Meg and others, OD and Do. You have sparked a need in me to get some thoughts off my chest.
The way I see it there are two parts. One is the facilitator who creates and sustains the space for the participants to "grow". Two the participants themselves. Yes the process is simple but have you noticed that even people like De Bono have some difficulty in selling SIMPLICITY. Much of our modern world has taken simple things described them in new words (jargon) then marketed them as new and special. In the medical world we know that the best defense against infection is simple hygiene, like washing your hands before touching food etc. Not good enough in the modern world I am asked to buy product XXXX because being a manufactured product, it must be better than simply washing your hands. Many of the 'killer" conditions of human kind can be most effectively dealt with by simple lifestyle decisions, but do we exercise, eat food that matches our physical activity etc., in most case the answer is no. We have become conditioned to look for the "savior". We have also been conditioned manage not lead. Leading is dangerous, standing up and saying "the king is naked" is not well rewarded. Every one likes to think that they can but when the time comes it is much safer to stay with the norm. Just look at the Congress of USA in its response to the current issues in the middle east. It un-American to stand up for peace, win win and humanity. It is the same in many workplaces. Therefore as the facilitator of Open Space we are actually taking a stand against the norm. This takes a special kind of person, let's not devalue the things that these people DO. Just as in the chemical world a true catalyst, the agent of change is invisible in the final product so it is with open space. The participants although encouraged to bring their passion and commitment often find it very difficult to change their learned behavior. We see people blossom and groups create the most fantastic outputs within Open Space. We also see people struggle as they are asked to take responsibility for their passion. Then we go back into the world around us. The facilitator, well we did it ourselves so why bother, it is so simple anyone can do it. So we see the organisation reform about their old norms and get on with the job. The participants filled with the experience bounce back into the world, only to slam headlong into brick walls of the REAL world. Confused, bruised and wiser they may choose to keep going but many are not prepared for the hard yards required to be successful. The culture for many conferences and forums requires the participants to write the paper, referee other papers, be present, do a presentation, do a bit of networking, eat and drink too much and go home. Work at the conference or apply learning - that's not in the brief. For me Open Space is a form of traumatic experience, and an experience that needs to carefully processed so that I use the goodness in the most effective way when I leave the space for other parts. This is for both facilitator and participant. It also means that it takes a special environment in organisations to support the cultural change required to apply Open Space. I believe that these organisations will be successful but most likely not the most visible or profitable at least until the world changes to champion sustainable, simple, life of interdependence . Rob * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
