[OSList] Dealing with conflicts

Tue Jul 24 17:49:51 PDT 2012

Thanks for bringing in Krishnamurti, Brendan!

We are just fine with the naked truth here - it's a mild 103 degrees Farenheit today in the Arizona desert.

Warm wishes from the hot place,
Christine

Christine Whitney Sanchez, Partner
Innovation Partners International
Phoenix, AZ, USA ~ 480.759.0262
www.innovateipi.com 
Skype: christinewhitneysanchez
Twitter: CWhitneySanchez=

On Jul 24, 2012, at 5:43 PM, Brendan McKeague wrote:

Great stories Peggy and Christine - of creating space for all that is and everyone who is part of it to show up...the naked truth (and it's a bit chilly here in west Australia for that this morning!)

Reminds me of the need to be clear about intention - ah, the pre-work again - those energizing conversations between sponsors and space holders. 

I'm not clear from Marie Ann's intro if there is an agenda around 'bringing down their emotions to a manageable level' ... In my experience, folks often hold onto destructive conflicts precisely because their emotions have been controlled and managed to some sort of socially acceptable norms...

As Krishnamurti says it is no measure of your health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

My thoughts from the other side of the planet Marie Ann would be to keep the conversation going with the sponsor until they are clear about what space they wish to create ....and enjoy the learning that emerges.

It's all happened before, and will do once more...tho differently!

Cheers
Brendan

Brendan McKeague
+61 429448090

On 25/07/2012, at 7:11 AM, Christine Whitney Sanchez <cwhitneysanchez at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Marie Ann,
> 
> Great story, Peggy!  
> 
> Four years ago, I worked with the Learning and Development division of a multinational corporation, which wanted to unify L&D across what had once been 8 separate, competing companies, which had been acquired and merged into one enterprise.  As you can imagine, each of the 8 groups had separate cultures, lexicons, practices, beliefs and each felt threatened by the others.  
> 
> I worked with a small design team of 4 L&D folks, two of whom were immediately onboard and two of whom were respectfully skeptical.  Due to the high level of conflict in the system, they chose to use what I call Methods for Strategic Collaboration, which uses the 5 phases of Appreciative Inquiry as the change map and blends AI, World Cafe and Open Space as the primary containers for conversation. 
> Define:  The topic for the inquiry was One L&D
> Discover:  They used system-wide Appreciative Interviews before the 3 day event and during opening night to identify strengths and their positive core that they would be building on.  By the end of that first night, there was a palpably different energy in the room - emotions were calmed and many were feeling a sense of possibility
> Dream:  On day two they had a panel in the morning along with a World Cafe to develop dreams of their future.  By the end of the morning, folks were tremendously engaged and excited about the visions posted around the room.
> Design:  I opened the space in the afternoon to focus on designing the systems and practices that would bring their dreams to life.  As you can imagine, Open Space created the biggest shift - people caught fire and were self-organizing across former boundaries.
> Destiny:  After reading the Book of Proceedings at breakfast on day three, we opened the space again for next steps planning.  The outputs and action commitments made the whole thing real.  They were working together as one enterprise and they were thrilled.
> 
> In the closing circle, the most skeptical design team member said, "We haven't just unified L&D, we've become a tribe!"
> 
> Thanks for reminding me of that story, Marie Ann.  Warm wishes to you and the community you are serving.
> 
> Christine
> 
> Christine Whitney Sanchez, Partner
> Innovation Partners International
> Phoenix, AZ, USA ~ 480.759.0262
> www.innovateipi.com 
> Skype: christinewhitneysanchez
> Twitter: CWhitneySanchez
> 
> <clip_image002.png><clip_image004.png>
> 
> On Jul 24, 2012, at 3:30 PM, Peggy Holman wrote:
> 
> Hi Marie Ann,
> 
> I once did an Open Space in which the conflicted parties were all getting their positions solidified moments before the Open Space began.  Quite literally -- one group was in the room when we arrived to set up.  
> 
> This was a meeting with four Northwest Native American tribes and the U.S.  government's National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.  They share responsibility for the marine fisheries off the northwest coast of the U.S.  They had a two year conflict and finally called a meeting to deal with it.  A colleague of mine, who was hired by the tribes to facilitate the meeting contacted me.  I suggested we do an Open Space.  We did.  When the second round of sessions happened, an agreement was reached, resolving the issue.
> 
> The story is somewhere in Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity -- www.engagingemergence.com.
> 
> Peggy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _________________________________
> Peggy Holman
> peggy at peggyholman.com
> 
> 15347 SE 49th Place
> Bellevue, WA  98006
> 425-746-6274
> www.peggyholman.com
> www.journalismthatmatters.org
> 
> Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity
>  
> "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become 
> the fire".
>   -- Drew Dellinger
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Jul 24, 2012, at 1:35 PM, Marie Ann Östlund wrote:
> 
>> Dear all,
>> 
>> I just spent a week in a community in France that is divided by quite
>> a large conflict. Have anyone of you used OS with a group of people
>> where the conflict is at its hight and emotions are still strong? I
>> can see that OS can be used in complex conflictual situations, but
>> wonder whether you would first spend time bringing down their emotions
>> to a 'manageable' level before attempting to bring them together into
>> an OS.
>> 
>> Do you have any experiences in this regard? I'd be very interested in
>> your reflections!
>> 
>> Thank you,
>> 
>> Marie Ann
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