[OSList] Safety

Wed Sep 21 16:21:08 PDT 2016

Harrison

.....and I suspect the *genuine invitation* to be yourself, follow your
passion, take responsibility.....coupled with a *genuinely psychologically
safe place* for it to happen....adds significantly to all the amazing
things that follow. As you know even the invitation versus "you must show
up" creates autonomy, choice and safety.

Thoughts along the way....Safety matters.

David

*David R. Osborne*
Organization and Leadership Development

6402 Arlington Blvd., Suite 1120, Falls Church, VA 22042
703-939-1777   |   dosborne at change-fusion.com <cbellido at change-fusion.com>
  |   change-fusion.com

On Wed, Sep 21, 2016 at 5:15 PM, Harrison Owen via OSList <
oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> Harold – having  worked with a number of wonderful people all over the
> world who were not in anything that anybody might consider a “safe space”
> (people kept dying/killed) – the promise of safety would be a little off
> the wall. The only promise was … Be yourselves, follow your passion and
> take responsibility. Amazing things can happen. And they did and do!
>
>
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> *From:* OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf
> Of *Harold Shinsato via OSList
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 21, 2016 4:41 PM
> *To:* oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] Safety
>
>
>
> Wow - thank you Peggy and Birgitt - very valuable.
>
> I'm curious about two things. What is the difference between focus on
> welcoming, and a focus on safety - and how can the sponsor help make the
> space welcoming?
>
> The second - the reason safety has become much more important to me is the
> story of the Aluminum Company of America as told in the book "The Power of
> Habit", the company was turned around by making safety the priority. The
> CEO said, "If you want to understand how Alcoa is doing, you need to look
> at our workplace safety figures." He was saying that profits were less an
> indication of the health and future prospects of the company than safety.
> And as a result, the end result was much more profits as well as growth.
>
> One of the pioneers of Agile Software development, Joshua Kerievsky, made
> this one of the four pillars of "Modern Agile". You can look that up, but
> part of what it says is "Make Safety a Prerequisite: Safety is both a basic
> human need and a key to unlocking high performance. We actively make safety
> a prerequisite by establishing safety before engaging in any hazardous
> work."
>
> I notice some of the prior OSList posts about safety was that Open Space
> helped grow safety. But it's probably not helpful to "make safety a
> prerequisite" before convening an open space event. But perhaps that's
> really just a given. An unstated prerequisite of any welcoming invitation.
> Will you help me resolve my discomfort around letting this question go?
>
>     Thanks!
>     Harold
>
> On 9/21/16 11:40 AM, Birgitt Williams via OSList wrote:
>
> Hi Harold,
>
> I believe that the greatest issues about safety come about when a
> facilitator attempts to reassure people that 'this is safe space'. We can
> never know if the space for conversations is actually safe, despite the
> safeguards built in by the four principles and the one law of OST. Those
> who choose to enact their leadership into the unknown, taking risks, being
> vulnerable, will do so....maybe now, maybe at a subsequent meeting. Those
> who for whatever reason need to hold back will do so.
>
>
>
> Even to assure people that they have some responsibility for safety in
> themselves assumes too much. People take risks, they may know or not know
> the consequences that might come about, the collateral damage that might
> ensue. People cannot be responsible for even personal safety as it is not
> within their control.
>
>
>
> And so I agree with what Peggy has offered as an alternative. The concept
> of welcoming space. This takes me to my concept that the facilitator
> doesn't open the welcoming space for the meeting....it must be the sponsor
> who does so.
>
>
>
> Great question Harold!
>
> Birgitt
>
> On Wed, Sep 21, 2016 at 2:32 PM Peggy Holman via OSList <
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
> Great question Harold! I always wince when people say the space needs to
> be safe. If you make space so safe that it leaves the opportunity for
> messiness out, nothing happens. Sometimes I’ve said "safe enough”.
> Ultimately, as you said, a sense of safety comes from within.
>
>
>
> Rather than safety, I have come to focus on welcoming space. (With a nod
> to Juanita Brown, who helped me to understand the value of welcoming.) A
> spirit of welcome creates conditions for who and what shows up. And if you
> start cultivating a culture of welcome, then there’s room for all voices —
> and those who come discover they belong.
>
>
>
> Peggy
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _________________________________
>
> Peggy Holman
> Executive Director
> Journalism that Matters
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> www.peggyholman.com
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> Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into
> Opportunity <http://www.engagingemergence.com>
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>
> On Sep 21, 2016, at 11:16 AM, Harold Shinsato via OSList <
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
>
>
> Dear People(s) of Open Space,
>
> What is the importance of safety? What, if any, work is needed in the
> "pre-work" to help ensure safety?
>
> It seems that safety is doomed if the "givens" are that the people in the
> organization must either be silent or agree with the "powers that be" on
> everything.
>
> I'm seeing two aspects to this. At one level, systemic oppression (such as
> explicitly killing, imprisoning, or otherwise effectively punishing
> dissent) clearly would shut down any opening in an open space.
>
> And at another level, safety is something we can be responsible in
> ourselves. With enough passion and courage, we can take responsibility for
> own safety. And also, it can be easy just to stay silent, or not to look
> beyond the smallness of our comfort zone because of the lenses we look
> through. And then we won't even try something out of fear, when something
> powerful could have been a result of us taking a small step (or a small
> series of steps to the center of the circle).
>
> What do you all think about safety, and helping to encourage people to
> source their own safety, as well as working with the "powers that be" to
> help ensure some level of safety?
>
>     Thanks!
>     Harold
>
> P.S. I did find one interesting post about this in the archives from the
> late Father Brian Bainbridge. http://www.mail-archive.com/
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org/msg01333.html
>
> --
> Harold Shinsato
> harold at shinsato.com
> http://shinsato.com
> twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>
>
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> --
> Harold Shinsato
> harold at shinsato.com
> http://shinsato.com
> twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>
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