Managers As Mentors, 3rd Edition

13“Give-and-Take” Starts with “Give”

Distinguished Dialogues

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you.… It doesn’t happen all at once, you become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.”

Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

Dialogue is defined as an “interchange of ideas, especially when open and frank, as in seeking mutual understanding or harmony.” Effective dialogue—with emphasis on “di,” meaning “two”—requires a level playing field, equality, and give-and-take. These dynamics raise dialogue from a simple question-and-answer session to a rich, creative interaction that is more than the sum of its ...