Thank you all for your wisdom and experience. I had a feeling my inquiry would tap into a rich seam of insights and practice... But where to begin to respond...! I will take the points in the order they appear in my email intray:
Mamading: we meet again! (Were you there on Tuesday at NESTA btw you may not have spotted me hiding behind a couple croissants with Emmental cheese in them?!) Do tell us more about these Labs. And, I think implicit, in your comment is an idea that people and organisations / partnerships / systems / communities can make more of OS on a second, third, fourth visit etc. I know that to be true. Barry: the shy (and more of that later) people may well hang back and butterfly, but sometimes butterflies dont tap into their own passion and can drift off actually or mentally or both. I know, que sera, sera (whatever happens etc.) but your comment has prompted me to spend more next time working with the sponsor. (Yes these reflections do all come from a recent experience.) The sponsor needs to be as relaxed as I am with the magic of the process. Jack: things are good thanks bleating (blogging & tweeting combined term coined by my wife to refer to my activity in my study / garret) like mad to get OS & whole system stuff woven into the fabric of the #bigsociety. I like the idea of a living agenda wall that can ebb and flow and indeed try to practice this. Perhaps this Agenda Wall 2.0....? (sort of! although it always has been) But I also hear what Lisa says in her later mail. Harrison: Not for the first time, I do wish I could have you as an app on my smart phone so that I could tap you and get an immediate response of this is what Harrison would do / say! Thank you for your story you are so good at those I will endeavour to imbibe fully and remember at a suitable later date. And you are right of course, it is about passion. I guess I remain interested in what there can be in the system (see below) or zeitgeist present whereby people with passion do not come forward... and as a facilitator what role I have (if any) in tweaking the system in advance of the OS process... Michael: you are correct of course it is rarely about shyness or the individuals themselves. Indeed it was my reflection on the recent series of OS that I did that, in part, there was some leaden systemic cultures present. And quiet is not shy absolutely true! And there has to be a first meeting so that there can be a second when people might dare a little more. As always every OS is a success but (and back to my earlier point) just what that success looks like may not be quite what the sponsor had in mind which touches on my role as preparation guide. Their role as inviter and open space pilot is of course critical. Phelim: I agree, there are some very practical things we can say I like your phrases. Again I will seek to imbibe those. Certainly I always aim to be and hold the space with a gentle and almost wispy presence quietly content with the silence. (My father had a piece of gristle on one ear which made it look a little pointed and he would claim he was half pixie. So, as a quarter pixie, I try to have a wispy presence...! ) For me making it easy is a stepping back not a stepping forward. And as for the number of sessions in one OS of the recent series, a total of two sessions were proposed... so near perfect success! It was surprising! The chocolate was good as well. Sharon: You are right exploring the passion beforehand is critical. In hindsight, the sponsor was surprised by where the passion was after the first OS he (and therefore I as he had briefed me) expected a different quality of passion to one that we in fact experienced. On reflection, I now know it would have been wiser to hear a few more of the ordinary voices beforehand. And working through to what is the right issue / theme / question is really, really important. Lisa: Given all of the above, I value your assertion that there can be some, a small amount perhaps, shyness amongst some people. I think I can sometimes overlook how heavy a microphone is for some people. Maybe I am not alone in this although maybe I am. Can you post your face on youtube?! But I think I can imagine it from your description. I do have my face too. (Although there is another debate to be had about where we go after the intro stuff. I usually step outside the circle whereas from what you say, I am imagining you sitting in the circle...???) I need to keep reminding myself that there is solid presence in silence. Being an extravert I may not always see this. And thank you for highlighting the issue of power which others have touched on too. So again thank you all for this online tutorial. I feel enriched and empowered and not a little renewed too! A sprinkling of pixie dust to you all! Jon ____________________________________________________________________________ ___ Jon Harvey Director " <http://www.jonharveyassociates.co.uk/> www.jonharveyassociates.co.uk ( +44 (0) 7771 537535 ( +44 (0) 1280 822585 <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] ¹ Skype: jonsharvey JHAL logo.jpg Helping you connect the prose and the passion to deliver superlative results <http://smallcreativeideas.blogspot.com/> http://smallcreativeideas.blogspot.com/ for ideas about how to improve the efficiency & effectiveness of public & third sector services <http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/> http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/ for articles & ideas about leadership and organisational change from a whole systems perspective <http://twitter.com/JonSHarvey> http://twitter.com/JonSHarvey for conversations, ideas & questions to help build a more ambitious, creative and fair world <http://tinyurl.com/JonHarveyLI> http://tinyurl.com/JonHarveyLI to connect with me on LinkedIn Jon Harvey Associates Ltd Registered Office: Chandos House, School Lane, Buckingham, MK18 1HD Company Number 6661588. 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