[OSList] OSList Digest, Vol 48, Issue 1

Dirk Velten via OSList oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Sat Apr 11 13:05:12 PDT 2015


Greetings,

I will be incommunicado for the next week I (well, more incommunicado than usual) and plan to be back in action as of Monday April 20th.  

Cheers,
Dirk

On Apr 11, 2015, at 3:05 PM, via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
> 
>   1. Re: Grief, Griefwork and Renewal -- The core of our work, I
>      think (Daniel Mezick via OSList)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2015 06:54:08 -0400
> From: Daniel Mezick via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> To: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
> Subject: Re: [OSList] Grief, Griefwork and Renewal -- The core of our
> 	work, I think
> Message-ID: <5528FD50.3040905 at newtechusa.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"; Format="flowed"
> 
> Hi All, Hi Harrison,
> 
> I continue to watch this thread carefully since it first appeared. 
> (Thank you for it Harrison...)
> 
> 
> And I am noticing this thread is not really catching fire...yet.
> 
> 
> I first ran into the org-level griefwork concept in the SPIRIT book.
> 
> Since then I've been paying close attention to how grief might actually 
> be playing out in process-change initiatives in my own work "coaching" 
> Agile in organizations.
> 
> And after doing this for more than a few years, I conclude that yes, 
> indeed, the grief cycle is often behind (or underneath) what is going on.
> 
> And the reality is that this org-grief concept is what informed the 
> early stages of the design of Open Agile Adoption (OAA,) a method to get 
> a rapid & lasting Agile adoption.
> 
> Ditto for Prime/OS, a method for gently introducing any kind 
> process-change into any kind organization.
> 
> 
> 
> Now the reality is that, in my experience, typical executives in typical 
> orgs are not ready to talk to about PLAY. So I have to use the word 
> "experimentation" instead.
> 
> And they are not ready for the concept of "self organization" so I have 
> to use "high performance" instead.
> 
> Given this reality, it's unlikely these execs- the folks who write the 
> checks- are ready, willing and able to discuss grief and griefwork. (I 
> tried it once and it didn't take.)
> 
> All of that said, the design of OAA with before/after Open Space and 100 
> days in between is greatly informed by the griefwork content found in 
> the SPIRIT book. I teach a module on grief in the OAA class and mention 
> it a little bit in the forthcoming book, but  do not go too far with it 
> because, well, you know.
> 
> But with OAA practitioners and teachers I do give the subject good 
> treatment and tell the more complete story of how OAA is designed to 
> deal in org-level grief of the development & evolution of organizations. 
> As a result I am always sending them to that "cult classic", the SPIRIT 
> book (!)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now this quote in Harrison's (and Peggy's) story about USWEST really hit me:
> 
> /"...Shortly told, the situation was that a corporate wide redesign 
> (Process Re-Engineering) *had failed massively *leaving anger, 
> frustration and confusion in its wake.//"/
> 
> Now as everyone knows I continuously rant on the futility of mandating 
> "process-change" and "new practices" like Agile, without gaining the 
> consent of the people affected by the change.
> 
> I rant on and on about the way Agile adoptions are typically arranged 
> from the top, in authority terms, and how the teams that do the work are 
> assumed to be perfectly happy about this, and in fact love the new way 
> of working.
> 
> And how that is rarely (if ever) the case, and how that 
> under-the-surface resistance (and even resentment) can and will just 
> TORPEDO the best of intentions with respect to getting a rapid and 
> lasting adoption.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And so it was (and is) with some interest that I noted this report about 
> "process re-engineering" in the USWEST story.
> I'm guessing the "re-engineering" was issued from "on-high."
> 
> I'm also guessing that the people who were affected (that woudl be just 
> about everyone,) were probably not consulted first.
> 
> Probably not asked to express what they wanted, what they thought or 
> what they felt about it.
> 
> In other words, I'm guessing that "process re-engineering" at USWEST was 
> implemented as a mandate, not an invitation.
> 
> And that, for most participants, the experience was very triggering.
> 
> And cause for more than a little grief.
> 
> Kind of like the typical Agile adoption in the typical large corporation 
> today?
> 
> 
> Lately I've been fond of saying:
