Hi Harold,
You say:
/"..I struggle to translate is the concept of coercion and authority
from the vantage of "it's all open space". Can we really be coerced? How
are we all already "opting in" to empower the "authorities"?/
//
/"...Could we just be volunteering for the victim part of our stories?/
//
/"...I have some thoughts about this, but I wonder what you would say to
such a challenge to the relevance of "authority" in OST?/
Hmmm...interesting questions for sure.
My current belief is that authorization dynamics are central to the
general dynamics of Open Space. And if it is "Open Space all the time"
then authorization dynamics as desribed in my essay are also there...
all the time.
Regarding the Open Space meeting format: If we begin at the beginning;
that is, at the start of arranging an actual Open Space event in an
organization, we immediately work to identify and locate someone "duly
authorized" by the organization, to do the things the Sponsor does, and
say the things the Sponsor says. Someone to occupy the Sponsor role. To
do that, the person occupying the role must have substantial authority
in the organization, usually of the formal variety.
Right? Put another way: if the Sponsor is lacking in authorization, can
they actually be effective? Larger question: Can the meeting still
actually work? What about the post-meeting follow-through?
So here we see how /authorization shows up a the very start of any
contemplated Open Space event inside an organization/.
One last thing: last time I checked, "victims" are kind of rare in Open
Space. Something about the subtext of "the Law of 2 Feet...."
"...The Law of Two Feet concept was published in an article by Harrison
Owen <http://www.openspaceworld.com/brief_history.htm>, a member of an
organization advocating Open Spaces Technology, a model for organizing
meetings that's based around open participation. Here's how Owen
describes the rule:
"...Briefly stated, this law says that every individual has two feet,
and must be prepared to use them. Responsibility for a successful
outcome in any Open Space Event resides with exactly one person---each
participant. Individuals can make a difference and must make a
difference. If that is not true in a given situation, they, and they
alone, must take responsibility to use their two feet, and move to a new
place where they can make a difference."
http://opensource.com/business/10/8/darwin-meets-dilbert-applying-law-two-feet-your-next-meeting
Daniel
On 9/26/14 6:49 PM, Harold Shinsato via OSList wrote:
Fantastic essay, Daniel. I'm a bit freaked out by Harrison talking
about his "translator" after diving into T.S.Kuhn's book where he says
paradigm shifts require "translators" because new and old paradigm
holders live in different worlds, where even common terms may be
fundamentally different.
What I struggle to translate is the concept of coercion and authority
from the vantage of "it's all open space". Can we really be coerced?
How are we all already "opting in" to empower the "authorities"?
Could we just be volunteering for the victim part of our stories?
I have some thoughts about this, but I wonder what you would say to
such a challenge to the relevance of "authority" in OST?
Thanks,
Harold
Daniel... You really did it! I think. Your language comes from a place
I don't know... which is to say that I probably wouldn't say what you
say in the way that you do (duh). BUT when I run my "translator" it
comes out sounding pretty good! So... I can't help with the questions
you have raised. Actually I think you are doing pretty well on your
own, and (hopefully) will incite others to a similarly riotous
performance. Thanks!
Harrison
Winter Address
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854
301-365-2093 <tel:301-365-2093>
Summer Address
189 Beaucaire Ave.
Camden, ME 04843
207-763-3261 <tel:207-763-3261>
Websites
www.openspaceworld.com <http://%20www.openspaceworld.com>
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*From:*OSList [mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
<mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>] *On Behalf Of *Daniel
Mezick via OSList
*Sent:* Thursday, September 25, 2014 9:39 AM
*To:* oslist@lists.openspacetech.org
<mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>
*Subject:* [OSList] Authority Distribution in Open Space
Greetings to All,
For the past several years I have attended conferences of the Group
Relations community, and encouraged others to do the same. I've
studied their literature, and harvested some important learning as a
result. One of the things I have come to understand a little bit
better is the role of "authority dynamics" in self-organizing social
systems.
Link:
www.akriceinstitute.org <http://www.akriceinstitute.org>
Over the past several years I've been using Open Space with intent to
improve the results of my work in helping companies implement Agile
ideas in their organizations. We do an initial Open Space, then the
folks get about 3 months to play with Agile (we carefully use the word
"experimentation" with management,) then we do another Open Space
after that, to inspect what just happened across the enterprise. The
initial and subsequent Open Space events form a "safe" container or
field in which the members can /learn/... as they explore how to
/improve/ together by /experimenting/ with new practices, and see if
they actually work. I call the process Open Agile Adoption.
Link:
OpenAgileAdoption.com
This seems to work pretty good. It seems to "take the air out of" most
of the fear, most of the anxiety and most of the worry that is
created. The key aspect is /consent/: absolutely no one is forced to
do anything they are unwilling to do. No one is /coerced/ to /comply/.
Everyone is instead respectfully /invited/ to help /write/ the story,
and be a /character/ in the story...of the contemplated process
change. Open Agile Adoption encourages a spirit of experimentation and
play.
The spirit of Open Space is the spirit of freedom. Isn't it? In the
OST community, we discuss and talk a lot about self-organization,
self-management and self-governance. The Agile community also talks
about these ideas a lot.
So I have some questions. What is really going on during
self-organization in a social system? What are the steps? What
information is being sent and received? From whom, and by whom? Is the
information about /authority/ important? How important? Can a social
system self organize without regard to who has the right to do what
work? /How do decisions that affect others get made in a
self-organizing system?/
Who decides about /who decides/? How important is the process of
/authorization/ in a self-organizing system? Is self-organization in
large part the process of dynamic authorization (and
/de-authorization/) in real time?
What /is /authorization? Can self-organization occur without the
sending and receiving of authorization data by and between the members?
Is Bruce Tuckman's forming/storming/performing/adjourning actually
decomposing the /dynamics of authorization/ inside a social system?
The essay below attempts to answer some of these difficult questions.
I'd love your thoughts on it. Will you give it a look?
Essay: Authority Distribution in Open Space
http://newtechusa.net/agile/authority-distribution-in-open-space/
Kind Regards,
Daniel
--
Daniel Mezick, President
New Technology Solutions Inc.
(203) 915 7248 <tel:%28203%29%20915%207248> (cell)
Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
<http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
Examine my new book:The Culture Game
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the
Agile Manager.
Explore Agile Team Training
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching.
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net/user-groups/ma/>Community.
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--
Daniel Mezick, President
New Technology Solutions Inc.
(203) 915 7248 (cell)
Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
Examine my new book:The Culture Game
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the
Agile Manager.
Explore Agile Team Training
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching.
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
_______________________________________________
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