Hello Suzanne and all,
"The challenge is how to get from “here” to “there”. Letting go the old ways
of doing things, acknowledging the futility of much that we are now doing,
starting to operate from a whole new frame, almost from scratch if one
considers the contrast between hierarchy and self-organization. This
represents a ton of internal grief work and lots of trial and error." Wonderful
and provocative thought.
I had the opportunity and the privelege of participating in the ULab led by
Otto Sharmer some weeks ago. In my humble opinion, U Theory has 2 concepts that
are in line with this conversation about death and birth. They are "letting go"
and "letting come". You have to letting go the past in order to letting come
the emergent future. I compare this "letting go" with the "death process" you
are talking about, and the "letting come" with the "birth process"
respectively. I would dare say that these both "processes" are also present in
OS. In the last year, I have facilitated 3 three-day OS events and what I have
observed is that the first day is for "catharsis", and is only after that, that
the group can overcome the past and is ready to letting come the emergent
future in the second day. I think that this "letting come" is possible,
because OS propitiates the conditions for presencing, that happens at the
bottom of the U, and this is the point where you connect to your inner source
of inspiration and will.
I am eager to hear your ideas about this connection I have found between U
Theory and OS.
Agustin
From: Suzanne Daigle via OSList <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>
To: OSLIST <OSList@lists.openspacetech.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2015 7:07 AM
Subject: [OSList] From "here to there"... "less is more"
Harrison and all,
I had the opportunity to visit some companies lately that had the stirrings of
self-organization. One of them, Sun Hydraulics, was among the 12 organizations
featured in Frederic Laloux’s book: Reinventing Organizations. And as luck
would have it, Doug Kirkpatrick of Morning Star (another Laloux company) was
touring with me.
The other companies I visited were not at the same level but in their heart and
actions, I knew they were heading in the same direction. Though truly for all,
it is the journey and not the destination that self-organization represents.
I was in awe and truly could not get enough. It reminded me of those best
moments in my own work career when shared pride, purpose, collaboration,
camaraderie, high performance and aliveness bubbled over. Above all, I was
struck by the wonderful “ordinary” people doing “extraordinary things”;
leadership lurking everywhere, individuals taking and living their own space
with others.
In the joy of experiencing and reliving the intensity and vibrancy of what
“work” can and should be like, I was struck and deeply saddened knowing how few
organizations are operating this way. How much pain and how much “settling and
giving up” there still is in the world of work today.
I see and feel the contrast of the two: lifeless versus vibrant.
And yet in the despair of knowing this, I sense a shift in consciousness, two
realities colliding, as one world dies, another waits to be birthed. There is
much “hanging on” in companies today with a grasping of the “illusion of
safety” that our old system operated on, whilst many are now edging towards
something that is exerting its pull, something new.
Much has been written about the industrial model under which most companies
still operate. A top-down hierarchy, command-control system with
predictability and efficiency built in. The habits of this are embedded
everywhere. Most of us know this operating system has been pushed to its limits
and no longer serves. One can’t deny that much good came of it not the least of
which we have been given more years in this wonderful life. Nor can one deny
its excesses, which have caused much damage not the least of which to our human
spirit on what matters most.
The challenge is how to get from “here” to “there”. Letting go the old ways of
doing things, acknowledging the futility of much that we are now doing,
starting to operate from a whole new frame, almost from scratch if one
considers the contrast between hierarchy and self-organization. This
represents a ton of internal grief work and lots of trial and error.
Does it require that our organizations hit bottom? Or perhaps in our souls, we
know that we have already hit bottom and this will be enough to propel us
forward.
Harrison says: “The cure then would be to stop the wounding, at least until we
could see how things might go. Of course, if the situation is really terminal,
then by all means. Bring it on! That could be SCRUM, Facilitation, Last Rites,
whatever…”
And then later he says:
“Before we do anything more, different, or otherwise – I sincerely believe we
need to stop and appreciate what apparently happens very naturally, all by
itself, with minimal or no assistance. And after that appreciative moment, we
might think of a few things to do, but only a very few.”
Harrison, in my heart of hearts, I believe this too. I believe in “less is
more” even though I still struggle in living this way. My struggles will be no
different than the struggles of others and indeed there is beauty in those
struggles, in doing it wrong, in losing and finding our way. It is the essence
and unfolding of life.
And what I also know is what the “real deal” Open Space can do to snap us out
of the command/control shackles, to shock us into awareness, a coming home to
who we are buried there inside of us. The work ahead, I believe, is to
continue to invite from the place of where people are, without shame or blame,
because they cannot know what they do not know until they have experienced it.
That power of less is more. Knowing that in the "less" lies the best in high
performance, creativity, human connection and life. Therein lies the magic of
Open Space. It gives us a taste of what could be.
Suzanne
Suzanne Daigle
Open Space Facilitator
NuFocus Strategic Group
FL 941-359-8877
Cell: 203-722-2009
www.nufocusgroup.com
s.dai...@nufocusgroup.com
Twitter @Daiglesuz
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Enviado desde mi iPad
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