Thanks for the conversation, Bernd, John, Jeff, Artur. Lots of complex and subtle issues here.
John, I don't think that being too unattached to outcomes is a problem for most of us, just the reverse. I see a lot of strength in your willingness to wait for the group to take charge of its own meeting, affirming that the people in the room are fully competent to do just that. And I have been in groups with a major Dead Moose--some willing to talk about it, some too fearful. Sometimes my own un-anxious presence will encourage someone to begin the conversation. Sometimes not. I appreciated the suggestions of possible ways to open the conversation without violating the spirit of Open Space. I have had clients take me aside and ask me to be more directive, which I usually decline to do, in the belief that something important is going on. I have asked the boss to sit down and give someone else a chance to speak. I don't think there are any easy answers, but I truly believe that the people in the room have more power than they usually know, and I truly try to work myself out of a job as quickly as possible. Once I was fired--that was a little quicker than I planned. I do see differences in working with groups in other cultures with people who have no history of being allowed to make their own decisions. I see this list as a major forum for us to share experiences and learn to be more sensitive to the different histories of different places. Thanks to Bernd for opening your experience to us! Joelle Everett * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
