The World Cafe meets Open Space / Freedom Schock

[Alan Klein]

Harrison,

Your story of Freedom Shock among senior health care scholars reminds me of
a couple of incidents from my own experience with the other end of the age
spectrum.

Also about 30 years ago (what was in the water then?), I had my first
experience as a first year teacher observing FS among high performing 10
year old kids who were used to receiving lots of teacher approval for being
well behaved and doing lots of workbook pages. I was interested in neither
of those. They were shocked and quite disoriented as they tried to figure
out the new "rules".

A few years later, at a small private school in Pennsylvania, USA, I taught
the oldest kids - 11-12 year olds. David, a 12 year old who was a brilliant
student and had been at the school all his life, was outraged that I would
not assign him work - he had to choose what he wanted to work on. He grew
more and more belligerent about it, eventually disrupting other students. I
told him he had to allow other kids to work. He insisted that I assign him
some work. We had the following exchange:

"David, why are you here?"
"To learn."
"Then get started."
"No. You won't assign me any work."
"But you know what is available to work on, so get started."
"No."
"David, why are you here?"
"Because my parents sent me here."
"Oh, then go ahead and go outside. That way you will satisfy your reason for
being here and you won't be bothering anyone else."

With that he headed outside and went down to the principal's office to get
me fired! Fortunately, she knew what I was up to and simply reiterated the
conversation that I had with him!

Freedom Shock, having run its course, dissipated and David had a great year!

~Alan Klein


-----Original Message-----
From: Harrison Owen
Thanks Peggy -- as usual you are lucid and on target. You got me thinking
about Freedom Shock. I suspect we all experience it -- but for some it
becomes an immobilizing experience. I first noticed FS some 30 years ago (Oh
my God!) when I designed and "ran" a program for senior health care
professionals. We were aiming specifically at those folks who were likely to
be the next Assistant Secretary for Health, head of Blue Cross and the like.
For such people, one more degree program or bunch of courses seemed rather
beside the point, if only because most of our candidates were already the
dean of a medical school with multiple degree or something similar. It
seemed to me that such folks needed to be put right in the middle of the
system and invited to do some good. The design was a simple one. I created a
Board of Governance composed of the current leadership of the American
Health Care System (Head of Blue Cross, Assistant Secretary of Health,
Chairman of the House and Senate Health Committees etc). The board met in
what I would now call an Open Space environment, and were invited to
identify the major issues facing the system. The scholars (as we called
them) were then invited to take any issue, any subset or combination of
issues -- and do good. This could mean writing a law, staging a conference,
making a study. The only condition was that they had to make a formal
proposal to the Board. If accepted (all were) the scholars were off and
running. They had two years at full salary and plenty of "walking around
money" -- and no conditions other than they do something useful.

About two months into the program, the Scholars called for a meeting with me
to discuss a "major" issue. They wanted me fired! But my resignation would
do. I asked what the grounds were, and was informed that in their view I was
not, "managing the program." When pushed, they said that I hadn't told them
what to do. Needless to say I was a little surprised -- if only because
these were highly educated, well experienced, consenting adults who had won
admission into a very competitive program (2000 applications for 5
positions) -- and the whole point was -- they were responsible for the
content and mode of their education. All they had to do was ask for help if
they needed it.

Without thinking about it particularly, I took a piece of paper and wrote
out my resignation and laid it on the table. I told them that if they cared
to pick it up, I was gone. Today I would say that I just gave them more
space. A lot more space. A look of horror crossed most of the faces and
nobody moved. After a moment of silence, one of the Scholars said, "I think
this meeting is over." And they all left.=20

>From that point on the program worked perfect. Bumps and potholes for sure
-- but the Scholars pursued their interests, grew their skills -- and two
years later assumed high level positions -- just like we had hoped. For me
it was a major learning moment -- all about just how terrifying real Freedom
can be. But I also think I learned that the antidote for Freedom Shock is
more freedom -- Create more space! Had I acceded to their request for more
"management," we would have been right back where all other such programs
were. And I would have been subject to constant complaint because I never
could have done it "right." More to the point, the Scholars would have been
placed once again in the servile position of "student." And they would have
complained about that too!!

30 years later, and confirmed by 20 years of Open Space -- I still think the
antidote for Freedom Shock is more freedom. This doesn't mean running away,
or abandoning the cause -- but rather to back up just a little more until
folks genuinely understand that their freedom is real and present. It is
their responsibility to pursue what they care about. I will do everything I
can to create a nutrient rich environment -- but they, and they alone can
claim the freedom and the learning as their own.=20

I think I have also learned that there is no way to "ease folks" into an
acceptance of their freedom. Every new degree of freedom is always shocking.
Just like every dip into the swimming pool is always shocking. I guess you
can try to go in slowly -- but I think that only increases the agony
(brrrrrr. . . ). You just have to jump in.

*
*
==========================================================
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