If you a senior leader, facilitator or board chair, Larry Dressler's Standing in the Fire (2018) is definitely worth a read. In this short book, Dressler explores what to do if a meeting goes off the rails, participants are polarised, or you find yourself in the middle of a fiery situation. The book is subtitled 'Leading high-heat meetings with clarity, calm, and courage' - and addresses how to do just that.
Business books often have models - a pyramid or Venn diagram which purports to solve all your woes. Thankfully, Dressler doesn't really do that. Instead he focusses on practical tips for managing group dynamics.
He begins with an analogy of fire and how in groups a fire can be destructive or productive. Heat can escalate in a group environment and degrade into aggression, personal attacks, misinformation and rumour. Conversely, fire can serve groups by bringing passions to the surface, illuminating issues, clearing the air, and allowing creativity to flourish.
I like his depiction of leaders as fire tenders - 'people who can stand in the face of incendiary conflicts and perplexing challenges and help others hold the tensions, emotions and uncertainties long enough to arrive at new insights and common ground' (p25). In order to master this skill, we have to look inward at how we react and adapt to situations. We need to know our own triggers and what we can do to tend our own fires.
Dressler shows six ways of standing in fire by being present, self-aware, open, empathetic, ready for the unexpected and knowing what you stand for. He gives examples from his work and interviews with business leaders to showcase different skills, provides reflect questions to provoke introspection and homework for those who want to develop their skills.
Not all of his tips will work for everyone. Indeed, there were many where I thought I am never going to do that. But there was much that resonated for me.
Standing in the Fire is a quick read, but a book I can see myself go back to overtime to hone these important skills.