Thank you so much for these stories about working with Open Space in an integrated way within the context of organizations. I am beginning my practice of, well I don't really know what to call it, right now I use the words personal, professional and organizational development within international environments and one of my desires has been to use Open Space as part of larger projects, but I guess I lacked confidence about how to do it. Reading this story has been a real inspiration for me to continue to experiment and trust my instincts.
Sincerely, Doris Gottlieb -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]]Namens Michael Herman Verzonden: dinsdag 3 juni 2003 2:31 Aan: [email protected] Onderwerp: Re: Open Space ,Self-Organizing Systems, and The Plexus Institute thanks, joelle. i do remember hearing some of this on our drive north last year. what i find most attractive about susan's story is that she's managed to package the whole thing up for sale. but this story of yours is a good reminder that a similar effect can be achieved in a more organic way as well. interesting that both stories currently end just short of folks learning/convening open space directly for themselves. these two stories bring an image of tunnelling teams finally meeting in the middle. heartening, for sure. michael Joelle Lyons Everett wrote: >Michael-- > >Paul and I have had a similar opportunity in the past year or so. Like your >friend, we were invited into the organization. The director of a public >agency asked us to come in with some leadership seminars for her top management >team. Then, she closed the door and confided that she was taking early >retirement in a little over a year, and wanted to leave the organization with a strong, >well-functioning team at the top. > >Working with the director, we developed a program of five seminars, half >days, off site meeting in someone's home, closing with a potluck lunch, and with >an extra hour blocked out on managers' schedules so no one had to rush from >seminar to something else. We limited each session to a few simple ideas, and >provided time for skills practice and lots of discussion about application to >organizational issues. > >Two sessions on communication skills, a session on self care for leaders >(including a piece on griefwork in organizations), two sessions on planning, one >focussed on strategy and one on implementation. The topic on the schedule for >sessions 6 - 8 was "Creating an environment for inspired work." Over lunch on >day 5, we announced that we had reached a choice point. We could design 3 >more seminars, or we could move to experiential learning. We challenged the >group to design and sponsor an Open Space conference for the sixty-person >department. > >It was a long lunch, but the team accepted our challenge. A few weeks later >we had a one-day Open Space that just blew everybody away, very exciting. > >Since the Open Space, we are in more of a coaching mode--some one on one >coaching with individual managers, and we come in for a leadership team meeting >once a month, not to teach or facilitate, but to block out time for what they >call "big talk"--the important conversations that are put off because they take >too much time on a busy day. One leadership meeting a month now includes all >supervisors and coordinators as well as division managers, to continue the >cross-division, cross- level conversation. > >They have not moved to Open Space for their regular meetings, but more and >more agendas are put together in the meeting, by the participants. They are >planning a department-wide Open Space to welcome the new director. Maybe more >important, there is a new criterion in their decision-making. Often now, when >an action is proposed, someone will say, "Do we really want to do that, after >Open Space?" > >By the way, in the interim between directors, the managers are working as a >self-managing team, with one team member designated to be the liason to City >Hall. And they have been proactive, going to the City Manager right away and >saying that they wanted to be actively involved in the choice of a new director. > >I often begin with Open Space in an organization, but it has been great fun >this past year to turn that around and get to know a team well before we >ventured into Open Space. This group has been just great to take the skills and >concepts from seminars and try them out in real life, so they had a bit of >confidence that Open Space just might work. > >I'd love to hear about other ways people are combining Open Space with other >work in organizations! > >Joelle > >* >* >========================================================== >[email protected] >------------------------------ >To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, >view the archives of [email protected], >Visit: > >http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > > -- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates 300 West North Avenue #1105 Chicago IL 60610 USA (312) 280-7838 http://www.michaelherman.com - consulting & publications http://www.globalchicago.net - laboratory & playground http://www.openspaceworld.org - worldwide open space ...inviting organization into movement * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
