Peggy, what you wrote had a lot of meaning for me. So after this series of postings concerning the critique of "giving fish" because distributing fish would be a hindrance for the Open Space magic to work, or in the best of cases: a loss of time... you looked deeper into the (statistically rare it also seems to me) situations/OS-contexts where giving fish or facilitating fish distribution may be the right thing.
After digesting what you wrote/differentiated I tried to translate/re-condense it into a simple "formula" for myself: Consider fish distribution in cases of extreme lack of context orientation or freedom shock Bernd On Feb 27, 2012, at 11:53 AM, Peggy Holman wrote: > I'd like to dive under the metaphor of "distributing fish" when opening > space. What I'm about to say may be controversial, but I think it's a > discussion worth having. > > As background, when I first started opening space, I always jumped right in. > Ninety-five percent of the time, following a few words from the sponsor, I > still do. I want to be clear that the reflections that follow involve a > narrow set of circumstances -- say 1% of the time -- when I have found it > useful to give away some fish. > > In that 1% of cases, jumping into Open Space left a sufficient number of > people confused, out of focus, and unsure why they had come that I think it > reduced the potential of the experience for everyone. I'd describe most of > these situations as high in "freedom shock" -- a wonderful term that Harrison > coined to describe, in his words, "the reaction of a very bright, experienced > group of professionals who had suddenly been granted everything they wanted > with no strings attached, and it seemed to terrify them". > > So when the conditions are ripe for a lot of freedom shock -- say, 20-25% of > participants -- I think it's useful to give away a few fish. > > I'm offering my reflections on What does it mean to distribute fish? When > does it makes sense? How do you do it? > > I would love to hear how others see it. > > What does distributing fish mean to me? > > It means setting the context with why are we here and who is here with more > than a few words from the sponsor. It doesn't take much but, I have found > circumstances in which setting the stage makes a world of difference for the > effectiveness not just for an event, but for what happens afterwards. Far > more go fishing on their own and with newfound partners when they've been fed > a few fish and learned something about fishing. > > When does it make sense to distribute fish? > > I first ran into the need through the early Journalism That Matters events > (http://journalismthatmatters.org/events-notes/), which brought together the > "whole system" of journalism. When I co-hosted the second and third > Evolutionary Salons (http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon.html) -- wildly > open ended explorations of what it means to be conscious agents of evolution, > they added to my reflections on the need for some work up front. > > Even in these events, most jumped right in and ran with the experience. Yet > there was a notable minority, perhaps 1/4 to 1/3, who were so disoriented > they left or simply wandered around lost. They couldn't figure out how to > navigate the space. Now I can make the case that this was exactly the right > outcome. I have no doubt the experience got them cooking. So this isn't > about right or wrong. It is about overall effectiveness. > > I haven't tried to describe the conditions before now but found them emerging > as I thought back on some of the wild rides I've had. When the following > conditions are ALL present, giving away fish is useful: > > * There isn't the infrastructure of an organization or something that > provides an implicit context for all that is happening. > * The question is "big" -- which can seem abstract or unfocused to some. > (Example: What is the new news ecology and how do we create it?") > * The people are coming together just for the event. While some may know > each other, they're all likely to go their separate ways following the > experience. When the group is highly diverse, it compounds the situation. (Of > course, it also increases the potential of the experience when people have > what they need to orient.) > * The majority of people coming have never experienced Open Space or > something like it. (So not only is the content, while attractive or they > wouldn't be there, a stretch, the form is completely unfamiliar.) > * There's no clear sponsor in the traditional sense -- a senior manager of > an organization or an organization that brings an orienting set of > assumptions. (Journalism That Matters and the group of us co-hosting the > Evolutionary Salons just brought interesting questions.) > > In short, if the context isn't easily understood, it's the responsibility of > the organizers to make it so. > > How do you distribute fish? > > I've run into the conditions I described above when working with ambitious > societal questions that aren't anchored in pursuing specific activities. > Such circumstances don't lend themselves to experts setting the stage. So I > look for ways in which people answer the questions for themselves -- in which > they create a context through understanding the mix of intentions present, > and who's bringing them. > > In other words, it's still about the people in the room pursuing what matters > to them. > > I've used a variety of approaches to accomplish this, sometimes for an hour, > sometimes for a half a day, depending on the situation and the desired > outcomes: > > * People sharing the questions they've brought with each other, sometimes > with a World Cafe around the conference theme. Sometimes, when there are > some folks who have some deep thinking or practice to offer as inspiration, > 2-3 are invited as "conversation catalysts", to talk for a max of 10 minutes > each, setting the stage for a conversation in the room. > > * Creating a "who's coming" bio book sent in advance can give people a sense > of who's in the room without spending time on introductions. Or we'll > provide some means for people to self-identify the roles they play. For > example, at a number of Journalism