a science.... And our culture, in exalting advocacy, has created polarization in politics and society in general. We all see this and know it doesn't work, and yet still operate in advocacy mode. While we need to be clear about our intention, we also need to be in relationship with others (a two-way, not a one-way, relationship). That means, as you have pointed out, inquiry-based conversations, and I'd even take it a step further to say, appreciative inquiry-based conversations. Essentially, advocacy is another form of wanting someone else to want what we want. Our challenge is to teach others that this doesn't get us what we really want. We simply can't out think everyone with our rational and emotional appeals. The only way to connect with others and have them listen to us is to listen to them, understand their perspective, and integrate the two views into one that has a common goal we can both agree to. We see the same trend in our work, Anna, so you are not alone. Advocacy, as you have clearly identified, has become more than an art, it’s a science…. And our culture, in exalting advocacy, has created polarization in politics and society in general. We all see this and know it doesn’t work, and yet still operate in advocacy mode.

While we need to be clear about our intention, we also need to be in relationship with others (a two-way, not a one-way, relationship). That means, as you have pointed out, inquiry-based conversations, and I’d even take it a step further to say, appreciative inquiry-based conversations.

Essentially, advocacy is another form of wanting someone else to want what we want. Our challenge is to teach others that this doesn’t get us what we really want. We simply can’t out think everyone with our rational and emotional appeals. The only way to connect with others and have them listen to us is to listen to them, understand their perspective, and integrate the two views into one that has a common goal we can both agree to.

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