CQ Tools have been specifically designed to equip individuals and teams to respond resourcefully even in a world experiencing exponential change.

One of the CQ Tools

CQ Tools take many forms - this one can help a team to develop the skill of dialogue. Dialogue is part of effective communication and this inturn acts as the 'glue' that holds a collaboratively intelligent team together.

Exploring the Conversation Café

One of the ways highly effective communication can be achieved in a team is through deep dialogue.

It is common for organizations and teams to discover that although they thought themselves to be good at effective communication, they were, in fact, only utilizing a small portion of their potential in this area. Conversation Cafés adapt two ancient traditions: the talking-stick circle and deep dialogue.

The talking stick ensures that only one person talks at a time and deep dialogue provides the opportunity for participants to speak to their own truth in meaningful ways. Dialogue also creates an environment that enables those involved to think together about a topic.

Prior to running the Conversation Café process, it is important to have an orienting question that people speak to as a catalyst for the conversation. An example for a team involved in providing customer service might be “What would it take for us to be able to surprise and delight our customers?”

NOTE: At least 50 minutes should be allowed for the process. It helps to have someone to volunteer as facilitator to keep a gentle eye on the process. Also it is useful to have someone acting as a recorder for the conversation, keeping track of the themes that emerge. Both of these roles should not prevent the volunteers from participating fully in the conversation.

Step 1:
The facilitator begins the session by reading out the six Agreements – six principles common to most dialogue and Conversation Café processes.

• Suspend judgment as best you can.
• Respect one another.
• Seek to understand rather than persuade.
• Invite and honor diversity of opinion.
• Speak what has personal heart and meaning.
• Go for honesty and depth without going on and on.

Step 2:
A simple process: A “talking stick” (any object that has been designated for the task) is passed around the group in a clockwise or counter-clockwise fashion. Only the person holding the talking stick may talk. Once they have finished they hand it to the person next to them. Two rounds of speaking without interruption introduce a quality of listening and reflecting that opens people to themselves and one another.

People can pass if they like. They can be silent as their way of speaking. When a lively conversation happens, keep in mind the agreements to inquire rather than assert and debate. At the end, a final “talking stick” round anchors for each participant the gems they are taking away.

Step 3:
At the end of the session participants are asked to reflect on the process they have just experienced and share their thoughts. They are also asked to comment on anything that emerged in the conversation which surprised them.

Special thanks to those at Conversation Café for their kind permission to use this guideline for the Conversation Café process. (www.conversationcafe.org)

Another way to think of CQ tools is to consider them as collaborative intelligence tools. Collaborative intelligence tools don't have to be complex or difficult to apply in the workplace 'Teaching an Anthill to Fetch' can show you how.