[OSList] OST encourages avoidance of conflict

Tue Jan 30 16:09:49 PST 2018

Mmmh, in my experience this is neither a question of format nor one of the law of the two feet. 

Let me develop on the latter first: The law of the two feet tells us to do what we can to best contribute from inside ourselves. In my eyes this completely embraces dealing with diversity, difference, different perspectives, disagreement, tension as well as open or covert conflict.

When it comes to the format, OST is building on our intrinsic motivation and passion. When we share a meaningful question that brings us together in OST and we are participating from deeply inside ourselves, then OST can actually be a highly conducive format to dealing with conflict. This being said, there are certainly other formats that can also be very powerful when it comes to dealing with conflict, such as Circle Way and others.

In my mind this question is more related to a social/societal judgement of conflict as being detrimental and a leaning for some to actively « avoid » conflict (conflict as a meme) . And if conflict could actually be healthy, depending on how we deal with it, when it manifests ? Catalytic, catharisic ? If it was inviting and mobilizing us to deal with tough questions and issues ? If it was energizing us to drive authenticity, openness, transparency and clarification ?
Chris

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> Le 31 janv. 2018 à 00:44, Chris Corrigan via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> a écrit :
> 
> The well known management guru is David Snowden and his principle criticism against OST is the same as it is for every other method. It is not a panacea for every problem. 
> 
> More specifically, Dave’s issue as I understand it, is that groups operate within constraints. There are times when those constraints need to be tightly bound in order for things to happen and other times when they need to be relaxed. 
> 
> In situations in which you are developing new things conflict and diversity are helpful. Sometimes it helps to have a process in which people of differing perspectives are engaged in a tight container together to make something better. Open Space does not always do this, so if you need a required level of diversity (and conflict doesn’t always mean a fight) then OST might not be the best way to do it. 
> 
> I agree with this. Sometimes you need a formal negotiation structure to reach a decision. Sometimes you need expert opinions engaged in a deliberated and structured and way to do due diligence. 
> 
> Dave has other concerns with Open Space that I think he’s wrong about (that it is a convergence process for example) and I’ve talked with him extensively about that. But anyone who think that Dave believes Open Space doesn’t have utility is also wrong. He believes that it’s useful for certain things in certain contexts and not in others. On that we all agree, I would think. 
> 
> Chris. 
> 
> _____________
> CHRIS CORRIGAN
> www.chriscorrigan.com <http://www.chriscorrigan.com/>
> 
> On Jan 30, 2018, at 2:24 PM, Harold Shinsato via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
> 
>> Daniel,
>> 
>> Interesting concern. I think I remember hearing this from a well respected management guru as a critique of Open Space. I can't help but wonder the following:
>> 
>> - How well do individual adults resolve conflicts when an authority figure forces them?
>> - How well do conflicting peoples or tribal communities resolve conflicts when they are forcibly held together by an imperial force (think Rome, USSR, pre-partition India, etc etc etc)
>> 
>> If you are dealing with children or developmentally challenged individuals - especially those who have violated others rights are are in prison - I can imagine there being some value to some level of compulsion or coercion here. But even there, it may temporarily resolve the fighting and damage, but not the children's growth.
>> 
>> If you are dealing with severe human rights being violated in tribal scenarios, I can see how that might justify gunboat diplomacy. But I can't imagine the tribal system will evolve to respect human rights without a huge additional investment from the gunboat diplomats. And it is all too likely that such interference may not only cause even bigger problems later on, but can also encourage exploitation of the less developed tribe/community.
>> 
>> Thanks for asking this question!
>> 
>>     Harold
>> 
>> 
>> On 1/30/18 2:07 PM, Daniel Mezick via OSList wrote:
>>> I am hearing this pointed criticism from some quarters: That OST actually encourages conflict-avoidance via the Law of 2 Feet. In other words, people who need to be resolving conflict (or at least discussing it) can just avoid the touchy topic... and each other. 
>>> 
>>> Could this actually be true? If not why not? 
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> Daniel Mezick
>>> Culture Strategist. Author. Keynoter.
>>> (203) 915 7248. Bio. <http://www.danielmezick.com/> Blog. <http://www.newtechusa.net/blog/> Twitter. <https://twitter.com/DanielMezick> 
>>> Book: The Culture Game. <http://theculturegame.com/> 
>>> Book: The OpenSpace Agility Handbook. <http://www.amazon.com/OpenSpace-Agility-Handbook-Daniel-Mezick/dp/0984875336> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> -- 
>> Harold Shinsato
>> harold at shinsato.com <mailto:harold at shinsato.com>
>> http://shinsato.com <http://shinsato.com/>
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