Leigh's Leadership Lessons: Is Polarization an Illusion?

In a world that often feels increasingly fractured, it’s easy to believe the divisions we see and feel are real and fixed. But what if they aren’t? What if polarization—the sense that “we” and “they” are hopelessly far apart—is actually an illusion? In this episode of The Space In Between, I explore this evocative idea through the work of Dr. Todd Rose and my own experience, revealing that while polarization feels real, it’s largely a collective distortion.  It turns out that beneath the noise, Americans share remarkably similar values: to be good people, to do meaningful work, to nurture family and friendships, to have financial security, and to contribute to our communities. 

Join me as I explore this topic and share three simple practices to shatter the illusion of polarization for good. This podcast will leave you feeling hopeful and, empowered to create meaningful change at a tender time for our society. 

Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to the. Space in between podcast. I'm your host Lee Morgan. Again, this podcast is for listeners who are fed up. Up with the hyperpolarized nature of the world today. And who crave. Craves spaces where current events can be discussed in construct. enlightening and delightful ways. Let's get.

Leigh Morgan 0:28

Hi everyone. Today I'm going to talk about an epiphany I had recently that relates to a core premise of this podcast. That epiphany is actually an unexpected question that came onto my radar. And the question is, what if polarization? The deep divisions we see and experience almost daily is actually an illusion. I'll admit that question stopped me in my tracks. It came to me after I listened to an episode of the Mel Robbins podcast, where Mel interviewed an academic by the name of Todd Rose. In that conversation, he shared research suggesting that the answer to the question is polarization. An illusion is yes, it is an illusion. But he also acknowledged that this illusion does have power and traction in society today. Sound perplexed? Well, you should definitely listen to the podcast and I'll put a link in the show notes'cause it's fantastic. My reaction to his perspective, well. I predictably dove into his work. I did some soul searching of my own and found myself actually asking another question. If polarization is an illusion, then how do we shatter all of it and reconnect with one another as the kind, authentic, and most often very caring humans We are at our core. We will dive into this today, and I'll share some daily practices that can help all of us feel more empowered and capable of shattering the illusion of polarization. And ensure that we can see the humanity in each other. So let's get started. What does it actually mean to say that polarization is an illusion? According to Dr. Rose's research, what people say in public. For example, in social media or at work, or even in family gatherings? Well, what we say in those spaces often differs dramatically from what we believe in private. He and his team learned this by conducting a number of large scale evidence-based research studies to understand what Americans privately value in life, in work, in education, family and in society. to do this, they developed a method where respondents in their studies could answer questions anonymously about what matters most to them. After many years, they compiled a huge database of responses. So big in fact that they can now draw valid conclusions about what people really believe when we aren't worrying about what others might think. And it turns out that we know from behavioral science that for most of us, what other people think and say does influence us, and in fact tends to influence us a lot. We know this from countless studies that show that in group settings whether that's in online. Settings like social media platforms or in teams most often, just a few voices dominate and these voices shape the stories we tell ourselves about the world, and importantly. Shape views about people we perceive to be different than ourselves. Now, I'm not saying this happens to everyone every time, it's just a well known, fact of group dynamics and behavioral science. Dr. Rose gives a great example of how this works. He mentions that on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, 10% drive the dominant stories that are talked about on that narrative. Most of these users, tend to be folks on the far edges of the political spectrum, where conspiracy theories made up, facts and gaslighting of entire groups of people based on their identity, has become a compelling and effective art form. The illusion then is that polarization is derived from people actually having different values and aspirations. So we think we're farther apart than we are, but the reality is much different It turns out our values, our aspirations are remarkably similar. And what are those values? You may wonder. Well, in Dr. Rose's research, he asked folks to rank and prioritize 60 values and aspirations, and it turns out. Five of these 60 emerged over and over again so that the majority of respondents shared the same five priorities. And let me tell you what they are. One is the aspiration of just trying to be a good person. Imagine that. Secondly, doing work, meaningful work and work that helps others cultivating good relationships with family and friends is. The third priority, financial security is a priority. It should be for all of us. And personal growth and community engagement of actually serving your community. It was one of the other top five, and he also found that people who pursue their authentic priorities in both private and public settings report far higher levels of life satisfaction. He also found that