Participants learn from experts at polarity institute

Participants at the third annual summer institute hosted by The Bonnie Wesorick Center for Health Care Transformation learned from experts how to manage polarities in their workplace.

The Institute for Polarity Thinking in Health Care, sponsored by Metro Health, drew professionals from education, business, nonprofits and health care to the Alumni House June 15-17.

Keynote speaker Barry Johnson told participants that polarities are interdependent pairs of values and points of view, and that effective leaders can supplement traditional problem solving skills with knowledge of polarity thinking, especially during times of conflict and polarization. 

Johnson is a founding partner of Polarity Partnerships and has nearly four decades of experience in the field.

Evelyn Clingerman, executive director of the Wesorick Center, said leaders and organizations that practice polarity thinking acknowledge that polarities cannot be solved like problems.

"They leverage both sides of a polarity to ultimately achieve better outcomes, decreased resistance to change and healthier work environments,” Clingerman said.

The Wesorick Center, an interprofessional scholarly center within the Kirkhof College of Nursing, bridges academia and practice with high-impact activities, events, research and projects to address issues adversely affecting health outcomes and patient-centered care. Learn more here.