Barry Johnson

In his almost 50 years as an organization and leadership development consultant, Dr. Barry Johnson has shared the “gift of polarities” with audiences around the world. Polarities -- a.k.a. dilemmas, chronic tensions, paradoxes -- are interdependent pairs that support a common purpose and one another. The research is clear: leaders and organizations that leverage polarities outperform those that don't.

Dr. Johnson created the first Polarity Map® and set of principles in 1975. Since then he has been learning and applying Polarity Thinking® with people and organizations all over the world. As Chairman of Polarity Partnerships, LLC., he explores and promotes supplementing Or-thinking with And-thinking to enhance our quality of life on our planet and creates a collaborative international community of polarity practitioners, including Mastery Program graduates, who are dedicated to the study and application of Polarities in a variety of disciplines and situations.

His newest publication, "And: Volume One – Foundations" and "And: Volume Two – Applications," represent what he and his colleagues have learned about And-thinking since his first book, "Polarity Management, Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems" came out in 1992.

Evolving the polarity map since 1975, Dr. Johnson and Polarity Partnerships have developed the Polarity Approach to Continuity and Transformation (PACT™), which includes an online assessment tool to engage stakeholder feedback through a polarity lens, allowing organizations to see how well they are leveraging the polarities most integral to their success.

In addition to his Ph.D. in organization development from International College, Dr. Johnson has organization and system development training from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and has devoted considerable amounts of his time to community activism, community building, and trust building in organizations.