
Breadcrumb
- Essential Partners
- Who We Work With
- Workplace & Orgs
Workplace & Organizations
Dialogue gets more results. It makes decision-making easier. It makes creating participation easier … our greatest organizational impact has been more contributions as well as more effective and efficient meetings.
Beth Mendoza, Moraine Park Technical College
Wisconsin
Workplaces assemble diverse groups of people in situations where consequential decision need to be made efficiently, leaders require trust to succeed, and teams have to work collaboratively to produce the best results. How we communicate often has as much impact as what we communicate. Processes matter, and so does institutional culture.
Essential Partners' approach helps foster a more inclusive environment where coworkers can engage differences without dysfunction. Our model generates more cohesive teams, helps employees navigate polarizing differences, improves communication, and makes decision-making processes more effective.
Refined over thirty years, EP's approach produces measurable outcomes, including:
- Improved team cohesion
- Greater trust across differences
- Mutual understanding of opposing views
- More effective, lasting collective actions
Ready to build a healthier institutional culture? Contact us for a free consultation.
Impact Stories
Bob Bordone, Expert and AuthorEssential Partners does the best work in the field of dialogue and communication.
Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program, Co-Founder
Bill Scott, Project DirectorThere was a remarkable change in the way we were able to communicate with one another following the facilitated conversations.
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
Program ParticipantI felt an amazing sense of accomplishment when the Essential Partners training ended; that I'd done something important for my community and something important for me.
Massachusetts
Luke Zubrod, Director of Strategic InitiativesWhen there's an element of conflict, oftentimes we gravitate toward debate as a way of contending toward some decision or outcome. Dialogue is a much different proposition. The emphasis of dialogue is in understanding the other person's perspective, making sure they have the opportunity to feel heard.
Chatham Financial, Pennsylvania
Lauren Cobb, Task Force MemberI now lead teams with a different language, using different processes, and with a different awareness of team dynamics. [I’ve seen] relationships grow and deepen, unity and commitment remain high, and mutual respect established and fostered.
Glendale Presbyterian Church, California
Program ParticipantBefore, I thought all dialogue that does not culminate in solution was considered equivalent to failure. Now I see that dialogue is a stage complete in itself.
Burundi
Patrick Hale, director of Multicultural and Identity ProgramsOne of the things that’s so crucial to even fostering dialogue around diversity, equity, and inclusion is creating opportunities for folks to engage in deep reflective self-awareness.
Babson College, MA
Kim Davidson, OmbudsI’ve gained not only confidence but tools. The Essential Partners training was worth every penny.
Oberlin College, Ohio
Program ParticipantThis is the best adult learning experience I have had in the past five years. I wanted to learn new skills—I did!
Anjali Bal, Associate Professor of MarketingWe talked about where we are in the world right now, so we talked quite a bit about polarization. Essential Partners showed how these conversations are becoming more taxing and challenging because of that polarization. These were some first steps in terms of how we can start to have those conversations.
Babson College, MA
Misty Stoll, School Board TrusteeI ran for my local school board in 2018 and was elected. I use the skills in our meetings, whether I’m chairing the meeting or not. This makes the meetings much more productive. We don’t go over the same topics over and over again.
Wyoming
Belle AbayaWhat is special about Essential Partners' approach is that it promotes authenticity, reduces defensiveness, increases curiosity, and boosts connectedness.
The Conflict Resolution Group Foundation, Philippines
Romeo McCauley, Project PartnerI learned that I can build relationships, that I can be connected to anybody who I want to be connected to, no matter how difficult it is
Liberia
Program ParticipantI am now open to new views and can moderate my impulse to debate or persuade others of different views
Montana
Douglas Stone, Sheila Heen, and Bruce PattonWe owe a debt of gratitude to Laura Chasin and her collaborators at Essential Partners… From them, we have learned about the transformative power of telling one’s story and speaking to the heart of the matter.
Difficult Conversations
Beth MendozaDialogue gets more results. It makes decision-making easier. It makes creating participation easier … our greatest organizational impact has been more contributions as well as more effective and efficient meetings.
Moraine Park Technical College, Wisconsin
Program ParticipantI did not anticipate having as many concrete takeaways as I do. I feel there is an immense practical application.
Nicki Glasser, Policy CoordinatorWhat surprised me was how much you could transform a relationship during a three-hour conversation.
Transformation Center, Massachusetts
Program ParticipantThe highlight for me was the interconnectedness of the participants’ views, mutual respect, and range of experiences within the group
Montana