> 
>  * Most change creates grief.
>  * Most learning is change.
>  * Therefore, most learning creates grief.
> 
> 
> Now, this may or may not be true. Either way- we know grief needs and 
> wants to be processed.
> 
> This seems to be especially true for organizations, and the USWEST story 
> seems to bear this out.
> 
> Unless I am totally wrong, and USWEST actually started in Open Space, 
> and set aside about 100 days to try it out the "process re-engineering" 
> stuff for a while, and then did another Open Space after that?
> 
> 
> And so: thanks again for this essay, Harrison. I am enjoying it.
> 
> 
> Daniel
> 
> 
> 
> PS
> I notice that in the book REALITY IS BROKEN by Jane McGonigal, she lists 
> various "happiness hacks" and one of them is: "reflect on your own 
> passing, for 5 minutes a day." She claims that doing so tends to 
> increase human happiness. Funny how that works...
> 
> 
> 
> Related links:
> www.OpenAgileAdoption.com
> www.Prime-OS.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 3/27/15 1:00 PM, Harrison via OSList wrote:
> 
> Grief and Griefwork are central to the human experience and evolution. 
> To the extent that Open Space is a useful forum in which human 
> experience and evolution may take place, both grief and Griefwork are 
> critical elements. The process itself cannot be rushed. It will 
> proceed at its own pace through the several phases, none of which can 
> be skipped or short changed, for each phase contributes an essential 
> element towards the final goal, which is renewal. No doubt grief is 
> painful, and the process itself is, as the name implies, real work, 
> but it is good work. In totality, and contrary to the popular 
> perception, it is not sad. Indeed it is triumphal, even joyful, 
> creating the way for letting go of what has ended, and leading to new 
> life. Not bad for a day?s work!
> 
> The ground breaking work describing the Griefwork Process was done by 
> Elizabeth K?bler-Ross in her 1969 book, ?On Death and Dying.? It was 
> mind blowing. In one fell swoop she gave meaning to one of life?s most 
> painful experiences: Grief. Yes it was, and is, a pain, but pain with 
> genuine gain. From the terrible moments of ending, something innate 
> draws us forward. From Shock and Anger, through Denial on to letting 
> go and resolution. We move on. We don?t have to invent it, even think 
> it. Happens all by itself, every time, and all the time ? if we just 
> let it. And that is a critical point... we have to let it happen. We 
> can slow it, even abort it, but doing so leaves us in a life of grief 
> with no resolution.
> 
> K?bler-Ross?s focus was on the individual response to Death. My focus 
> has always been on the larger agglomeration of individuals which we 
> call organizations, what they are and how they develop and transform. 
> And the more I thought about it, and lived deeply in the heart of many 
> organizations, it occurred to me that Griefwork was very much present 
> and critical. At points of ending, all sorts of endings, the process 
> would start, sometimes with the whole organization involved. 
> Shock/Anger, Denial, Memories, Despair, Open Space, Vision ? those 
> were my descriptors, and yes, Open Space had nothing to do with 
> meetings. For me it was that incredible balance point between what was 
> and what would become. I?ll spare you the details, but if you are 
> interested it is all there in my first book, ?Spirit: Transformation 
> and Development,? which is yours for a mouse click at 
> http://openspaceworld.com/Spirit.pdf
> 
> Open Space Technology was a late comer in all of this, definitely a 
> funny thing on the way to the future ? until it began to dawn on me 
> that everything I had experienced and described under the heading of 
> Griefwork in Organizations showed up in that ?funny thing.? Which is 
> why I ended up calling it /Open Space/. ?Technology? was merely an 
> afterthought, and mostly a joke.
> 
> When an organization is in deep pain caused by market shifts, 
> corporate raiders, internal conflict, international disorder ? 
> whatever ? The process of Griefwork kicks in. The initial response is 
> shock and Anger, blame and confusion. ?They did it!? ?How could it 
> happen to us?? Old ways end. New ways are much less than obvious. And 
> the process rolls on! Should such an organization find itself sitting 
> in a circle, creating a bulletin board... if would be fair to say that 
> the Griefwork Process is the script of the emerging drama. Unwritten, 
> unplanned, maybe unknown ? but very much there, if you just take a 
> moment to see. And if you have never been in such a situation, you can 
> in fact see it in a remarkable video of USWEST, thanks to Peggy 
> Holman. http://vimeo.com/25251316
