Purpose Hour on the Road: Seeking Understanding in a Polarized World

Last week, CiviCO from Omni hosted its first-ever Purpose Hour outside of Denver, gathering leaders and community members in the Pikes Peak Region for a conversation about one of the defining challenges of our time: how we stay connected in an increasingly polarized world.

And if the evening taught us anything, it’s this: meaningful conversations are still possible.

We’re deeply grateful to everyone who showed up, leaned in, and helped create the kind of honest and thoughtful space that Purpose Hour is meant to be. A special thank you to Dr. Katy Anthes and her initiative FORWARD: from polarization to progress, for bringing both candor and wisdom to the discussion. Her reflections helped us navigate a topic that can often feel overwhelming, divisive, or simply exhausting. And thank you to Ent Credit Union for hosting us in their beautiful space.

This event also marked something important for CiviCO. Taking Purpose Hour on the road is part of our commitment to meet more Coloradans where they are—geographically, professionally, and personally. Colorado’s future will not be shaped by inviting more people to Denver. It will be shaped in communities across the state by people willing to engage with one another, wrestle with hard questions, and stay committed to a purpose. A purpose bigger than themselves, but small enough to take action on. And that purpose is often found close to home.

That commitment feels especially important right now. So much of modern life pushes us toward certainty, speed, and winning. Social media rewards the sharpest argument. Cable news thrives on conflict. Public discourse increasingly feels like a competition to prove who is right.

But during our conversation, Katy offered a distinction worth carrying forward: there is a difference between being right and being understood.

Most people aren’t actually walking into difficult conversations hoping to be right. They’re walking in hoping someone will hear them. Hoping their fears, values, or experiences will make sense to another human being. Beneath the debate, most of us are simply asking: Can you understand why this matters to me?

That shift is massive.

Seeking understanding instead of agreement does not mean abandoning convictions or avoiding truth. It means approaching conversations with curiosity before defensiveness. It means listening long enough to understand the story underneath someone’s opinion. And sometimes, it means realizing that progress is possible even when consensus is not.

At the same time, we also acknowledged another reality: not every difficult conversation is worth having. We do not need to engage every argument that crosses our path. But we do need to have more hard conversations when the purpose is clear and the stakes matter. Whether in our workplaces, communities, families, or civic life, avoiding tension rarely makes problems disappear. More often, the issues we postpone quietly grow in the background until they become harder, more painful, and more divisive to address.

Purpose gives us the courage to stay in the work.

When we are anchored in something meaningful (strengthening a team, serving a community, repairing a relationship, moving important work forward) we become more willing to tolerate discomfort in service of something greater.

That’s the kind of leadership Colorado needs right now. And it’s why CiviCO will continue creating spaces across the state where people can practice it together.