Kay: I have been really clear with senior people that it's important to understand that they are opening up to a lot of possibilities. That they are staying open to outcome and putting a question "out to the universe" if you like. The responsibility that comes with getting access to those exciting possibilities is that they must not close down and view it narrowly or try to organize it ahead of time. A concentration on particular outcomes will preclude them being open or accessible to the wealth of outcomes possible.
That's ahead of time. I also tell them that during open space, they are free to participate but only that. That is, that they shouldn't intervene with the process and they should try as much as possible from saying anything that even sounds like "you can't do that". As well, if there are non-negotiables as in "you can do anything that you can already find money for in your budget" or "you can do anything if it doesn't cost more than $xxx.xx" then the non-negotiables need to be outlined in the "opening the space" section so that it is clear to everyone. Also, you need to be really clear about what will happen with the results and share that upfront with the participants as well. Will those announcing their topic get a chance to work on it afterwards? Will people announcing topics, be held to following through? Will the recommendations for action be taken away and "approved by an executive group"? Basically what will happen after open space in terms of follow-up on the results of the open space. Also, I have said to executives, don't invite that which you are not prepared to follow through on. That is, if you say that people can make decisions in open space, don't take away their decision making ability afterwards. You will lose trust in spades. Nothing could be better calculated to lower the trust levels. So, those are my thoughts, for what it's worth. Esther Ewing
