Harrison: I also found your new article quite helpful for learning and framing. I especially liked the image of "sitting the question" and taking it into "possibility space". "Sitting the Question" is a good metaphor for what I seem to do with clients as we explore context and theme in developing the initiation to an OST event. The conversation that leads to a powerful question, one that enables a possibility space that "fits" the organization and its movement, is critically important. It usually takes one "overnight" and maybe more for the planning group to reflect on their context and discover/discern a question that is and feels powerful - that suggests the direction for the possibility exploration in Open Space. Possibility Space is much more powerful than Bridges "neutral zone" and does fit with the Grief Work metaphor. The letting go of previous learning (de-schooling/learning) that is often required to embrace possibilities beyond where we have been before. Being, albeit briefly, an Electrical Engineer somewhere in my past life, I really like the metaphor and reality that the space is "negatively charged" creating the potential or possibility for the positively charged action of leadership to move to the centre and begin the release of energy - that does often feel magical!
I recently interviewed the senior government sponsor of the 14 (1 day) OST events that I with some colleagues (Sharon King, Diane Gibeault, Meg Salter, Kim Martens and Judy Gast) were involved with the sponsor in designing and facilitating. They happened over less than a three week period and I was involved in 9 of them. It was the "same" design and "question" in 14 regional locations, with some voting fixes in convergence, and the events involved almost 3800 people in total. Participants saw possibilities in terms of health care integration and produced planning results when they returned to their back home regions, exceeding all government expectations. It has also created a critical mass of conversation around the Province, it seems. I just led a follow-up two day event with some volunteers from each of the 14 events, with two OST conversations - different questions. The energy and possibilities were further enhanced. Given the pace and set up, I was anxious. But, on day one we seemed to have found the "question", although not all understood or connected to it at the beginning. However, some participants jumped to enter into the possibility space even before I completed the opening and the positive energy began to flow again. Thanks for naming the knowledge in another useful way. Larry Larry Peterson Associates in Transformation Toronto, ON, Canada 416.653.4829 <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] <http://www.spiritedorg.com> www.spiritedorg.com * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
