[OSList] Control, Perceived Control, and the Loss Thereof

Harrison Owen hhowen at verizon.net
Sun Sep 11 16:40:30 PDT 2011


Suzanne - the compassion you feel  is deeply shared, by me and I suspect all
others. It is not, however, just The Leaders in the uncomfortable, silent
position. We all are. And we are all Leaders, each in our own way. We all
make hard decisions, with no clear right or wrong. We are all in a fog, and
hope to see a light. We are all accountable for our decisions even if, and
most especially if, we didn't have a clue what we were doing. Comes with the
territory. Occasionally we find a gift - an open space where we can share.
All of us are enriched. We can also open the space for ourselves and others
and the riches grow deeper.

 

Harrison  

 

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

 

189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)

Camden, Maine 20854

 

Phone 301-365-2093

(summer)  207-763-3261

 

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Suzanne Daigle
Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2011 6:19 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] Control, Perceived Control, and the Loss Thereof

 

Reading rapidly through this thread about loss or perceived loss of control
that senior leaders (and many others including me still) struggle with, I
feel compassion.

Having worked with many leaders, many very good folks, knowing the
expectations placed on them, roles they did not always ask for and knowing
that they are under the microscope, resented and admired depending on where
the wind blows, often isolated because people place them on a pedestal
whether consciously or not, I feel compassion.

The opportunities for them to engage as we do, as many others do, talking
out loud, going deep, exploring what self-organizing and shared leadership
means, etc, these are not as available to them in their everyday life as it
is to others. Society does not judge kindly when leaders speak from a place
of uncertainty, just being human.  They are quick to criticize while
spouting the opposite to all who will listen.

As I reflect on the rich conversations and the learning for me on this OS
list which has become a second home, I ask myself, who do they talk to,
these senior leaders, sharing doubts, asking questions, exploring how
leadership can be different. 

I didn't "get Open Space" right away.  It took me a while and actually, I
will be wrestling and rejoicing with all that it brings in my life for the
rest of my life. Plus the stakes for me were nowhere near what they are for
leaders today.

So without fixing, hand-holding or steering, I just think about how hard it
must be for leaders sometimes, knowing that it will appear hugely risky when
they decide to go ahead with Open Space and all that it invites. When they
do proceed,  I admire them much knowing the courage it took because everyone
is always watching and judging! True they are not perfect, some are power
hungry but I have also known many who are judged that way when in fact once
you got to know them beyond the title, the responsibilities and the persona,
they are like you and me and all of us. 

As I was reading between the lines what we expect of our leaders in this
shift to a different way of leading, it made me think of those folks, those
leaders that I worked with and for, people who had to shut down mills
because they were too old and we just couldn't justify the investments. It
affected people's lives and entire communities. They painfully carried the
weight of those decisions. 

So it makes me pause and reflect that whatever we say to them in describing
Open Space, how little or how much, tis not easy. Hopefully they, these
leaders, will feel our genuine intention that in the end that we all want
the same thing, organizations that are vibrant and successful albeit more
chaotic with less control. 

If Palestinians and Israelis could do it, with a little help from us, I'm
sure these senior leaders can be convinced to try their hand at this too!
It's in the way we present the case for action and on that, I am still
learning!

My humble thoughts,
Suzanne








On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 6:07 PM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

Keith wrote: "Loss (or perceived loss?) of control is also something that
some senior leaders struggle with."

 

True - and not only in Open Space. It may be my own perversity, but I find
this to be a very useful struggle which may bring these folks to a deeper
understanding of themselves, the organizations they serve, and the world in
which we live. The actual truth of the matter (and for sure my personal
experience) is that control of the sort they are afraid of losing never was
theirs to begin with. Agonizing over  something the doesn't exist is not
only a little silly, it also bespeaks of something approaching delusion, if
not delusion itself. The pain of their agonizing is to be regretted, but it
is a self inflicted wound, and unfortunately its impact is not limited to
the nervous executive(s). It can (and often does) effect the entire
organization in adverse and sometimes lethal ways. Space closes, innovation
withers, agility get clunky - and organizational health shows critical signs
of decline in terms of loss of productivity, efficiency, effectiveness - to
say nothing of employee morale and self-respect. Not a pretty picture.

 

Given all of the above, I find that a little struggle is not only good for
the soul but may also have a positive impact on the bottom line. Under the
best of circumstances the nervous executive will discover Open Space to be a
personally liberating experience. He/she will discover that good and
powerful things can and do happen without benefit of his personal
supervision. He/she will be amazed at the competence and quality of fellow
workers, all of whom were presumed to possess limited understanding and
intelligence. I remember one older, very senior executive who characterized
himself as an "unreconstructed control freak," standing in the corner while
500 of "his" folks literally saved the company. He had a quizzical smile on
his face and repeated, almost as a mantra. "Amazing. And they don't even
seem to know that I am here."

 

Of course, there are those who will hang on until death. But even under
those circumstances it usually turns out the Open Space worked just fine,
even amazingly so - but what happened afterwards was a different story. In
one situation, the 300 employees worked well and hard producing some 8
million dollars addition to the bottom line through new products and a
series of cost savings. Job well done. But come Monday Morning, the CEO went
back to his old ways of micromanagement. For the first several months, folks
tried to help him understand, but six months along it became clear that his
understanding and capacity for learning was minimal. In the 7th month, The
Board fired the CEO. The decision was a no-brainer. The CEO's continued
presence was going to cost some 8 million. Out!

 

There is no question in my mind that there are massive good works to be done
coaching executives through their addiction to control. And it really is an
addiction, I think, and should be treated as such. Those in the "Addiction
Business" will tell you that, of the many barriers and difficulties to be
faced and overcome - The Enabler is a major obstacle to health. Enablers are
typically good hearted souls who in the name of sympathy, empathy and
compassion do little things, and large, to effectively shield the addict
from a direct confrontation with his/her addiction. I more than suspect that
when we seek to shield an executive from the possibility of losing control
in Open Space, we are doing something of the same sort, and for sure we are
not doing anybody a favor. Should our efforts take the form of assuring
people that "certain" items/issues will be kept carefully under protective
cover (read "control"), that constitutes promises we can't keep. If the
items/issues are truly important to somebody (other than the nervous
executive) - they will be present, one way or another. If not in a "session"
then for sure in some back hall conversations where it is most likely that
they will fester and grow. 

 

Pre-work, as Lisa Heft is wont to tell us, is important. But I find that (at
least in the case of executive fears) it can be pretty straight forward. I
simply describe what Open Space is and the kinds of results I have
witnessed, making little reference to how it works - unless asked. In most
cases we proceed directly to operational concerns: Theme, location, dates,
etc. But in the event that the conversation moves to issues of control and
the perceived lack of same, I tend to call for a time out, suggesting that
maybe they need some more time to think about their needs and the
appropriateness of Open Space. If I don't think they have heard me, I put it
a little stronger. I suggest that they think about any other way to achieve
their ends. And should they run out of options, call me back. I run about
50/50 on the call backs. But when they call they are ready to go. So am I. 

 

Harrison

 

 

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

 

189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)

Camden, Maine 20854

 

Phone 301-365-2093

(summer)  207-763-3261

 

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST
Go to:
<http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org>
http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org

 


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-- 
Suzanne Daigle
NuFocus Strategic Group
7159 Victoria Circle
University Park, FL 34201
FL 941-359-8877;  
CT 203-722-2009
www.nufocusgroup.com
s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
twitter @suzannedaigle

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