That Matters sessions, we've had stickers > for different roles that people could put on their name tags. > > * Setting up a "trade show", where anyone can share their work at a table > for an hour or so. It's lively, informal, and people get to spend their time > learning about what others are doing. It also clears the way for folks who > come with an agenda to loosen their hold on it because they get a chance to > tell their story. > > By the time they're done with these types of activities, I find even the most > freedom shock prone have gotten enough of a grounding to dive into Open Space. > > > All these activities are informed by the assumption that people have the > answers within them. They are a way to provide more context when it isn't > coming from an obvious source. > > So, that's about it. > > Thoughts? > > appreciatively, > Peggy > > > > _________________________________ > Peggy Holman > [email protected] > > 15347 SE 49th Place > Bellevue, WA 98006 > 425-746-6274 > www.peggyholman.com > www.journalismthatmatters.org > > Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity > > "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 Feb 24, 2012, at 8:06 AM, Harrison Owen wrote: > >> Artur – your point about “teaching” is well taken. And given the state of >> language at the moment it is doubtless necessary to take the route you have >> taken in describing the role of teacher-as-mentor/guide. Couldn’t agree >> more! But wouldn’t it be nice if real teaching could be defined and >> understood as you have suggested? This whole subject is very pertinent to me >> at the moment as I am pulling myself together for the upcoming conference >> Manila on “The Future of Learning.” I have agreed to do a one day dialogue >> on Learning just to raise and shape the questions – then it is on to the >> Maine Event which will be 2 days of Open Space. Should be great and we will >> be having folks from all over Asia. You should come! And by the way so >> should anybody else on the LIST. Dates are March 27-20 and our hostess in >> Sharon Chao at SEAMEO-Innotech. For the details contact Sharon >> [email protected] >> >> >> >> Harrison Owen >> 7808 River Falls Dr. >> Potomac, MD 20854 >> USA >> >> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) >> Camden, Maine 20854 >> >> Phone 301-365-2093 >> (summer) 207-763-3261 >> >> www.openspaceworld.com >> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST >> Go to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> From: [email protected] >> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf OfArtur Silva >> Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 8:20 AM >> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list >> Subject: Re: [OSList] Teach Them to Fish / A Note to My Friends >> >> Amen for almost everything! And thank you, Harrison, for reminding us of all >> this. >> >> >> A small observation: I have struggled myself with the same old saying: >> "instead of giving a fish, teach them to fish". Yes, if you "give a fish" >> you are patronizing and disempowering the other. But, if you "teach to fish" >> aren't you also disempowering him? >> >> Having done professional training and facilitation (intermittently) for 40 >> years and teaching at Universities for 20 years, I have come to the >> conclusion that the role of a Professor is not to teach. It is to help the >> students to learn and more specifically to "learn how to learn" - anything, >> anytime, for all their lives... >> >> So it is not "to teach to fish"; it is to help them "to learn (remember?) >> how to survive". It may be fishing today, hunting tomorrow, cultivating in >> another day, but especially it will change every now and then, and the >> student must be prepared to "learn as a way of being" (from the title of a >> book of your friend Peter Vaill). >> >> So, indeed the teacher/professor/facilitator must learn how to disappear, so >> that the student can surpass the master - at least, if he his younger, as he >> probably will continue to learn for a longer time. >> >> But this is not a disagreement because - if I understood well - this is >> exactly what your post says. >> >> Warm regards >> >> Artur >> >> From: Harrison Owen <[email protected]> >> To: 'World wide Open Space Technology email list' >> <[email protected]> >> Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 9:31 PM >> Subject: [OSList] Teach Them to Fish / A Note to My Friends >> >> There is an old saying to the effect that when seeking to help people it is >> infinitely better to teach them to fish than to give them fish. The point is >> obvious. When you learn how to fish you can feed yourself. The secondary >> point may be less than obvious. When you are simply handed a fish the >> conditions for learned helplessness and continued dependence, to say nothing >> of subservience are created. Even with the best, most altruistic intentions >> in the world, a fish handout has its problems. And what does all this have >> to do with the price of tea in China? Not much, I guess, but I think it has >> a lot to say about our roles as facilitators. >> >> One of the things I have always loved about Open Space is that it is not >> rocket science. Anybody with a good head and good heart can “do it” – a >> reality which has been proved time and time again. Early on I thought the >> “magic” lay in the simplicity of the process – but it turned out it was >> worse than that. There isn’t any process that “We do” – in fact the process >> does us. Yes, I know – you have heard all this before… self organization at >> work. We are simply remembering what we already know. But well before I made >> any connection between Open Space and self-organization, I was struck by its >> simplicity and universality – it simply worked… everywhere. The immediate >> impact of this realization was a “tag phrase” I found myself uttering at >> every opening of space. At the beginning and at the end I told the folks,” >> There is absolutely nothing that I am doing with you that you cannot do for >> yourselves.” It was all about teaching fishing. >> >> As time went along I found myself working the implications of this phrase. >> Substantively, I told everybody who came to me