polderen
Based on the Dutch verb “polder” which is a piece of land surrounded by a dike from which water has been pumped out to keep the land dry. Half of Holland is polder. As a process polderen involves bringing diverse stakeholders together and forming a consensus. All stakeholders must be willing to negotiate and everyone must be included. The process is highly collaborative and rooted in understanding one another’s needs. Sociologist Miki Kashtan of the Center for Efficient Collaboration has developed a method called Convergent Facilitation to build trust and dislodge gridlock. U.lab developed by Otto Sharmer of MIT’s Sloan School of Management is an online course to teach how to effective social and organizational change in a collaborative manner by learning to approach your collaborators with an open mind and open heart, through compassion and courage, to create new possibilities. (Kremer, 2022)