Hi Johannes,
As Peggy and Harrison have said, it takes the ability to truly hold
the space for what is emerging, which is much more challenging for me
when I've let myself loose into a discussion for which I have lots of
passion.
In what ways will the nature of the topic require you to participate?
Are you considered to be an expert/authority/leader in these
communities? I personally find it much trickier then.
Years ago, Harrison was brought in by our local Organziation
Development Network to do an Open Space for that group. Someone
proposed a breakout session and asked Harrison if he would be willing
to do a Q&A about Open Space for that time period. Since these were
all OD folks who wanted to learn as much as they could from the
master, nearly ever one of the fifty or so participants ended up in a
breakout with Harrison. I certainly thought that he was able to hold
the space and simultaneously participate in that breakout session. At
the end of the day, though, led by Harrison's self-disclosure about
his discomfort with the process, we came to the conclusion that while
we gained Harrison's insight and time with him as a "teacher" we lost
a bit of the power of Open Space.
Warm wishes from a lovely warm Phoenix afternoon,
Christine
Christine Whitney Sanchez
Collaborative Wisdom & Strategy
480.759.0262
www.christinewhitneysanchez.com
www.promiseusa.com
Skype: christinewhitneysanchez
http://www.facebook.com/ChristineWhitneySanchez
On Mar 17, 2010, at 4:12 PM, Peggy Holman wrote:
Hi Johannes,
Harrison said it well: it is possible but difficult. The more
experience I've gotten, the more willing I am to participate under
certain conditions.
When I have been asked in by a sponsor to open a space, I don't
participate in the content.
When I am part of the organizing and it is a subject of interest, I
will sometimes sit in on sessions of interest. I almost never post
a session myself. If I do post a session, it is because I'm working
with partners, so there is more than one of us consciously holding
the space.
As Harrison said, tending to the space is job one.
Best of success to you.
From sunny Seattle,
Peggy
______________________________
Peggy Holman
The Open Circle Company
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA 98006
425-746-6274
www.opencirclecompany.com
www.journalismthatmatters.org
For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to:
www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook
"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 17, 2010, at 3:55 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:
Johannes said: "I take it the first-best solution would be to have
someone
else open
and hold space. Assuming that's infeasible: what are your experiences
with opening space and participating at the same time?"
Always possible but difficult. If you understand that your FIRST
job is
holding space and participation is second it can work. But the real
issue is
how the other participants will see you. If this is a contentious
issue and
you are perceived to be one of the contending parties your role as a
"neutral" force will be really hard. Good luck!
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Dr.
Potomac, MD 20854
USA
Phone 301-365-2093
www.openspaceworld.com
www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of
Johannes
Terwitte
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:54 PM
To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu
Subject: Opening Space and Participating at the same time?
Dear community,
Over the past few months I have introduced OST in two NGOs I'm
involved in. In those few Open Spaces I tried to open and hold
space -
and resist the temptation to jump right in and participate.
Now there are three 1-day Open Spaces coming up in the near future,
two with around 20 participants and one with around 10. In all cases
the topic will be very dear to my heart, and in some the nature of
the
topic will require me to be involved as a participant. My intuition
is
that opening space and participating would not be much of a problem -
it is *holding* space and participating which don't go together so
well. Who would collect the empty coffee cups while I'm involved in a
discussion? Maybe someone would... then how much holding space is
necessary?
I take it the first-best solution would be to have someone else open
and hold space. Assuming that's infeasible: what are your experiences
with opening space and participating at the same time?
Appreciatively,
Johannes
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