[OSList] embracing paradox as a leadership competency

Tue Mar 15 21:26:04 PDT 2016

...and issues and opportunities.

--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
312-280-7838 (mobile)

http://MichaelHerman.com
http://OpenSpaceWorld.org

On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 10:10 AM, Birgitt Williams <
birgitt at dalarinternational.com> wrote:

> Thanks Suzanne…this brings to mind another paradox that is important to me
> and from which I have carried out many years of my experimenting and
> research. ‘The good news is that OST always works. The bad news is that OST
> always works.’
>
>
>
> Warmly,
>
> Birgitt
>
>
>
> *From:* Suzanne Daigle [mailto:sdaigle4 at gmail.com]
> *Sent:* Monday, March 14, 2016 8:18 PM
> *To:* Birgitt Williams; World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Cc:* Michael Herman; Tony Budak
>
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] embracing paradox as a leadership competency
>
>
>
> Dear Birgitt,
> You captured in such a beautiful way what I savor about open space and
> life. A journey of continuing exploration that is as you've described it.
> Thank you!!
> Suzanne
>
> On Mar 14, 2016 9:58 AM, "Birgitt Williams via OSList" <
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
> Thanks Michael, Tony, Daniel, Skye, and Marie,
>
> Great contributions. Thank you. I appreciated the images of oscillating,
> of pulsing and of breathing in describing embracing paradox. I felt that
> oscillating and pulsing reflect my experience of sequential handling of
> paradoxical concepts, experiences etc with the oscillation increasing in
> frequency until it is no longer apparent. Michael…thank you for reminding
> us of the breath, one of the essential components that as facilitators we
> draw attention to in an OST meeting. There is the in-breath, the
> out-breath, and the relax or stillpoint or fulcrum point between the two
> actions that reflects that state of being in between two opposite actions.
> I feel it is worthy and also can be great fun as facilitators to explore
> what I think of as paradox and the competency to be in that stillpoint and
> what Michael refers to as mutuality and Harrison refers to as open space,
> seeming variations of the same concept.
>
>
>
> Some of the paradoxes of working with OST that come to mind for me in my
> current moment of contemplation about the importance of facilitators of OST
> growing their leadership competence with paradox:
>
>
>
>
>
> ~the experience of being in an OST meeting and the experience post-OST
> meeting in the organization especially in organizations mandated with lots
> of regulatory mechanisms
>
> ~the experience of the facilitator as highly controlling during the
> opening to facilitate the opening of space for important conversations
> immediately followed by being extremely detached while people self lead and
> self manage
>
> ~being fully present and fully invisible simultaneously
>
>
>
> With appreciation for the wisdom showing up,
>
> Birgitt
>
>
>
> *From:* OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf
> Of *Michael Herman via OSList
> *Sent:* Sunday, March 13, 2016 1:22 PM
> *To:* Tony Budak; World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] embracing paradox as a leadership competency
>
>
>
> thanks for starting this, birgitt.
>
>
>
> first, because i know words matter to you, i want to suggest an
> alternative to "paradox," which is about apparently conflicting statements
> or ideas.  i would broaden it to distinct or even opposing experiences,
> ways of being.  i want to offer the word "mutuality" which describes what
> we can practice in these moments of apparent conflict.  and the beginning
> of this practice is pulsation, which i think is this sequencing you
> describe.
>
>
>
> we talk a lot about circle in this community, and marketplace and bulletin
> board.  harrison's fourth mechanism, breathing, or what i often generalize
> to pulsation, or in agile circles, to iteration gets little attention, but
> is no less important.
>
>
>
> i learned the practice of "mutuality" sitting with a partner, pulsing
> awareness between noticing all of the sensations that let me know that i AM
> and being aware that the person sitting in front of me also IS.  we
> practiced pulsing back and forth, noticing self and other, until it became
> normal to be aware of both as distinct AND as one, simultaneously,
> paradoxically.  in this way, i came to understand mutuality as a way of
> being with someone, or some group, or otherwise holding-without-collapsing
> apparently opposite experiences or positions.
>
>
>
> i think this sense of mutuality, of being separate and one,
> simultaneously, is what we are inviting everyone to practice when we
