Thank you Harrison, for surprising me. I am really grateful to this wonderful piece of food you have just put in my table. So much to appreciate, so much to take away.
I wish you well on this long journey of yours, so glad you often share it with us, Paul From my iPad > On 27/3/2015, at 18:00, Harrison via OSList <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Grief and Griefwork are central to the human experience and evolution. To the > extent that Open Space is a useful forum in which human experience and > evolution may take place, both grief and Griefwork are critical elements. The > process itself cannot be rushed. It will proceed at its own pace through the > several phases, none of which can be skipped or short changed, for each phase > contributes an essential element towards the final goal, which is renewal. No > doubt grief is painful, and the process itself is, as the name implies, real > work, but it is good work. In totality, and contrary to the popular > perception, it is not sad. Indeed it is triumphal, even joyful, creating the > way for letting go of what has ended, and leading to new life. Not bad for a > day’s work! > > The ground breaking work describing the Griefwork Process was done by > Elizabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, “On Death and Dying.” It was mind > blowing. In one fell swoop she gave meaning to one of life’s most painful > experiences: Grief. Yes it was, and is, a pain, but pain with genuine gain. > From the terrible moments of ending, something innate draws us forward. From > Shock and Anger, through Denial on to letting go and resolution. We move on. > We don’t have to invent it, even think it. Happens all by itself, every time, > and all the time – if we just let it. And that is a critical point... we have > to let it happen. We can slow it, even abort it, but doing so leaves us in a > life of grief with no resolution. > > Kübler-Ross’s focus was on the individual response to Death. My focus has > always been on the larger agglomeration of individuals which we call > organizations, what they are and how they develop and transform. And the more > I thought about it, and lived deeply in the heart of many organizations, it > occurred to me that Griefwork was very much present and critical. At points > of ending, all sorts of endings, the process would start, sometimes with the > whole organization involved. Shock/Anger, Denial, Memories, Despair, Open > Space, Vision – those were my descriptors, and yes, Open Space had nothing to > do with meetings. For me it was that incredible balance point between what > was and what would become. I’ll spare you the details, but if you are > interested it is all there in my first book, “Spirit: Transformation and > Development,” which is yours for a mouse click at > http://openspaceworld.com/Spirit.pdf > > Open Space Technology was a late comer in all of this, definitely a funny > thing on the way to the future – until it began to dawn on me that everything > I had experienced and described under the heading of Griefwork in > Organizations showed up in that “funny thing.” Which is why I ended up > calling it Open Space. “Technology” was merely an afterthought, and mostly a > joke. > > When an organization is in deep pain caused by market shifts, corporate > raiders, internal conflict, international disorder – whatever – The process > of Griefwork kicks in. The initial response is shock and Anger, blame and > confusion. “They did it!” “How could it happen to us?” Old ways end. New ways > are much less than obvious. And the process rolls on! Should such an > organization find itself sitting in a circle, creating a bulletin board... if > would be fair to say that the Griefwork Process is the script of the emerging > drama. Unwritten, unplanned, maybe unknown – but very much there, if you just > take a moment to see. And if you have never been in such a situation, you can > in fact see it in a remarkable video of USWEST, thanks to Peggy Holman. > http://vimeo.com/25251316 > > Shortly told, the situation was that a corporate wide redesign (Process > Re-Engineering) had failed massively leaving anger, frustration and confusion > in its wake. In one part of the USWEST world, The State of Arizona, it had > all gone critical. Somehow, Peggy Holman and her colleagues managed to bring > in Open Space, which is marvelously depicted by the video. When asked to > describe the course of events over the three day gathering, one participant > said (in reference to the second day), “Today I think we are searching for > solutions for what we were bitching about yesterday.” There it is. The > passage from shock and anger onto vision and renewal. But don’t just listen > to the words. The “body language” is even more compelling. In the opening > circle you will see a phalanx of angry faces, arms folded, jaws set. Skip to > the end and it is practically a love in. And no, we did not script it! > > Knowing that Griefwork is central to the fabric and flow of an Open Space is > interesting. But becoming familiar with the essential elements of Griefwork > and their contribution to the process of healing and renewal can provide a > powerful point of insight for anyone who has undertaken the role of > facilitator. It is not so much about guiding, or somehow directing, the > process, which simply can’t be done. It is about deepening our awareness of > what is actually taking place. At the very least this awareness will provide > some comfort and orientation in an otherwise confusing situation for the > facilitator. > > Should it occur, as it often does, that the first day is filled with > acrimony, blame, and anger... all mixed with an apparent unwillingness to > face the facts of ending, this is not something that can or should be > “fixed.” It is simply the age old process of Grief doing its work. The > natural tendency to attempt soothing the rough waters, and bring about some > “rational” future oriented discussion will do no good at all, and in fact is > counter-productive. The likely result is that the process will be aborted and > driven underground. A superficial “peace” may be restored, but genuine > healing and renewal are denied. > > Comforting a fevered facilitator is the least of the gifts that knowledge of > the Griefwork process confers. More important are the clues and cues such > knowledge provides to the facilitator, guidance on the most effective ways to > hold the space. When shock and anger are rampant, the critical role is to > keep the space wide open. This means serious Presence and Invisibility, and > if that seems to be too hard an assignment, I suggest the “Chair Exercise.” > Find a good solid chair, place it in an out of the way corner, but with a > view of the action. Sit in the chair, and hold onto the seat with both hands > – HARD. Whenever you are tempted to jump in and solve the situation, go ahead > but keep holding onto the chair. You will feel pretty ridiculous, but the > lesson will be immediate. Sit Down! > > As the Work of Grief moves along, new opportunities for the facilitator will > appear. This is not the time or place to list them all, and my best effort > will be found in the second half of my last book, “Wave Rider,” called the > “Wave Rider’s Guide to the Future.” > http://www.amazon.com/Wave-Rider-Leadership-Performance-Self-Organizing/dp/1576756173/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427472738&sr=1-3&keywords=harrison+owen > I am under no illusion that my efforts represent the “Last Word,” indeed I > sincerely hope that they will constitute an invitation to each and every one > of you to explore and share your experience and findings. > > I am quite sure, however, that Griefwork is not a process we can design, > program, or direct. It will happen as it always has – on its own timetable. > But we can help. Of more immediate concern is the fact that we will have > massive opportunities for exploration and assistance. Any fair reading of our > current world order (is that an oxymoron?) tells us that there will be a lot > of endings, most of them painful, but all of them potential for new > beginnings. We have a lot of work to do. > > Harrison > > > Winter Address > 7808 River Falls Drive > Potomac, MD 20854 > 301-365-2093 > > Summer Address > 189 Beaucaire Ave. > Camden, ME 04843 > 207-763-3261 > > Websites > www.openspaceworld.com > www.ho-image.com > OSLIST To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > OSLIST Go > to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > Past archives can be viewed here: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
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