By Dee Allsop, PhD (Co-CEO, Managing Partner)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Finding common ground is essential for navigating today’s most divisive social and political issues.
- Americans are increasingly seeking respectful dialogue over ideological conflict.
- Initiatives like Disagree Better and organizations such as Braver Angels, BridgeUSA, and the Pluralist Lab are leading efforts to foster bipartisan collaboration.
- Triadic Illumination™ offers a breakthrough method for engaging in sensitive conversations through small-group, empathy-driven dialogue.
- Join Heart+Mind’s special edition roundtable event on October 30, 2025, will feature changemakers discussing how to move from conflict to connection. Registration at bottom.
In any situation where there are two opposing sides, finding common ground remains the most productive way forward. Americans have long valued freedom of speech and open debate, choosing to support groups that reflect their personal beliefs. But in recent years, divisive issues like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, COVID policies, gun control, etc., have deepened ideological rifts, making productive dialogue increasingly rare.
Finding Common Ground in a Divisive Climate
As we move through 2025, the national conversation around political and cultural division continues to intensify. From campus protests to state-level policy clashes, Americans are wrestling with deeply held beliefs across the ideological spectrum. Yet, amid the noise, a quieter movement is gaining traction—one focused on finding common ground, rebuilding trust, and restoring meaningful dialogue.
In April, Utah Governor Spencer Cox launched the “Disagree Better” initiative through the National Governors Association, urging leaders and citizens alike to model respectful disagreement.
Meanwhile, civic organizations like Braver Angels, BridgeUSA, and the Pluralist Lab have expanded their reach, hosting bipartisan town halls and training sessions that bring together Americans from opposing viewpoints, all with the goal of finding common ground.
Solutions for Finding Common Ground
This renewed focus on civility and collaboration sets the stage for innovative tools like Triadic Illumination™, developed by Heart+Mind Strategies. Traditional research techniques can prove unproductive on sensitive issues where truth and insight fall victim to ideologies, social dynamics, political correctness and safe stereotypes.
Triadic Illumination™ eliminates the unproductive social dynamics through the more personal experience of an intimate small group, either online or in person. Utilizing techniques and activities more often used in relationship therapy and counseling, Triadic Illumination™ creates an atmosphere of collaborative problem solving for some of life’s most challenging issues. We structure the discussion in a way that allows us to see and listen to each other as humans and to understand how we choose, react to, and defend differing points of view or stories and where we are able to agree or recognize merit and truth in each other’s views—which is the foundation for finding common ground and building strategies that reflect shared values.
Why Finding Common Ground Matters Now
Recent events show that Americans are ready to move beyond echo chambers. The public is increasingly rejecting extremism and seeking tools to engage constructively. Finding common ground is no longer optional, it’s the key to progress.
We invite you to explore these tools and join us in crafting solutions that reflect values we share. Contact us for more information on how you can use Triadic Illumination™ to work with your target audiences in helping them find common ground on sensitive issues.
Join Us for a Special Edition Roundtable
Want to hear directly from the Changemakers who are leading the way in civil discourse? Join us for Heart+Mind’s upcoming SPECIAL EDITION Connections Roundtable:
From Conflict to Connection: Uniting on Common Ground
October 30, 2025 at 1:00 PM ET
Hosted by Dee Allsop, CEO and Erin Norman, VP of Public Policy at Heart+Mind Strategies
Featuring:
- Maury Giles, CEO, Braver Angels
- Carrie Conko, Producer of the documentary UNDIVIDE US
- Ben Klutsey, Founder of the Pluralist Lab at the Mercatus Center
Discover how these leaders work to overcome division and find common ground — and how you can apply these insights to your own work.