Chris Aertsen
Chris Aertsen (°65) I am a coach and trainer in personal and organizational development. I studied communication sciences and business administration/management. Until 2011 I
was active in the communication sector. As a manager I’ve lead many people and teams. I discovered that that was where my added value and interest lays. Since then I followed a series of courses in Solution-Friented coaching and in personal and leadership development. A learning journey that never ends. I like to pass on my experience in my workshops. In addition, I support managers and teams in setting the desired course, in shaping their organization so that every employee can be at their best and in promoting cooperation.
How interesting, we disagree! Different opinions matter
For every great idea, the opposite idea is also true. - Niels Bohr
Do we need to stop eating meat to save the planet? Should we stop flying altogether? When relevant questions as these are the heart of a conversation, the risk of polarization looms around the corner. It takes a lot of courage to be outspoken about our views when we fear a clash of idea’s or worse, a conflict. At such occasions, we might choose to remain silent or to seek the company of like-minded people.
But what if we engaged in such conversations driven by our curiosity to understand? What if our motivation for such dialogues was to evolve in our own thinking rather than to shift other peoples’ mindset in the direction of ours? If we are open to having our opinions challenged, then the encounter of a multitude of views offers exciting opportunities for personal development. Philosopher Hannah Arendt was firm: the opinion of the other with whom you strongly disagree makes you human.
In this workshop we will investigate and experience how to inject the power of the Solution-Focused approach into the societal debate with a better mutual understanding, a more nuanced vision and a higher appreciation of others as a result. With a Solution-Focused mindset, we make the deliberate choice not to put the clash of ideas at the heart of our conversations nor do we want to figure out the underlaying causes. Rather, we carefully explore all that we can learn from the different views around the table, eager to understand what is important for our conversation partners and why that is so. Through the exploration of peoples’ best hopes for the future’ and the changes they want to see, we might uncover that we have much more in common than initially taught. Then, the chances that hopeful possibilities arise are growing and the elements of what at first seemed an impossible common future start to emerge…
One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. - André Gide
Format: Workshop
Level: Introductory and Intermediate/Advanced
Maximum number of attendees: 20
