Thank you for your question, Eric.
I was going to make a quick response when I tripped over an artichoke
full of thoughts and feelings I am trying to get to the heart of.
Please be patient as I try to honor your very good question with a a
worthy answer.
--
Shalom,
Chris Kloth
ChangeWorks of the Heartland
254 South Merkle Road
Bexley, OH 43209-1801
ph 614-239-1336
fax 614-237-2347
www.got2change.com
Quoting Eric Hansen <[email protected]>:
Hi, Chris:
I know I am a stranger on this list. My wife, Elaine Hansen, I think is more
active, and is friends with Suzanne Daigle, who also responded to your post.
I did not respond on top of Suzanne's response so as not to "muddy the
waters." None of which matters except to provide some context for who I am.
You're email caught my eye for several reasons. The comment that struck me
most is this one:
"They had determined that I was trustworthy, which I would suggest is short
of trust. They were willing to risk vulnerability, in part, because I had
demonstrated fairness, transparency, truthfulness and presence... enough to
take a risk on the process."
I am wondering: Could you tell me (us) more about why, for you,
trustworthiness falls short of trust.
I am not asking you to justify the distinction, only to explain it more. At
this point, I do not understand.
If you do decide to provide an answer, I would then invite you to answer one
more question:
Why is that distinction important to you? Again, I am not asking you to
justify that distinction. I am, instead, inviting you to reflect on why the
distinction has meaning for you and then to share that meaning with the
list.
Eric Hansen
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris Kloth
Sent: Sunday, February 09, 2014 5:05 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: [OSList] Interdependence and Vulnerability: a delayed reframe re:
Trust
I have re-read the Trust thread several times. I noted the passion and
thoughtful reflections it triggered.
Like the rest of you, over the many years (decades) I have been engaged in
working with individuals, groups, organizations and communities the issue of
trust has certainly been raised as an explicit or implicit source of concern
when people are having difficulty getting something done.
At the risk of both sacrilege and hyperbole, I think trust is overrated, or
at least misunderstood. Here is an OST story I hope helps explain my
perspective.
About 20 years and several governors ago a statewide community mental health
system I was working with was deeply enmeshed in turmoil. There were three
major factions: rural agencies, urban agencies and the state oversight
agency. They were all actively engaged in lawsuits against one another. Then
the state legislature introduced a piece of legislation that all three
factions strongly opposed because of the negative consequences for people
suffering from mental illness. However, a series of highly publicized
individual tragedies (circumstances beyond their control - control is always
such an illusion) made it seem likely the legislation would pass.
I was asked to help find a way for the three factions to work together to
defeat or amend the legislation. After considerable pre-work I proposed OST
as a way to proceed. A group of 6 people (2 from each
faction) worked for the better part of a day to craft a question to convene
a larger group to explore. The first half of the planning day was fairly
tense and colored by the mistrust they all brought into the room. Crafting a
question that would reflect their shared interests required owning their
distinct interests, which initially tended to reinforce their mistrust of
one another. By the end of the day they had a question they all agreed was
sufficiently compelling to attract a significant cross-section of their
world to gather, talk and listen.
What they did NOT have by the end of the day was trust of one another.
What they had determined was that they could not succeed in achieving their
shared outcome without one another. They were interdependent, which also
meant they were vulnerable. They had determined that I was trustworthy,
which I would suggest is short of trust. They were willing to risk
vulnerability, in part, because I had demonstrated fairness, transparency,
truthfulness and presence... enough to take a risk on the process.
Approximately 100 people, a credible cross-section of people from all over
the state, gathered in open space to explore their question... to figure out
what, if anything, they were able and willing to do together.
They were the right people doing the right work. I was not surprised they
found ways to work together to address their shared concerns. What did
surprise me was that, in the process of addressing their common threat they
"inadvertently" discovered opportunities to begin to resolve the lawsuits
that had been pending for years. Of course, all these years later I would
not be surprised. I might even have expected it, though I would not have
suggested it as a possible outcome at the front end of the process.
The question remains, did they trust each other during and after working in
Open Space? I would say they trusted each other and the process just enough
to risk vulnerability in this particular situation because they knew they
needed each other. They laid a foundation for building trust over time. Over
the next several years they experienced gains and setbacks, largely due to
larger social and political conditions beyond their control. (Again, control
is always such an illusion.)
However, despite the ebbs and flows in their level of trust, they were able
and willing to continue to risk vulnerability because they knew they needed
each other... they were authentically interdependent.
Thoughts?
--
Please note that my new e-mail address is [email protected]. You
may also contact me by using the Contact Page at www.got2change.com.
Shalom,
Chris Kloth
ChangeWorks of the Heartland
[email protected]
www.got2change.com
phone - 614.239.1336
fax - 614.237.2347
Think Globally, Act Locally
Please think about the environment before printing this e-mail.
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