Welcome Jordan and Raynel! Raynel, you ask about impactful Open Space experiences. When I ran into Open Space in 1995, it changed my work and my life. (Thank you Harrison.) It taught me that when I am organizing something, I am not responsible for other people’s experiences. My work is to cultivate a space that invites people to show up authentically and connect with others. Open Space took me on a journey to learn about complexity and what it could teach us about working with disruption in human systems, like organizations and communities. That has been central to my work ever since.
From Anne Stadler, I learned the essence of open space (not just the methodology but the philosophy and life practice) is to take responsibility for what you love. Imagine that! How often are we invited to even ask ourselves what matters to us, much less spend time with others who care to explore it and act on it? To me, that is the heart of why Open Space Technology creates magic. It also taught me that breakthroughs emerge when the needs of individuals and the whole are both met. It’s when people start talking about “we” without sacrificing themselves in the process. That was what hooked me when I attended my first Open Space at U S West in 1995. (It’s the one in this video <https://vimeo.com/25251316>.) I saw 250 telephone company union workers, managers and others grapple with tough issues. At the end of 2.5 days, they were all in agreement: it was time to rehab the basic plant. Everyone was shocked that union people and management agreed to bring on contract labor (a contentious issue in contract negotiations) because it freed employees to do the deeper work. People got their needs met and so did the organization. Many organizational stories have this sort of breakthrough dynamic. Jordan, you ask how Open Space translates from ideation to action. I’ll give you a consultant’s answer: it depends. What is your purpose for gathering? Often, most often I find, Open Space is used to bring together the diversity of people who make up a system to explore a complex or conflicted subject. There may not be an explicit expectation for action out of the convening. What I do find you can reliably expect for outcomes (Excerpt from Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity <https://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/>): Individually, we are stretched and refreshed—We feel more courageous and inspired to pursue what matters to us. With a myriad of new ideas, and confident of mentors, supporters, and fans, we act. New and unlikely partnerships form—When we connect with people whom we don’t normally meet, sparks may fly. Creative conditions make room for our differences, fostering lively and productive interactions. Breakthrough projects surface—Experiments are inspired by interactions among diverse people. Community is strengthened—We discover kindred spirits among a diverse mix of strangers. Lasting connections form, and a sense of kinship grows. We realize that we share an intention—a purpose or calling guided by some deeper source of wisdom. Knowing that our work serves not just ourselves but a larger whole increases our confidence to act. The culture begins to change—With time and continued interaction, a new narrative of who we are takes shape. When the focus of a convening is a “now what?” sort of question and the culture supports initiative, I find novel, ambitious projects often result. One of the challenges in understanding outcomes is beautifully expressed by Tova Averbuch in her wonderful book, Initiating and Inviting Generative Change: Entry and Contracting for Emergent Outcomes In Results Driven Organizations <https://www.amazon.com/Initiating-Inviting-Generative-Change-Organizations/dp/1777184649>. In essence, since the outcomes aren’t preset, it can be elusive to connect actions with the great conversations people have. People often say of Open Space, great conversations but nothing happens. She tells a great story of talking with someone about taking a new job. They had that "great conversation, no action" exchange and then she realized that the creation of the job they were discussing came from that Open Space! In her words: When a result is pre-planned someone holds it long enough to know where it originated, or at least so it is perceived. When an outcome is emergent, one of two things happen. Either it organically blends into the organization without anyone thinking about where it was born. Or, when people are deeply engaged in the work, they attribute the outcomes to themselves, their passion, initiative and self-organization. They perceive the gathering as an opportunity they were lucky to have experienced. Both perceptions are true and show organic ownership. So there are some thoughts for you Jordan and Raynel. If you are looking for someone to interview, I am open to doing that for you. Just drop me an email and suggest a time or two to talk with your team. Appreciatively, Peggy _________________________________ Peggy Holman [email protected] Twitter: @peggyholman Bellevue, WA 98006 206-948-0432 www.peggyholman.com www.journalismthatmatters.org Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity <http://www.engagingemergence.com/> "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become the fire". -- Drew Dellinger > On Mar 19, 2023, at 9:15 AM, Jordan Wareham via OSList <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Good afternoon everyone from sunny Florida! > > My name is Jordan Wareham and like Raynel, I am a doctoral student in the > Bowling Green State University program in Organizational Development & Change. > > My background has been in commercial aviation. I have been an airline pilot, > pilot instructor & examiner, and now have spent the last 4 years in > management with major airlines, currently service as the Director of Safety > for an airline based in Florida. > > I really see tremendous applicability for OpenSpace inside the airline > industry and I’m looking forward to learning from everyone here. > > One question is around some of the mechanics. When it is decided to invoke an > Open Space discussion, I’m gathering it’s around a central issue. The > discussion of that issue is what generates the areas that people feel > passionate about (hope i have it right so far). My understanding is then that > individuals will take responsibility for championing certain issues and > everyone will break into working groups…but what happens then? Is it the > expectation that the working groups will effectively ideate and solve the > issue and develop action plans? I’m just curious how this translates from > ideation stage to action items. > > Also, wondering if there is someone who might be willing to serve as a > “method master” for our group to interview and learn from. As part of this > semester’s class, we are needing to identify individual(s) who can mentor our > group through an interview process and provide support for questions. I don’t > believe it would be much time commitment and we would really appreciate > learning from someone who has been actively applying Open Space in their > practice. > > Thank you! > > Jordan > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
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