The notion of metanoia conveys the idea of radical change, conversion, ‘leap of faith’ and new direction. The word captures the power and energy of transformative change ‘of the heart’ (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metanoia ).

Most people who take the leap of faith into a SPoR way of knowing, speak of this transformative change. It involves a reorientation of how one thinks and what one knows, to a new way of knowing beyond all the spin the floats about safety, with no change in methodology or method. A move in metanoia is a shift in disposition, worldview and orientation (or ontology), requiring much unlearning before one can move forward.

Such a story is told in this podcast (https://novellus.solutions/insights/podcast/what-happens-when-change-happens/) facilitated by Nippin Anand.

However, this story could be told hundreds of times over by people who discover the positive, constructive, empowering change offered by SPoR. One can’t see SPoR without metanoia, a movement towards learning (not schooling).

Unfortunately, the dynamic of compliance in safety and its indoctrination, drives resistance to change and embeds anti-learning. Most times when Safety engages with SPoR it only offers what it knows and shows little imagination for wanting to know what it doesn’t know. The first thing one learns in safety is that there is nothing to know outside of the safety mono-disciplinary fortress. Much sunk cost and political power is invested in traditional safety. It seems like there is much to lose, when there is so much to gain. In a SPoR approach to safety, there is much to let go, much to unlearn and much to doubt. This is what is experienced in metanoia but what is gained is enormous.

In this Podcast on hears how embracing SPoR in a large shipping company (Synergy) is changing the way this organisation tackles risk.

In the podcast two ship managers describe how SPoR has transformed their orientation and disposition towards risk and learning. We hear from them about the new way they approach persons and what value they gained by jettisoning the tired old punitive brutalism of safety.

If you want to know about SPoR you can write to us at admin@spor.com.au or download many of the free resources, books, videos and training on offer. If you are sick of the brutalism of safety, you can start on a new positive, empowering and constructive journey by taking that first changing step in metanoia.