> facilitate open space meetings.  for me, the four principles (nobody's in
> charge) and law of two feet (you can go wherever you need to) are held
> mutually.  learning and contributing -- how often and quickly groups learn
> that bringing a question for their own learning ends up being
> simultaneously a contribution to the whole group -- leading by following, i
> think.  inside and outside.  sellers and customers.  individual and
> community.  plenary and breakouts -- these happen in apparent pulsation,
> and then how often is it that everyone discovers that while in so many
> breakouts and side conversations, they've all been talking about the same
> issues?  one and many, simultaneously.  in so many ways we invite people to
> pulse awareness between distinct or even opposing points, while holding
> both as real.
>
>
>
> i've heard a tibetan description of this as the experience/practice of
> taking in the vastness of the starry sky at night and still being able to
> hear the dog barking at the bottom of hill.  i've also heard the tibetan
> sense of "mutuality" translated as "equalizing and exchanging self and
> others."  both of these images fit my experience of opening space and ost.
>
>
>
> and when we practice in this way, the result is the spontaneous arising of
> the compassion, love, freedom, and joy.  that is, the wish for others to
> not suffer, for things to go well for them, self-direction and
> -organization, and a gratitude and delight in what is.  now substitute
> problem solving for not suffering, achievement for things going well,
> empowerment and thank you, and it sounds a lot like open space, again.
>
>
>
> the law of two feet tosses OS participants into a pulsation between what's
> happening in the room and what's happening in their own bodies and minds.
>  this can be in conflict, or paradoxical, but it's always simultaneous.  we
> ask them to maximize learning and contribution, taking in and giving into.
>  in every single moment, as often as each one of them can manage to notice
> it, they have a choice between staying and going.
>
>
>
> i believe this is the core of what we do as leaders and facilitators and
> what our practice naturally and automatically, implicitly, invites
> participants into.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Michael Herman
> Michael Herman Associates
>
> 312-280-7838 (mobile)
>
>
>
> http://MichaelHerman.com
> http://OpenSpaceWorld.org
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 12, 2016 at 7:34 PM, Tony Budak via OSList <
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
> Here is an extract from "Is leadership only for heroes?",  by Zoe van
> Zwanenberg
> <http://timebankswork.net/tiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=10>
>
> "The work of leadership
> In our drive to provide simple answers with clear deliverable outcomes for
> complex problems we have latched on to the notion that strong, effective
> leaders are what will make the difference.
>
> Current belief is that the work of leadership is to define not just what
> needs to be done but how it will be done and by whom in a defined linear
> format. In this model the work of leadership is to be all knowing and to
> take the blame when things do not work out in accordance with the master
> plan.
>
> The certainty that this type of leadership provides should then enable us
> to see our way out of the complex mix of dilemmas and relationships that
> face us. This seems to presume a straight line of cause and effect and also
> a simplicity of relationships between problems and solutions that our
> everyday experience of the world would deny.
>
> It is also based on a very simple and value laden model of leadership –
> that of the leader/hero who provides direction, goals, standards and
> behaviors that all can follow.
>
> If the work of leadership is to provide answers, then we are resigning
> ourselves to being a dependent community of followers yet reserving the
> right to sacrifice the leader when the answers do not address the real
> problem or prove unacceptable."
>
> Click here for the short article
> <http://timebankswork.net/tiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=10>
>
>
>
> On 3/10/2016 9:21 AM, Birgitt Williams via OSList wrote:
>
> Dear Friends and Colleagues,
>
> Facilitators, change agents, consultants, coaches, moderators and
> trainers, in my experience, struggle with their role and power as leaders.
> Years ago, I learned a lot from the late Angeles Arrien about the power of
> leadership: the power of position, the power of influence, the power of
> communication. In our roles especially as outsiders to an organization and
