fear of success cont'd

[Christopher Kloth]

Dear Birgitt,

Again, thank you.  Just as I was preparing to reread this stream to figure out
where it came from and what was making me crazy you jumped in.  I don't entirely
disagree with most of the "reasons" people change that were offered up by
several people.  I think that there are a zillion reasons people change and that
the "reasons" that are appart of so many change models that get peddled by many
of us (including me) are a function of either our own individual world view or
our attempts to attach concise criteria or terms to the change theory that the
system we are intervening in  has adopted as its "theory in use."

For me there is a link between Birgitt's thoughts and the family therapy image
of deep poop...I think Birgitt suggests that we are all changing all of the
time.  There is a question of the extent to which there is awareness, intention,
choice or the opposite of these.  The family that discovers it has invested its
time and energy in building or salvaging an out-house that is crumbling did not
get to that point because they made a conscious, intentional family choice to
make poop management the core of their lives.  Together and seperately, they
adapted  incrementally in ways that were not apparent.

Despite the name of the consulting group I am a part of, I have lost interest in
owning a set of reasons that generalizes why people change. I am not opposed to
such tools, though I worry how they get used sometimes.  I think competent, good
hearted people who use them with good intentions will get what they need from
these tools.

However, I am much more interested in hearing my clients' stories about their
version(s) of their experiences.   I am interested in their explaination to me
about what did or didn't change, or how it change in ways unanticipated without
their knowing it.

But what I really love to hear is the story that lead them to call me...to
decide to make a choice and the stories they hope to have emerge as a result of
the choices they are now ready to make...the stories that they can co-create in
community dialogue.  Open Space is one of the places and processes I have great
confidence I will hear these stories and dreams and that choices made will lead
to shared responsibility for creating whatever change is next.