Hi Justin,
I would echo the thoughts on small groups - it works. One thing I've
done with small groups as a participant and part time space holder is
to move locations with different topics. Sometimes getting up and
moving to a different part of the room or even a different room can
change the flow of the conversation.
In another small OS (12 people) that I held space for - at one point
early after the opening I needed to physically leave the room in
order to continue to hold space by getting out of the way as they
wanted me to facilitate a disagreement. I simply reminded them that
now that the os had begun it was their responsibility to work out
whatever needed to be worked out, and then I walked out. It was
exactly what they needed.
For ideas about how to practice democracy congruent with the flow of
open space see The Tao of Democracy by Tom Atlee - an incredible
resource.
with grace and love,
Zelle
Zelle Nelson
Know Place Like Home/Engaging the Soul@Work/State of Grace Document
www.knowplacelikehome.com
www.engagingthesoulatwork.com
www.stateofgracedocument.com
ze...@knowplacelikehome.com
work/home: (001) 828.693.0802
mobile: (001) 847.951.7030
Isle of Skye
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USA
On Aug 16, 2006, at 1:40 AM, Justin T. Sampson wrote:
Thank you all so much for your thoughtful comments!
I'm hearing two major points --
1. A small group may be more likely to stay together instead of
splitting into separate parallel sessions, but the structure of
the Open Space is the same as for a larger group, with the same
opportunity/"permission" to split as appropriate. I was
wondering/worrying about this, whether splitting would be awkward;
but of course during every meeting there are several side
conversations anyway! Occasionally the people around the table
will divide evenly in half with some diving deeper into an issue
while others continue with the business of the meeting, or two or
three people at the end of the table will talk amongst themselves
about something else entirely. As chair of the meeting I often
want to follow that energy, and also to make sure no one gets left
out of something they could contribute to, but also not dragged
along in something they're not interested in; and I haven't been
sure how to accomplish that.
2. The biggest challenge is holding space while being an active
member of the organization myself. I definitely see my most
important role for the group being the creating and holding of
space, and I tend not to be the one championing any of our
particular projects anyway, so I hope this will be a natural, but
still challenging and learning-inducing, fit for me. I like the
reminder of hats -- the sitting/standing method may be just right
in this case.
Another issue for this group is making decisions on behalf of the
organization, which is a local political party (a county central
committee, for those who know anything about USA party politics),
and requires a proper vote for something like endorsement of a
candidate. So I'm also looking forward to learning how to keep the
space open while meeting our formal obligations as a party.
I'll go ahead and ask the group for their indulgence in giving
Open Space a shot at an upcoming meeting and see how it goes!
Cheers,
Justin
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