> to the lives of the people involved, we have all three of these powers. I
> have been active in my pursuit of understanding leadership since I was
> fifteen and catapulted into leadership positions that I may or may not have
> been ready for, despite what the adults around me might have believed.
>
> In recent years, one of the leadership competencies that has grown and
> expanded in me is the ability to embrace paradox, to simultaneously hold
> two seemingly opposing views or emotions, with both being valid for me. For
> example, I can recognize in myself to be in extreme gratitude for something
> simultaneous to feeling extreme anger…containing both emotions
> simultaneously, not sequentially. I have come to understand how important
> this is as a leadership competency, and I write about it on this list as I
> feel it is a most valuable competency for facilitators of OST. I remember
> way back when Harrison teaching about OST assisting the people in a system
> working with both chaos and order. I was fascinated by this topic. And yet,
> today, I admit that as I learned about chaos and order, I seemed to have an
> internal picture of one, then the other, then the other, kind of like a
> teeter totter with possibly some kind of balance point at the fulcrum. As I
> expanded my capacity to handle paradox, I was able to genuinely grasp chaos
> and order both existing simultaneously.
>
>
>
> In understanding and working with OST, I think it is important to embrace
> paradox and to expand our personal capacity to handle paradox in even very
> stress filled situations. For example, a paradox that we end up contending
> with is that everything is open space, and Open Space Technology is a tool.
> What is the benefit of grasping this paradox, you might ask? If I approach
> OST as a tool from the simultaneous perspective of ‘everything is open
> space’, I am going to influence different outcomes than if I approach
> working with OST only as a tool.
>
>
>
> I wrote about embracing paradox recently, so you can see I am feeling deep
> interest in this topic at the moment
> http://www.dalarinternational.com/the-power-of-limits. What are your
> thoughts about ourselves as leaders? What are your thoughts about the
> importance of expanding personal leadership competency with embracing
> paradox? Or maybe, in working with OST you are currently developing other
> leadership competencies? I am interested to see if anyone has interest in
> showing up to this topic.
>
>
>
> With blessings,
>
> Birgitt
>
>
>
> Birgitt Williams
>
>
>
> President & Senior Consultant of Dalar International Consultancy, Inc.
>
> http://www.dalarinternational.com
>
> Co-founder of the Extraordinary Leadership Network
> http://www.extraordinaryleadershipnetwork.com
>
> Co-founder of the Genuine Contact™program and author of The Genuine
> Contact Way: Nourishing a Culture of Leadership
> http://www.genuinecontactway.com
>
> Co-owner of the Genuine Contact Co-owners Group Ltd.
> http://www.genuinecontact.net
>
>
>
> *Supporting leadership development for leading in a culture requiring
> agility and flexibility in a performance environment of constant change.*
>
>
>
> Leadership development at your own pace? Become a member of the
> Extraordinary Leadership Network
> http://www.extraordinaryleadershipnetwork.com to participate in an online
> leadership development program designed to increase your leadership skills
> and capacity.
>
>
>
> PO Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619
>
> phone: 1-919-522-7750
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> OSList mailing list
>
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
> Past archives can be viewed here: http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org
>
>
>
> --
> *Regards,*
>
>
> *Tony Budak <http://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybudak> <http://tbmw.org/>*
> *Time Bank Mahoning Watershed <http://tbmw.org/> **mobile:* 330-716-2722
> *|* *Skype:* tony.budak1*Facebook TBMW
> <https://www.facebook.com/groups/TimeBankMahoningValley/>  |  Twitter
> <https://twitter.com/TimeBankMW> *
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
> Past archives can be viewed here:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2015.0.6189 / Virus Database: 4540/11769 - Release Date: 03/07/16
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
> Past archives can be viewed here:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org
> ------------------------------
>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2015.0.6189 / Virus Database: 4540/11769 - Release Date: 03/07/16
> Internal Virus Database is out of date.
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20160315/0f5f5325/attachment-0002.htm>