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Books & Papers

Dialogue as a Working Model in Degerfors Municipality - Per Hilding

Per Hilding

What happens when a municipality commits to dialogue for 13 years? Per Hilding documents Degerfors, Sweden, where staff transformed a care home dining room in one day using 'Visual Dialogue,' and teams learned to address problems they'd avoided for years.

This paper documents 13 years of sustained dialogue work throughout Degerfors Municipality's care services in Sweden. Starting in 2005, all staff and managers went through three-day dialogue trainings facilitated by Komanco consultants. The paper includes practical case studies that demonstrate dialogue's concrete impact. In one, staff used 'Visual Dialogue', a structured three-hour process using sticky notes and flip charts; to address a longstanding dining room problem. Within one day of implementation, they had completely transformed the space: repositioning tables for wheelchair users, improving lighting for those with vision loss, reducing noise for those who struggled to concentrate. Residents who had been frustrated and argumentative became comfortable and engaged. Another case shows staff using dialogue to address a manipulative resident who had been dividing the team. Hilding reflects on dialogue's necessity for navigating increasing cultural differences, individual worldviews, and social media fragmentation.

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Books & Papers

Topics

Dialogue in organisations and systems

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