<div dir="ltr">Hi Harold,<div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Great question Harold!</div><div>Birgitt<br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">On Wed, Sep 21, 2016 at 2:32 PM Peggy Holman via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">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.<div><br></div><div>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. </div><div><br></div><div>Peggy</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><div>_________________________________</div>Peggy Holman<br>Executive Director<br>Journalism that Matters<br>15347 SE 49th Place<br>Bellevue, WA 98006<br>206-948-0432<br><a href="http://www.journalismthatmatters.net" target="_blank">www.journalismthatmatters.net</a><br><a href="http://www.peggyholman.com" target="_blank">www.peggyholman.com</a><br>Twitter: @peggyholman<br>JTM Twitter: @JTMStream<br><br>Enjoy the award winning <a href="http://www.engagingemergence.com" target="_blank">Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity</a><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br></div></div></div>
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<br><div><blockquote type="cite"><div>On Sep 21, 2016, at 11:16 AM, Harold Shinsato via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> wrote:</div><br><div>
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Dear People(s) of Open Space,<br>
<br>
What is the importance of safety? What, if any, work is needed in
the "pre-work" to help ensure safety?<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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).<br>
<br>
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?<br>
<br>
Thanks!<br>
Harold<br>
<br>
P.S. I did find one interesting post about this in the archives from
the late Father Brian Bainbridge. <a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org/msg01333.html" target="_blank">http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org/msg01333.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<div>-- <br>
Harold Shinsato<br>
<a href="mailto:harold@shinsato.com" target="_blank">harold@shinsato.com</a><br>
<a href="http://shinsato.com/" target="_blank">http://shinsato.com</a><br>
twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/hajush" target="_blank">@hajush</a></div>
</div>
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