Dear Birgitt, You captured in such a beautiful way what I savor about open space and life. A journey of continuing exploration that is as you've described it. Thank you!! Suzanne On Mar 14, 2016 9:58 AM, "Birgitt Williams via OSList" < [email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks Michael, Tony, Daniel, Skye, and Marie, > > Great contributions. Thank you. I appreciated the images of oscillating, > of pulsing and of breathing in describing embracing paradox. I felt that > oscillating and pulsing reflect my experience of sequential handling of > paradoxical concepts, experiences etc with the oscillation increasing in > frequency until it is no longer apparent. Michael…thank you for reminding > us of the breath, one of the essential components that as facilitators we > draw attention to in an OST meeting. There is the in-breath, the > out-breath, and the relax or stillpoint or fulcrum point between the two > actions that reflects that state of being in between two opposite actions. > I feel it is worthy and also can be great fun as facilitators to explore > what I think of as paradox and the competency to be in that stillpoint and > what Michael refers to as mutuality and Harrison refers to as open space, > seeming variations of the same concept. > > > > Some of the paradoxes of working with OST that come to mind for me in my > current moment of contemplation about the importance of facilitators of OST > growing their leadership competence with paradox: > > > > > > ~the experience of being in an OST meeting and the experience post-OST > meeting in the organization especially in organizations mandated with lots > of regulatory mechanisms > > ~the experience of the facilitator as highly controlling during the > opening to facilitate the opening of space for important conversations > immediately followed by being extremely detached while people self lead and > self manage > > ~being fully present and fully invisible simultaneously > > > > With appreciation for the wisdom showing up, > > Birgitt > > > > *From:* OSList [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf > Of *Michael Herman via OSList > *Sent:* Sunday, March 13, 2016 1:22 PM > *To:* Tony Budak; World wide Open Space Technology email list > *Subject:* Re: [OSList] embracing paradox as a leadership competency > > > > thanks for starting this, birgitt. > > > > first, because i know words matter to you, i want to suggest an > alternative to "paradox," which is about apparently conflicting statements > or ideas. i would broaden it to distinct or even opposing experiences, > ways of being. i want to offer the word "mutuality" which describes what > we can practice in these moments of apparent conflict. and the beginning > of this practice is pulsation, which i think is this sequencing you > describe. > > > > we talk a lot about circle in this community, and marketplace and bulletin > board. harrison's fourth mechanism, breathing, or what i often generalize > to pulsation, or in agile circles, to iteration gets little attention, but > is no less important. > > > > i learned the practice of "mutuality" sitting with a partner, pulsing > awareness between noticing all of the sensations that let me know that i AM > and being aware that the person sitting in front of me also IS. we > practiced pulsing back and forth, noticing self and other, until it became > normal to be aware of both as distinct AND as one, simultaneously, > paradoxically. in this way, i came to understand mutuality as a way of > being with someone, or some group, or otherwise holding-without-collapsing > apparently opposite experiences or positions. > > > > i think this sense of mutuality, of being separate and one, > simultaneously, is what we are inviting everyone to practice when we > facilitate open space meetings. for me, the four principles (nobody's in > charge) and law of two feet (you can go wherever you need to) are held > mutually. learning and contributing -- how often and quickly groups learn > that bringing a question for their own learning ends up being > simultaneously a contribution to the whole group -- leading by following, i > think. inside and outside. sellers and customers. individual and > community. plenary and breakouts -- these happen in apparent pulsation, > and then how often is it that everyone discovers that while in so many > breakouts and side conversations, they've all been talking about the same > issues? one and many, simultaneously. in so many ways we invite people to > pulse awareness between distinct or even opposing points, while holding > both as real. > > > > i've heard a tibetan description of this as the experience/practice of > taking in the vastness of the starry sky at night and still being able to > hear the dog barking at the bottom of hill. i've also heard the tibetan > sense of "mutuality" translated as "equalizing and exchanging self and > others." both of these images fit my experience of opening space and ost. > > > > and when we practice in this way, the result is the spontaneous arising of > the compassion, love, freedom, and joy. that is, the wish for others to > not suffer, for things to go well for them, self-direction and > -organization, and a gratitude and delight in what is. now substitute > problem solving for not suffering, achievement for things going well, > empowerment and thank you, and it sounds a lot like open space, again. > > > > the law of two feet tosses OS participants into a pulsation between what's > happening in the room and what's happening in their own bodies and minds. > this can be in conflict, or paradoxical, but it's always simultaneous. we > ask them to maximize learning and contribution, taking in and giving into. > in every single moment, as often as each one of them can manage to notice > it, they have a choice between staying and going. > > > > i believe this is the core of what we do as leaders and facilitators and > what our practice naturally and automatically, implicitly, invites > participants into. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Michael Herman > Michael Herman Associates > > 312-280-7838 (mobile) > > > > http://MichaelHerman.com > http://OpenSpaceWorld.org > > > > > > On Sat, Mar 12, 2016 at 7:34 PM, Tony Budak via OSList < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Here is an extract from "Is leadership only for heroes?", by Zoe van > Zwanenberg > <http://timebankswork.net/tiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=10> > > "The work of leadership > In our drive to provide simple answers with clear deliverable outcomes for > complex problems we have latched on to the notion that strong, effective > leaders are what will make the difference. > > Current belief is that the work of leadership is to define not just what > needs to be done but how it will be done and by whom in a defined linear > format. In this model the work of leadership is to be all knowing and to > take the blame when things do not work out in accordance with the master > plan. > > The certainty that this type of leadership provides should then enable us > to see our way out of the complex mix of dilemmas and relationships that > face us. This seems to presume a straight line of cause and effect and also > a simplicity of relationships between problems and solutions that our > everyday experience of the world would deny. > > It is also based on a very simple and value laden model of leadership – > that of the leader/hero who provides direction, goals, standards and > behaviors that all can follow. > > If the work of leadership is to provide answers, then we are resigning > ourselves to being a dependent community of followers yet reserving the > right to sacrifice the leader when the answers do not address the real > problem or prove unacceptable." > > Click here for the short article > <http://timebankswork.net/tiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=10> > > > > On 3/10/2016 9:21 AM, Birgitt Williams via OSList wrote: > > Dear Friends and Colleagues, > > Facilitators, change agents, consultants, coaches, moderators and > trainers, in my experience, struggle with their role and power as leaders. > Years ago, I learned a lot from the late Angeles Arrien about the power of > leadership: the power of position, the power of influence, the power of > communication. In our roles especially as outsiders to an organization and > to the lives of the people involved, we have all three of these powers. I > have been active in my pursuit of understanding leadership since I was > fifteen and catapulted into leadership positions that I may or may not have > been ready for, despite what the adults around me might have believed. > > In recent years, one of the leadership competencies that has grown and > expanded in me is the ability to embrace paradox, to simultaneously hold > two seemingly opposing views or emotions, with both being valid for me. For > example, I can recognize in myself to be in extreme gratitude for something > simultaneous to feeling extreme anger…containing both emotions > simultaneously, not sequentially. I have come to understand how important > this is as a leadership competency, and I write about it on this list as I > feel it is a most valuable competency for facilitators of OST. I remember > way back when Harrison teaching about OST assisting the people in a system > working with both chaos and order. I was fascinated by this topic. And yet, > today, I admit that as I learned about chaos and order, I seemed to have an > internal picture of one, then the other, then the other, kind of like a > teeter totter with possibly some kind of balance point at the fulcrum. As I > expanded my capacity to handle paradox, I was able to genuinely grasp chaos > and order both existing simultaneously. > > > > In understanding and working with OST, I think it is important to embrace > paradox and to expand our personal capacity to handle paradox in even very > stress filled situations. For example, a paradox that we end up contending > with is that everything is open space, and Open Space Technology is a tool. > What is the benefit of grasping this paradox, you might ask? If I approach > OST as a tool from the simultaneous perspective of ‘everything is open > space’, I am going to influence different outcomes than if I approach > working with OST only as a tool. > > > > I wrote about embracing paradox recently, so you can see I am feeling deep > interest in this topic at the moment > http://www.dalarinternational.com/the-power-of-limits. What are your > thoughts about ourselves as leaders? What are your thoughts about the > importance of expanding personal leadership competency with embracing > paradox? Or maybe, in working with OST you are currently developing other > leadership competencies? I am interested to see if anyone has interest in > showing up to this topic. > > > > With blessings, > > Birgitt > > > > Birgitt Williams > > > > President & Senior Consultant of Dalar International Consultancy, Inc. > > http://www.dalarinternational.com > > Co-founder of the Extraordinary Leadership Network > http://www.extraordinaryleadershipnetwork.com > > Co-founder of the Genuine Contact™program and author of The Genuine > Contact Way: Nourishing a Culture of Leadership > http://www.genuinecontactway.com > > Co-owner of the Genuine Contact Co-owners Group Ltd. > http://www.genuinecontact.net > > > > *Supporting leadership development for leading in a culture requiring > agility and flexibility in a performance environment of constant change.* > > > > Leadership development at your own pace? Become a member of the > Extraordinary Leadership Network > http://www.extraordinaryleadershipnetwork.com to participate in an online > leadership development program designed to increase your leadership skills > and capacity. > > > > PO Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619 > > phone: 1-919-522-7750 > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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] > > > > -- > *Regards,* > > > *Tony Budak <http://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybudak> <http://tbmw.org/>* > *Time Bank Mahoning Watershed <http://tbmw.org/> **mobile:* 330-716-2722 > *|* *Skype:* tony.budak1*Facebook TBMW > <https://www.facebook.com/groups/TimeBankMahoningValley/> | Twitter > <https://twitter.com/TimeBankMW>* > > > _______________________________________________ > 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] > > > ------------------------------ > > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2015.0.6189 / Virus Database: 4540/11769 - Release Date: 03/07/16 > > _______________________________________________ > 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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