that, while I would be >> pleased to open their space, I would do it only once. Should they want to do >> it again, I would help from the sidelines, and for all subsequent >> gatherings, they were on their own. A second impact on my practice resolved >> into a simple phrase: “Think of one more thing not to do.” >> >> Having come into the “business” (of facilitation) in the late ‘60’s I found >> myself in the midst of a flowering of methods, techniques and procedures >> emanating from the emergent OD movement in all of its manifestations. >> Suddenly the “simple meeting” became a massive cookbook of possibilities. >> Warm up processes, Ice breakers for starters. Interventions of all sorts >> during the main course, with “Kumb’yah” and holding hands for desert. I >> jest, but only just. Designing such a thing could take months and involve >> dozens of people. And when it came to the actual meeting it almost seemed >> that the Conference Committee plus assorted Facilitators outnumbered >> participants by 2:1. I couldn’t help but wonder…was this trip really >> necessary? >> >> In many ways, Open Space (OST) came to me as an answer to my questing. It is >> true that two martinis helped and marked the birth, but I think the period >> of gestation had been going on for a bit. I have joked that my essential >> laziness was the primal cause, but more basic was a deep hope that there had >> to be a better way. Was it not possible that human beings could engage in >> intelligent conversation without “all that stuff?” The gin helped, I suppose >> – but the answer was ridiculously simple: Yes – Just sit in a circle, create >> a bulletin board, open a market place, and go to work. All the rest is >> history, but I wasn’t out of the woods. >> >> Given my prior experience, to say nothing of the experience and practice of >> my friends, I just could not believe that something so simple could possibly >> work without help. Obviously we needed to “prepare” for Open Space. And so I >> tried any number of warm-ups and ice breakers – trust games, relaxation >> exercises, visualizations and more. Most were pleasant, maybe even fun – but >> did they really add value? The only way to find out was not to do them – >> and find out. >> >> As often happens, the first iteration of the experiment (dropping stuff) >> happened quite unintentionally. I was in South Africa in the anxious days >> immediately post Apartheid. We needed to do an Open Space -- FAST. Nobody >> had ever heard of Open Space, but they were ready to try anything. So we >> just did it. No preparation, no warm up, no nothing. Just the barebones: >> circle, bulletin board, market place and to work. And to work they went! I >> learned something, which has been confirmed again and again as the >> experience grew. When space needs to open – Just Do it. But I must confess >> that holding hands at the end still can feel good, although there is no need >> to sing Kumb’yah. >> >> But it wasn’t just the warm ups. As my experience with Open Space was >> growing, friends and colleagues were creating their own approaches. Diana >> Whitney and David Cooperrider with Appreciative Inquiry and Juanita Brown >> with World Café, for example. Wouldn’t it make sense to sequence or combine >> all these things? We tried, and it was fun – but did it really make any >> difference? Did the work move more swiftly, were the conversations deeper? >> Was the follow-on more effective? Despite my best efforts, I could see >> little if any improvement, and I really wanted to. And to the extent that >> there was a marginal plus, that seemed to have less to do with the >> cumulative effect of the several approaches – and more to do with the simple >> fact that people had been together longer. In fact on multiple occasions >> participants would come up to me to ask why we hadn’t done it all in Open >> Space? “That is where the cookie really crumbled,” one person said. >> (Translation: “That’s where the conversation really got real.”) >> >> I know this is an argument I can never win. But the truth of the matter is >> that there is no argument and I have no interest in winning. Each of us must >> make our own judgment as to what might be the most effective and appropriate >> in each situation. That said, the fact of the matter is that in 27 years of >> observation I have never seen any group of people have the slightest bit of >> difficulty entering into Open Space – even when the topic under >> consideration was viciously volatile. Always worked, all by itself. I have, >> to be sure, seen situations where the sponsors (and often the facilitators) >> were more than hesitant. But for the people themselves – no problem. >> >> I suppose there could be an argument if my basic concern were to defend this >> approach (OST) against all others, any combination thereof, or extraneous >> heterodoxies. Were that the case, I am sure that I could be (should be!) >> accused of a very biased, proprietary self-interest. But my interest is >> rather different, and the simple truth of the matter is that I would be >> delighted if all methods and approaches were simply to disappear – right >> along with every last Facilitator. Throw out the Tool Box and The >> Profession! No longer needed. It is all about teaching folks to fish. >> >> I judge myself and the impact of my work by a single criterion: How fast can >> I become redundant? How soon can the folks fish for themselves? My task >> becomes infinitely easier as the simplicity of my approach increases and the >> necessity to explain fades away. Best of all would be a situation where >> there is really nothing to explain – just Do it. And then remind the folks >> that they did it, and can do it again. No more. No less. After that the only >> thing left to do is post a sign: “Gone Fishing!” >> >> Harrison >> >> Harrison Owen >> 7808 River Falls Dr. >> Potomac, MD 20854 >> USA >> >> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) >> Camden, Maine 20854 >> >> Phone 301-365-2093 >> (summer) 207-763-3261 >> >> www.openspaceworld.com >> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST >> Go to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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