The intensity of polarization in everyday life or in organizations can make us feel toxic, even though we want to take a stand for our values, interests and beliefs. In this episode, our guest Martin Ringer, helps us understand and explore this topic: How does polarization form? Why do we need to belong to opinion blocks and when does it turn toxic? How do we experience it in everyday life and society? How can we coach polarized teams in collaboration breakdown? Why seeking common ground too early can prove very ineffective? How to establish neutrality and what happens when we fail to do so? If you like this episode, you might be interested in the ISPSO Annual Meeting take place in Sofia on July 1-7 2024, which offers similar paper presentations and professional development workshops: https://ispso.org/AM2024