Liminal suspension activates the resilience of the organization in two ways.
First, it provides a temporary holding space in which its members have time to
readjust on a psychological, emotional and relational level. Members of the organization can help and support each other without work constraints in a “holding
space for pain”. Second, the crisis can shift the positions of actors, leading to the
creation of new relational structures and the strengthening of existing relationships.
The social positions of some members of the organization may shift as new relations that create solidarity are formed. Liminal suspension activates resilience by
undoing social and organizational structures for a period of time in which actors
lose their ‘status’ and new, deep bonds are formed that challenge previous relationships. It also creates time and space for relational structures to shift, thereby
“loosening control” to reduce “defensive perceptions” between members of the
organization [80]. However, liminal suspension does not make the distinction
between roles obsolete.
“Compassionate witnessing” implies empathy for others. This phase follows on
from the new relational structures that emerged in the previous phase.
Compassionate witnessing can be activated in two ways within an organization.
The first is to demonstrate mindfulness in relationships with others. This dimension
is not only limited to cognitive aspects, but also implies identifying the emotions of
others, leading to an appropriate response to their emotional, physical and social
needs. The second is sharing and connecting. In particular, sharing experiences
helps the organization’s members to restore order and bounce back. Compassionate
witnessing activates resilience by adapting the organization to the response of its
members. In this case it does not coordinate behavior, but rather emphasizes the
importance of emotions and thoughts in the interpersonal relations that enable
actors to heal from the trauma.
“Relational redundancy” refers to interpersonal connections that overlap and
intersect, and extend beyond the boundaries of the social reference group. There are
two aspects to relational redundancy. First, there is an informational connection that
relates to the ability of members of the organization to share critical information
about safety. Secondly, overlapping social links provide a holistic and panoramic
view of the entire set of interactions within the organization. Relational redundancy
therefore activates resilience through intersecting interactions that ensure the persistence of relationships within organizational systems. From this perspective, the
informational field widens when actors share critical information within the system
or with their immediate social reference group. Counter-intuitively, resilience is
activated not through principles of organizational efficiencies, but through principles of redundancy and excess relational capacity. From this perspective, each actor
in the system plays a strategic role in finding and transmitting critical information to
other members of the organization. This abundance of connections favors the
emergence of a new kind of network that creates multiple opportunities for members to share information, express emotions and therefore enable organizational
resilience.
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident: Entering …
13
First, it provides a temporary holding space in which its members have time to
readjust on a psychological, emotional and relational level. Members of the organization can help and support each other without work constraints in a “holding
space for pain”. Second, the crisis can shift the positions of actors, leading to the
creation of new relational structures and the strengthening of existing relationships.
The social positions of some members of the organization may shift as new relations that create solidarity are formed. Liminal suspension activates resilience by
undoing social and organizational structures for a period of time in which actors
lose their ‘status’ and new, deep bonds are formed that challenge previous relationships. It also creates time and space for relational structures to shift, thereby
“loosening control” to reduce “defensive perceptions” between members of the
organization [80]. However, liminal suspension does not make the distinction
between roles obsolete.
“Compassionate witnessing” implies empathy for others. This phase follows on
from the new relational structures that emerged in the previous phase.
Compassionate witnessing can be activated in two ways within an organization.
The first is to demonstrate mindfulness in relationships with others. This dimension
is not only limited to cognitive aspects, but also implies identifying the emotions of
others, leading to an appropriate response to their emotional, physical and social
needs. The second is sharing and connecting. In particular, sharing experiences
helps the organization’s members to restore order and bounce back. Compassionate
witnessing activates resilience by adapting the organization to the response of its
members. In this case it does not coordinate behavior, but rather emphasizes the
importance of emotions and thoughts in the interpersonal relations that enable
actors to heal from the trauma.
“Relational redundancy” refers to interpersonal connections that overlap and
intersect, and extend beyond the boundaries of the social reference group. There are
two aspects to relational redundancy. First, there is an informational connection that
relates to the ability of members of the organization to share critical information
about safety. Secondly, overlapping social links provide a holistic and panoramic
view of the entire set of interactions within the organization. Relational redundancy
therefore activates resilience through intersecting interactions that ensure the persistence of relationships within organizational systems. From this perspective, the
informational field widens when actors share critical information within the system
or with their immediate social reference group. Counter-intuitively, resilience is
activated not through principles of organizational efficiencies, but through principles of redundancy and excess relational capacity. From this perspective, each actor
in the system plays a strategic role in finding and transmitting critical information to
other members of the organization. This abundance of connections favors the
emergence of a new kind of network that creates multiple opportunities for members to share information, express emotions and therefore enable organizational
resilience.
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident: Entering …
13