News From the OCDR Team
Hello from the new OCDR team!
This summer, OCDR hired a new director, Katie Pratt, and assistant director, Jessica Shryack. Katie brings research-based expertise in conflict systems and practical experience in working on complex public policy issues to her new role. Katie formerly was executive director at the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, where she partnered with OCDR on problem-solving cases. Jessica came to OCDR after developing expertise in facilitation and problem-solving with Statewide teams in higher education, in her work as a consultant including with OCDR, and through her work with the bridge-building organization Living Room Conversations.
Mariah Levison, OCDR's former director, joined the national bridge-building organization Convergence as the Chief Programs Officer. Dave Bartholomay continues his post-retirement work as a leadership coach and consultant. Steve Reuter is using his collaborative problem-solving skills as an organizational and leadership coach with Minnesota’s Employee Assistance Program.
Katie and Jessica have been reaching out to OCDR partners and supporters over the last three months. As they consider this feedback and review the office’s key directions and priorities, they will be sharing new ideas and content in this newsletter.
December theme: Listening
Listening is a foundational skill for working together in a variety of contexts, including in work, family, and civic life. Listening is also surprisingly hard to do well – it’s a skill that requires ongoing practice. You’ll find a variety of tips and resources below. We hope you find information, a connection, or a tool that you can use in 2023!
News From the Field
Listen First is a coalition of approximately 500 bridge-building organizations that focuses on creating understanding and more community cooperation through listening first. (Listen First staff even includes a Chief Listening Officer!) Listen First advocates for a “listen to understand” rather than a “listen to respond” mindset, which sets the stage for healthier conversation and relationships. Recently, Listen First partnered with the Stanford Polarization Lab and Civic Health Project to host a free, virtual conference focused on results of a mega-study on depolarization interventions. One effective intervention developed by the organization Civity used short videos to help viewers think about how and to whom they listen. Based on survey data, the video reduced participants’ social distrust. See lead researcher Palma Strand and other researchers presenting on their studies here.
News From Our Partners
OCDR partners with a variety of organizations to support our mission of improving relationships, building trust, and developing wise and durable solutions to seemingly intractable issues. One way we do this is by providing grants to six Court-certified community dispute resolution programs (CDRPs): Conflict Resolution Center, Community Mediation and Restorative Services, Mediation and Conflict Solutions, the Dispute Resolution Center, Restorative and Mediation Practices and Mediation and Restorative Services. The CDRPs provide a variety of services, including community and Court-ordered mediation.
For those who aren’t familiar with mediation, Community Mediation Minnesota defines mediation as a process where parties to a conflict have a confidential discussion to identify issues in the conflict, find solutions, and agree on a shared path forward. One key to success in mediation is that mediators listen deeply to the needs of each party in order to support a wise joint solution.
Mediation helps save the public time and money by settling disputes outside the court system. In 2021, CDRPs conducted 1522 mediations, trained 1551 individuals in conflict prevention strategies and worked in 54 of Minnesota’s 87 counties. OCDR is proud to support the work of CDRPs and Community Mediation Minnesota to provide more mediation services to Minnesotans.
Learn and Practice
Learn
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Article: This article from mediator, coach and consultant Tammy Lenski provides three simple tips for highly effective listening
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Podcast: This episode of the How Do We Fix It? podcast features Monica Guzman discussing how to listen to people we deeply disagree with (including our own parents!)
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Book: Kate Murphy tells readers how to deeply listen in her book You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters (Kate Murphy, 2020)
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Conversation: Amanda Ripley talks with Krista Tippet about listening in a way that creates better conflict at the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance (Nov. 2022)
Practice
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Training: January 7 & 14: Practice listening and learning rather than declaring and debating in this Braver Angels Red/Blue Workshop
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Tool: Living Room Conversations’ “Friend and Family Conversation Tip Sheet” includes tips on listening skills to practice and pitfalls to avoid, as well as “first aid” statements to use when conversations get hot!
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Interactive online event: The National Day of Dialogue on January 5, 2022 features speakers, panel discussions and breakout rooms focused on four topics of national interest
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Virtual events calendar: The Citizen Connect calendar is a compendium of online and in-person events where people from diverse political perspectives can listen to learn rather than declare and debate
Feedback
Do you have feedback on this newsletter, or articles, tools or resources you'd like to share? Click the "Give Feedback" button and let us know. If you share an idea or tool with us, we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter!
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