Strong relationships
Safe for diversity
Strong relationships, safe for diversity
Christien Oudshoorn helps groups and leaders create a culture in which differences are acknowledged and valued. And also to deal effectively with tensions that may arise in the process.
Working together can be an incredibly inspiring experience; building on each other’s ideas, supporting and challenging each other. But….it can also be terrible. If people don’t take responsibility, if you can’t be yourself, or if conflict arises.
To create things that are worthwhile you need good people. But more essential still, is what happens between those people. If relationships are strong, this creates space to experiment, explore differences and be innovative and creative together. And…if relationships are strong, we are generally more willing to show different parts of ourselves, with all our quirks, our uniqueness and our wisdom. This not only leads to innovation and increased efficiency, but also increases commitment and fun.
As soon as human beings get together, tensions arise; we want to be our unique selves, but also be accepted by the group, we have common goals, but also personal agendas, we want to express ourselves honestly, but also maintain harmony, we want to be participative, but without becoming paralyzed, etcetera. So, working together isn’t always easy. Each time it’s a challenge to find a balance that fits the specific situation and challenge at hand.
Leadership is about building relationships and finding ways for dealing with differences and balancing different polarities to fit the specific situation.