the lowest ranked aspirations relate to chasing what respondents think other people value, including social status, getting rich or our appearance, and perhaps not surprisingly, folks who prioritized what others think are important. Well, they report the lowest levels of life satisfaction. Turns out these findings are not unique. I do work at Arizona State University and there's a great group there called the Center for the Future of Arizona, and they do lot of studies to understand what Arizonans care about. It Turns out Arizonans agree on a few key priorities as well. Arizonans care about having healthy communities, clean air and water. Arizonans, regardless of background or identity or how they vote, they care about justice and equity for all people. And they also agree, as with Dr. Rose's, finding that everyone should have opportunity to find meaningful work that provides basic financial security. It turns out across the country and despite the noise, the illusion of difference, we have deep common ground. It's also true that it doesn't always feel that way, and for many of us, and we've talked about this a lot in the podcast, it actually feels like Division uncertainty fragmentation is on the rise, and this is what Dr. Rose describes as quote, a collective illusion. And the illusion is that we want different things depending on our identity or our political views. Nothing is farther from the truth. Why does illusion stick and why does the world often feel so divided? Well, there's a number of reasons, but I'm gonna highlight too today, first has to do with social media. It's a very simple business model. The longer users are on social media platforms, the more they can charge for ads. And what's the best ways to keep people on these social media platforms? Well, it's To elicit strong emotions, and the emotions of fear is one of those very human emotions that makes most of us, wanna find people I can empathize with, who can empathize with me. And so we seek comfort from like-minded people. We scroll more and we huddle online. And that's how algorithms keep us hooked and perpetuate division. The other reason illusion feels so sticky is the increasing blame and shame nature of public discourse itself. Social media definitely influences this, but I wager that political leaders and advocacy groups are also equally at fault. In fact, nowadays to be called woke is like being branded with a you RA divider tattoo on your forehead. And my own view as well is that both the left and the right share responsibility for this dynamic. For these and other reasons. The hard truth is that many people just don't feel safe to be their authentic selves in public. Settings. And when trust erodes around being our authentic self, so does our sense of personal agency. We can become quieter and we self-censor. illusions aren't actually that hard to shatter. They are built on a weak, often surface level foundation. That is good news because it means we have an opportunity every day to break down illusions that keep us apart and move towards a deeper reality that we share far more in common than we think. Thriving communities, high performing teams and stable democracies rely on pursuing shared goals when we seek and connect on shared ground. Well, this is the stuff that strong foundations are made of. at the beginning of this episode. I asked a few questions and I'll end with one. Now. How exactly can we shatter the illusion of polarization and the very real, icky amplification of polarization that seems to bombard us every day? There are three simple and practical practices that can help. All are intended to help us feel empowered and reduce distance between who we are in private and how we show up in public spaces. First practice is cultivate confidence to speak up by knowing your boiling points. When we're angry or frustrated, well, we notice it. I know I do. I can literally feel it in my body. I tense up. That's one we're most tempted to slide towards extremes or over affiliate with one of our many identities. And when we do that, we have the potential of closing down and being less curious about where we can find common ground with other people. So just catch yourself, pause, breathe, and decide whether to lean in or step back, but do it intentionally. Secondly, seek other seekers. Find compatriots who, like you, want to shatter the illusion of polarization. It takes courage to talk about what matters to us. In public settings and courage comes easier with support and stay open. The third daily practice is inspired by Dr. Rose himself, and that is do one small authentic act a day. And this is important because sometimes the world feels too big to fix and a little overwhelming, and that is exactly. When it's helpful to narrow our focus, commit to doing something that's easy and that matters to you, and that shares a little bit of kindness. Maybe it's a word of thanks to a colleague or writing down one thing you are grateful for before you go to bed. The best part about these three practices, well, together they can help us align our private and public selves so that we can boldly and humbly reclaim our agency and also our shared humanity. and can help us say goodbye to the illusion of polarization. Well, that's it my friends. That's a wrap. I hope this episode has been meaningful to you and if so, that will make me very happy. Thanks for listening and as always, keep showing up in the space in between. I look forward to connecting on the next episode. Bye for now.

14:20

I hope you. Enjoyed this episode of the space in between podcast. If. If you did, please hit the like button and leave a review. Wherever you listen to the show. And check out the space. Space in between.com website, where you can also leave me a message.