Alison Goldsworthy, The Depolarization Project – Control how you feel: listen, learn and lead

Episode 47,   Nov 20, 2020, 10:00 AM

Alison Goldsworthy also joins Michael this week from across the pond. Born in Britain, the CEO of The Depolarization Project now ploughs her trade on the Pacific Coast where she looks to tackle one of the questions of our time – why in the world are we so divided? The motto is ‘Listen, learn and lead’ – the three things that have often been forgotten in a world that is less about compromise and more about conflict. Formed out of a project at Stanford University in 2016, The Depolarization Project looks to build bridges in societies around the world where people are more tied to their tribe than ever before. She says: “Depolarization is about trying to enable different groups to recognise that there can be merit in working together, and actually, sometimes, somebody from a different tribe might have a better idea to you, or one rooted in different experiences.”

Alison Goldsworthy is CEO of The Depolarization Project. A former Deputy Chair of the UK Liberal Democrats, she previously led the team that built the fastest growing campaigning NGO in the UK. Ali is Vice Chair of the grant-giving Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, and sits on the board of global media outlet Open Democracy. Born and brought up in Wales, in 2017 she was a Sloan Fellow at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, co-creating its first depolarization course. Ali is a frequent media pundit, and has written for the Telegraph, Times, Independent, New Statesman and Financial Times.