Hi, Learner Colleagues, I'd like to offer my "two-bits" on safety.
When I work with a team of people, particularly in a "shared-visioning"
project where there is a lot of conflict which is surfacing, I talk to
them about our room, our physical location, being a sanctuary. Of course,
common understanding of sanctuary has to do with churches, which are
related. But in this instance, I ask them to be honest and respectful with
one another, leave what they hear in the room, only for their discussion,
not to be shared outside of this setting, except by common consent. For
them, the room is a sanctuary, a protected space, where their thoughts and
feelings are treated as integral to them as a person, not as commodities
to be exchanged at the water-cooler.
Sanctuary is not just about a safe place to learn. It requires that group
of people entering into a committed relationship of support for that safe
place. And with that committed relationship, which ordinarily will be
tested and strengthened over time, they might just become a real team.
On the other hand, when people begin to learn, it is anything but safe.
When I hear people talking about safety in this way, it reminds me of the
C.S. Lewis, children's story, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, where
a large lion, named Aslan, serves as the God character in the story. At
one point, one of the children meets Aslan, and asked another child, "Is
he safe?" She responds, "Oh, no, he's not safe, but he's good." In many
cases, learning produces change which is not safe for people and their
organizations. All the more reason to provide places of sanctuary where
change can be dealt with collaboratively.
>From a safe place where we "Learn To Lead, Together,"
Ed Brenegar
Leadership Resources
Hendersonville, NC 28791
704/693-0720 voice/fax
brenegar@bulldog.unca.edu
--Edwin Brenegar III <brenegar@bulldog.unca.edu>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>