The first move is conceptual and makes interrelationships visible and amenable to analysis
and intervention. This conceptual shift involves a methodological stance toward
negotiation that encourages participants to reframe their issues and interests through a
process of critical inquiry. Critical inquiry exposes the systemic underpinnings of individual-
level issues, and conversely, assures that changes at the level of the organization
are made meaningful at the level of the individual. This strategy also enables the organizational
catalyst to link issues of race and gender to core institutional values and problems.
If the issue is first presented at the individual level, the organizational catalyst
probes the relationship of the issues raised to a broader set of patterns. If the issue is
addressed as a systemic or policy issue, the organizational catalyst then draws on that
systems-level change in facilitating individual level negotiations.