Larry Dressler's Page

Consensus Through Conversation

Facilitation expert Larry Dressler's Consensus Through Conversation is a guide for the effective facilitation and practic...

  • Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation and Neuroscience

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation and Neuroscience

    One of the core practices for everyday readiness that I write about in my book, Standing in the Fire is mindfulness meditation. I and several of the veteran leaders and facilitators I interviewed have used mindfulness meditation to cultivate calm and clarity – especially in preparation for high-h...

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    March 6, 2015

  • The Evolution of Empathy

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    The Evolution of Empathy

    I’ve written a lot about compassion and empathy as leadership capacities — particularly in high-stakes, polarized, high-emotion situations. Ever wonder how we humans developed the capacity for empathy?  Got ten minutes? Bestselling author, political adviser and social and ethical prophet Jeremy R...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Staying True to Yourself

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    Staying True to Yourself

    We live in an age of compromise.  We’ve learned  to be practical and to make concessions — not a bad thing. But there are times when compromise becomes a trap. It becomes a rationale for doing what is convenient, comfortable, and expedient at the cost of our integrity. “Let’s compromise” can at t...

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    March 6, 2015

  • One Facilitator Who is Shaken and Stirred

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    One Facilitator Who is Shaken and Stirred

    My friend and colleague Gibran Rivera recently returned from Guatemala where he masterfully facilitated a “think tank” for Reading Village.  He describes himself as “shaken up” from his experience. It’s so easy to think about our facilitative role as a “detached and neutral party.” But Gibran rem...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Leadership Lessons from the Vegetable Garden

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    Leadership Lessons from the Vegetable Garden

    Last summer as strolled through my garden I could see that the leaves of all my green bean plants were turning yellow. So I watered them, fertilized them, and hoed the weeds away. But they just got worse and worse. Then one day I got down on my knees and sat eye to eye with [...]

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    March 6, 2015

  • Bringing Heart Skills to Conflict

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    Bringing Heart Skills to Conflict

    For a long time I believed that the key to resolving a difficult conflict was to help the disputants arrive at logical conclusions to which they could agree.  I tried to help people think their way through differences and negotiate compromise based on a rational definition of fairness. Over the y...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Leading from Center

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    Leading from Center

    In Standing in the Fire I explore what it means to locate and cultivate the place within each of us from which wise choice and deliberate action comes.  People have referred to this place as center, true self, presence, and inner wisdom. Whatever we choose to call it, I believe it is emerging as ...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Why Skillful Conversation Matters Now

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    Why Skillful Conversation Matters Now

    Lately my work in teaching and facilitating skillful conversation has felt more urgent.  I think that some of this urgency has to do with a number of pronounced and disturbing trends I see in American society. We are a country that is increasingly polarized.  Partisan politics and economic dispa...

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    March 6, 2015

  • When 1% Makes a World of Difference

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    When 1% Makes a World of Difference

    I have amazing clients but 1% for the Planet stands out as an organization with a truly inspiring mission.  In fact, I was so inspired after facilitating 1%’s annual Board Retreat in 2008 that I became a member.  That puts Blue Wing in good company with other high-integrity companies like Patagon...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Presence for the Holidays

    Larry Dressler posted a blog post

    Presence for the Holidays

    I’ve come to appreciate that the holidays present all kinds of opportunities for high-heat moments — awkward social events, challenging family gatherings, stressful retail encounters.  One of my friends feels so anxious about her family’s yearly holiday gathering that she literally gets ill durin...

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    March 6, 2015

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