> 
> Shortly told, the situation was that a corporate wide redesign 
> (Process Re-Engineering) had failed massively leaving anger, 
> frustration and confusion in its wake. In one part of the USWEST 
> world, The State of Arizona, it had all gone critical. Somehow, Peggy 
> Holman and her colleagues managed to bring in Open Space, which is 
> marvelously depicted by the video. When asked to describe the course 
> of events over the three day gathering, one participant said (in 
> reference to the second day), ?Today I think we are searching for 
> solutions for what we were bitching about yesterday.? There it is. The 
> passage from shock and anger onto vision and renewal. But don?t just 
> listen to the words. The ?body language? is even more compelling. In 
> the opening circle you will see a phalanx of angry faces, arms folded, 
> jaws set. Skip to the end and it is practically a love in. And no, we 
> did not script it!
> 
> Knowing that Griefwork is central to the fabric and flow of an Open 
> Space is interesting. But becoming familiar with the essential 
> elements of Griefwork and their contribution to the process of healing 
> and renewal can provide a powerful point of insight for anyone who has 
> undertaken the role of facilitator. It is not  so much about guiding, 
> or somehow directing, the process, which simply can?t be done. It is 
> about deepening our awareness of what is actually taking place. At the 
> very least this awareness will provide some comfort and orientation in 
> an otherwise confusing situation for the facilitator.
> 
> Should it occur, as it often does, that the first day is filled with 
> acrimony, blame, and anger... all mixed with an apparent unwillingness 
> to face the facts of ending, this is not something that can or should 
> be ?fixed.?  It is simply the age old process of Grief doing its work. 
> The natural tendency to attempt soothing the rough waters, and bring 
> about some ?rational? future oriented discussion will do no good at 
> all, and in fact is counter-productive. The likely result is that the 
> process will be aborted and driven underground. A superficial ?peace? 
> may be restored, but genuine healing and renewal are denied.
> 
> Comforting a fevered facilitator is the least of the gifts that 
> knowledge of the Griefwork process confers. More important are the 
> clues and cues such knowledge provides to the facilitator, guidance on 
> the most effective ways to hold the space. When shock and anger are 
> rampant, the critical role is to keep the space wide open. This means 
> serious Presence and Invisibility, and if that seems to be too hard an 
> assignment, I suggest the ?Chair Exercise.? Find a good solid chair, 
> place it in an out of the way corner, but with a view of the action. 
> Sit in the chair, and hold onto the seat with both hands ? HARD. 
> Whenever you are tempted to jump in and solve the situation, go ahead 
> but keep holding onto the chair. You will feel pretty ridiculous, but 
> the lesson will be immediate. Sit Down!
> 
> As the Work of Grief moves along, new opportunities for the 
> facilitator will appear. This is not the time or place to list them 
> all, and my best effort will be found in the second half of my last 
> book, ?Wave Rider,? called the ?Wave Rider?s Guide to the Future.? 
> http://www.amazon.com/Wave-Rider-Leadership-Performance-Self-Organizing/dp/1576756173/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427472738&sr=1-3&keywords=harrison+owen 
> I am under no illusion that my efforts represent the ?Last Word,? 
> indeed I sincerely hope that they will constitute an invitation to 
> each and every one of you to explore and share your experience and 
> findings.
> 
> I am quite sure, however, that Griefwork is not a process we can 
> design, program, or direct. It will happen as it always has ? on its 
> own timetable. But we can help. Of more immediate concern is the fact 
> that we will have massive opportunities for exploration and 
> assistance. Any fair reading of our current world order (is that an 
> oxymoron?) tells us that there will be a lot of endings, most of them 
> painful, but all of them potential for new beginnings. We have a lot 
> of work to do.
> 
> Harrison
> 
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> 
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> 
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> 
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> 
> Websites
> 
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> 
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> -- 
> 
> Daniel Mezick, President
> 
> New Technology Solutions Inc.
> 
> (203) 915 7248 (cell)
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