Fw: Deep power differentials in OST
Michael Herman
mjherman at gmail.com
Wed Jul 13 12:21:07 PDT 2005
A quick word on this, christopher, et al... coming down as harrison
does, on teh side of doing nothing special.
the only thing we can do is *invite* and then, for power reasons and
all kinds of other reasons, there is perhaps some work to be done to
*make the invitation credible* but that seems different to me that
*doing* anything special about power. and this credibility challenge
shows up in all kinds of ways and events.
much of what is worked out as the reason for meeting and the results
(ongoing) that are desired would normally speak volumes in the
direction of credibility. more truth and reality in the invite, more
acknowledgement fo what really *is* and the less likely it is to get
in the way.
also any clarification of ongoing support for followup activities is
always helpful in making invitation real and credible. if proceedings
are to be 'recommendations' that is very different from proceedings
non-converged into so many 'individual strategic initiatives.'
same as it ever was, then, i suppose.
On 7/13/05, funda oral <fundaoral2003 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Harrison,
>
> I remember Zachary, you and me discussing this issue at Goa.
>
> And this is something i always think about.
>
> What I have noticed is that in situations where everybody said that the
> differentials in power would shut the space down.
>
> No, i don't think the space would shut down..the space is open regardless
> power differentials.
>
> But, can we use the space more efficiently while it's open ?
>
> I guess the major reason I would keep my hands off is that I find that
> empowerment is ultimately something you must give yourself. If I intervene
> and offer a quart of power -- guess who is powerful? On the otherhand, when
> an individual takes that first, perhaps tentative, step to claim their own
> power by word or deed, that is a self-gift that can never be taken away and
> will never be forgotten.
>
> I understand this. But what about a little encouragement, something like
> teaching someone riding bycle? a smile, an invitation, an eye contact, a
> gentle joke to invite to participate or a serious decisive movement to stop
> people taking others' turn.
>
> Definitely not by using power, forcing someone or stopping others or
> insisting.
>
> I guess there are cultural differences here also. In our culture if you
> don't say anything people don't think that you are letting them free. They
> rather think that you are indifferent, you don't mind.
>
> I also undertsand that the issue is theirs. I shouldn't care how or whether
> they solve it or not.
>
> And Harrison, especially for you: a sentence from a famous foreign
> architect visiting Istanbul last week " you have such a chaos here, keep it
> as it is and everything will be fine"
>
> Funda
>
> as you see i can not keep quiet ::))
>
>
> Harrison Owen <hhowen at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> Chris -- funny thing -- I have never noticed great power differences making
> much of a difference either. What I have noticed is that in situations where
> everybody said that the differentials in power would shut the space down --
> this did not happen. I found that very surprising. In a Latin American
> corporate setting with the President-owner very much present and taking an
> active part in a "whole company" OS, the going in conventional wisdom was
> that nobody would say a word until "he" spoke, and then only those words
> that aligned with his position. In actual fact, the President was largely
> ignored and one session that he proposed had zero participants. I guess it
> isn't accurate to say that he was ignored -- but certainly treated as a
> respected colleague. No less, no more.
>
> Would this always be true? Obviously you can't say -- and for sure there
> must have been somebody, somewhere, sometime who felt repressed for what
> ever reason. And the next question, of course, would be should we (as
> facilitators) attempt some special intervention/facilitation to assist such
> people? Personally, I rather think not -- for several reasons. First of all,
> I am not very clear how you would determine who such people were. Words are
> not the only way of participating and making a point/contribution, and just
> because somebody says little or nothing is not necessarily an indication
> that they are uninvolved. I remember one lady in a non-western culture who
> attended several sessions where the other participants were for the most
> part male. It was a smallish OS, so I could pretty well hear/see what was
> going on. As best as I could see, she never opened her mouth. But when the
> session was over, the other participants came up to her and thanked her! for
> her contribution. She smiled and went to another group -- also male
> dominated.
>
> I guess the major reason I would keep my hands off is that I find that
> empowerment is ultimately something you must give yourself. If I intervene
> and offer a quart of power -- guess who is powerful? On the otherhand, when
> an individual takes that first, perhaps tentative, step to claim their own
> power by word or deed, that is a self-gift that can never be taken away and
> will never be forgotten. And once that small step is taken others seem
> quickly to notice the possibilities. In an odd way, the dis-empowered can
> seemly empower others in ways that the powerful can never manage.
>
> Now it is quite true that in the moment a group will lose the
> input/contribution of the hesitant. And perhaps that input/contribution
> could have been critical to the "mission" of the group. Obviously that is a
> loss -- but I never look at a single OS "event" as an end in itself. As I
> see it, it is always a moment on the journey. I think we have all had the
> experience of the true impact of an OS showing up weeks, months, or years
> after the gathering -- and showing up in ways we could never anticipate. In
> several situiations like that which I recall, the instigating factor was one
> of those apparent non-participants who had a small taste of their own power
> and then decided to use it.
>
> So Chris, I guess where I come down on your question is just to let the
> "space" do its work. Of course, we have a major job to do in holding that
> space with dignity, respect and expectation, but for me this is just one
> more thing not to do.
>
> Harrison
>
>
>
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Dr.
> Potomac, MD 20854
> USA
> 301-365-2093
> 207-763-3261 (summer)
> website www.openspaceworld.com
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Chris Corrigan
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 4:45 PM
> Subject: Deep power differentials in OST
>
> Hi all:
>
> I was in conversation with some folks about Open Space yesterday and a
> question was asked about how the process works in places where there are
> deeply entrenched power dynamics. I'm thinking specifically of a
> multi-caste event in India for example (that was the example from our
> conversation) or in a mixed group in a place where women are traditionally
> spoken for.
>
> I have certainly used the process in many places where there are a variety
> of marginalization dynamics at play, be they economic, racial, age, cultural
> and class, and never have I heard about people feeling like the
> self-organizing part didn't include them too. I'm wondering if others
> working in more rigid places than Canada, the US or New Zealand might have
> had different experiences and if so, what did you do either before the event
> or during?
>
> Chris
>
> --
>
> CHRIS CORRIGAN
> Consultation - Facilitation
> Open Space Technology
>
> Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
> Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com * *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To
> learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To
> learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
>
> ________________________________
> Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page * *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To
> learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
>
>
--
Michael Herman Associates
http://www.michaelherman.com
...inviting organizations into action
Small Change News Network
http://www.smallchangenews.org
...blogging giving flourishing
Omidyar Network meets in Chicago, July 29-31st!
http://www.moreandmore.us
...people making good things happen
*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
More information about the OSList
mailing list