I am new to this list and have relocated to Melbourne, Australia but read with interest the comments about applying OST to steeply bureaucratic cultures.
I am a retired police commander from the South originally and can understand the difficulties in working with these types of groups - espcially from an outsider's point of view. If, for example, the FBI came in to train our command officers, then no problem. But getting outside trainers in to do an effective job created another mindset. If I can assist anyone on this forum in understanding the mentality of the police or military services or offer suggestions or assist in any way, please don't hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Lillian Jeter Melbourne, Australia -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Birgitt Williams Sent: Friday 23 January 2004 02:00 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Police For me, I agree with Esther that " But examining the assumptions about a group you are about to work with, checking them out, and being open to new information is important pre-work (and ongoing work) for ourselves to do as consultants." I know there is a lot of wisdom on the list about things to pay attention to when working in various organizational cultures ie: military, police, hospitals, social services. Specifically, there is valuable guidance that is available about how to work with OST in a steeply bureaucratic culture and other guidance about how to work with OST in a looser culture (the facilitation of it is the same in either, but positioning it for maximum success based on an authentic space differs). However, I don't think anyone is served well when referring to generalizations about individuals within that corporate culture ie: one of the most intuitive spiritual people I know is a police officer and so generalizations about goal oriented etc etc about the individuals for me takes away from the beauty that all people are people first, no matter what role they take on. I think the initial question about working with the police was an attempt to get information about how to work with OST in that particular organizational culture. As I followed the discussion on the list, I had a heart response to the generalizations about individuals and I hoped that there were no police officers on the list. I have experienced this inner emotional response on this list before for the same reason. Thanks for all the feedback and insights, Blessings to you and to all with whom you make Genuine Contact, Birgitt Birgitt Williams of Dalar International Consultancy www.dalarinternational.com We provide inspirational and practical “how to” guidance for leaders who want to achieve healthy and balanced organizations to produce exciting, tangible results for the organization and for its people. View the calendar for upcoming training in the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program at http://www.openspacetechnology.com/training.html We invite you to join the Genuine Contact list serve at http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/genuinecontact Contact information for Dalar International Consultancy: Po Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619 Raleigh, North Carolina USA Phone: 919-522-7750 Fax: 919-870-6599 Founders of the Wellness Revolution for Organizations Founders of the International Alliance for Mentoring Creators of the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Esther . Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 2:22 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Police Birgitt: I completely agree with you about the need to not characterize or stereotype people. Perhaps I could add a couple of thoughts... I find that I am sometimes blindsided by assumptions I've made about people either because I've not examined them (the assumptions) or because I'm wrapped up in an unexamined fear of not measuring up. So when I saw the postings about doing OS with police officers, I assumed that it came from a concern to do well rather than a bias toward police officers or any other group. And I saw the responses as reassurance. I had an experience once when I was a very new consultant of faciliation with some Cdn armed forces folks where I felt completely intimidated (I think one officer meant to do it) but it taught me some valuable lessons finding out in advance how people would react to certain kinds of processes. I should say that they weren't my client. Another consultant had called me in to contribute to the facilitation and so I didn't have as much influence on the overall process as I would have if it had been my client. And in retrospect, I can imagine that Open Space would have worked brilliantly. But examining the assumptions about a group you are about to work with, checking them out, and being open to new information is important pre-work (and ongoing work) for ourselves to do as consultants. With great respect, Esther Esther Ewing The Change Alliance - Assisting Individuals and Organizations to Build Capability www.ChangeAlliance.com 330 East 38th St, Suite 53K New York, NY 10016-9804 212-661-6024 Authorized Distributor, Panoramic Feedback www.panoramicfeedback.com * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
