Catherine wrote: "Perhaps in your case there simply wasn't enough time to carefully think about what might be necessary for yourself to stay whole throughout the entire process, thus ensuring its full success even more. To clarify your role as facilitator and the roles of others. (Taking a walk might have been better than cleaning dishes all day.)"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Taking care of yourself is REAL important! Doing that is both easier and harder in Open Space. Easier, because if you trust the people, they will take care of the business. Harder -- because since you don't seem to be "doing" anything (and the guy who is paying your fee might be looking!) you may find yourself doing something, anything -- just to appear busy and earning your keep. I love the title of Marv Weisbord's (of Future Search fame) latest book, "Don't just do something, Stand There!" Right On! The only problem I have with Catherine's suggestion is that you "think" about it! Don't think! Do Nothing!! Creating space for yourself may seem like a selfish act (it is -- but very useful). The flip side is that when you have plenty of personal space, freed from all the "shoulds," "ought to's" and "musts" you also have the room (space) to offer the same (space) for others. For whatever it is worth, when I do an Open Space I do my very best to make sure that I have NOTHING to do -- as in taking care of logistics, housing, restaurant bookings, whatever. The hotels are very good at making housing assignments; the travel desk will take care of travel (that is what they are paid to do!). And the People can take care of all the rest! I admit this may sound like a total scam. Indeed one of my friends(?) once said of me that I had invented the ultimate scam -- The client does all the work, and they even write the report. All true! But it is not about me (or us). It is about the people (client, whatever) taking total responsibility for what they care about. And when they reach the point of a blinding flash of the obvious -- that they don't really need me -- I am gone! One other small different with Catherine. You don't need 6 months. 24 hours will do. After all you aren't going to do anything! However you will need to BE a lot. And that may take some time for preparation. Harrison -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Catherine Pfaehler Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 4:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: AW: long: Vignettes of an arts os Doug - thank you, very interesting report, great questions and observations. I observe that when the OS is small, I naturally want to and do feel part of the group more than when it is big and I have staff around to help with the copying, food etc. (in big long or especially complex OS's, I even work with a personal coach or somebody from the sponsor to talk to about the process and necessary announcements). Could it be that you felt dejected because you have been working quite a lot not only holding space, but washing dishes etc. to serve the group all day long, but due to staying true to your invisible role you didn't want to get the credit you deserved for that part? (actually, that was two persons's work done by one...) My antidote when alone with a small group is to spend time discussing with friends on the phone or on OSLIST in order to leave the group entirely to itself and not get in the way of their process. Even on evenings when they have great fun. And to be sure to have some OS work with me to stay busy in the evenings and not to get lonely. My checklists can still get a lot better... Another antidote for me is to insist on a post-event-meeting. Not only to check if they need further assistance, but also to harvest and get feedback indirectly, through hearing how the OS was for the group and what has happened / emerged / been changed or decided since. Openings as short as possible are important to me. Often, I don't even tell anything about how OS was "found" (after all, that's our story, not theirs). Well done with the extra report. Very respectful to let Anne decide what she wanted to do with it. Yes, I'm often exhausted as well when an OS is over. I have learned to seriously try to sleep enough and leave the evening work to my assistant(s). To take a day off afterwards. To ask for enough help or at least a caterer who takes care of food and dishes logistics. To ask for a fast copier if books of proceedings have to be produced for everybody, and for an assistant in the office. I do like to have enough time for preparation (in general I like to have half a year from the first talk to the sponsor till the event, but will go shorter if needed - but not shorter than 3 months) in order to let the things which need to be considered surface in their due time. Perhaps in your case there simply wasn't enough time to carefully think about what might be necessary for yourself to stay whole throughout the entire process, thus ensuring its full success even more. To clarify your role as facilitator and the roles of others. (Taking a walk might have been better than cleaning dishes all day.) Catherine Catherine Pfaehler Senn lic.oec.HSG Open Space Begleitung Kellersriedweg 8 CH - 2503 Biel +41-(0)32 - 365 68 41 [email protected] -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: douglas germann [mailto:[email protected]] Gesendet: Donnerstag, 21. Juni 2007 17:35 Betreff: long: Vignettes of an arts os Hi friends-- Vignettes of an arts open space Studio Arts Center is a group of people dedicated to the arts in South Bend, Indiana, and its work consists of the 4 Es: Education, Exhibitions, Events, and Eating. It was started by 3 men who wanted to improve their art and have a place to show it. After a few years, they sold it to the present owner, Anne. Sold is perhaps overstatingas the story goes, one of the men offered to pay her $5 to take his share! A picture SA emerged in our conversations leading up to the OS: what was holding SA back (from Anne's vision of a foundation that advances the arts in all of Northern Indiana), was in fact Anne herself. More precisely, Anne does everything: develop the curriculum, write the catalogues, design the Web spaces, book the shows, cook the food for the community breakfasts, buy the food, clean the toilets and sweep the floors in all three buildings on the campus. If SA was to flourish, it needed to outgrow Anne. Anne agreed this is so. Anne was wonderfully open to, and frightened of, the notion of giving SA to the community. So she decided to go ahead. Anne first thought that it would be a good event if she got 10 people to come. We actually had 16 people at the Sunday evening circle, and 26 at the Monday all day Open Space. All was pretty much standard OS, except perhaps the time between the invitations being completed and the event: On May 31 we had the final version of the written invitation done, and the OS was June 10 and 11, less than 2 weeks later. Anne personally handed out the invitations to most of the people, but finally ran out of time and put the last bunch into the mail. Her invitation was something special, being hand addressed in calligraphy on fancy black paper for the envelope, and being composed of 5 quarter sheets of paper on the inside. Pictures of the invitation are on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8850949@N06/sets/72157600414362562/detail/ The OS was held inside a wonderfully open art gallery with many windows. A challenge: there was a show ongoing in the gallery, and we could not use any of the walls. Challenge met: we put the principles/patterns and the law up on artists' easels throughout the room. The wall for the postings consisted of two folding walls, each about 8 feet by 8 feet. Pictures of these are also on Flickr. Sunday evening was a wine and cheese party plus a circle for the people attending. We did two listening stick rounds, using a large artist's brush. The first question asked for a story of how SA or the arts had engaged each person, a story of a peak experience. The second question asked for people to remember the future 10 years off, telling a story of what SA looked like back in 2017. Sunday evening went from 7:00 to 9:00, the actual circle convening a little after 7:30. Monday started with a buffet breakfast at 8:30 with space opening at 9:00. We had 3 sessions of 90 minutes, with a lunch set out for people to get and take back to their groups during the middle session. During the opening, which I admit was dragging, but before I got to the four patterns and law, a gentleman said Let's just get going and do it. I said OK, I will go faster, but there are a couple things you need to know. Has anybody else experienced this, and what was your response? Everything happened as usual: 13 topics were posted and combined into 9 groups. By end of day there were 10 reports submitted, totaling 22 pages. About the extra report: Sunday night, after we had adjourned, one man handed me a typewritten note saying what he thought needed to be done. Much of it was complaint against the current director. I wrestled on Monday about whether to include this document in the Book of Proceedings: It came out of the event, so had a claim to being part of the results. It did not come out of the conversations of either day, so it was not actually a part of the meeting; besides it was in the nature of backward looking and sour grapes. In the end I included it in the Book and offered to Anne to remove it; she decided to leave it in. What would you have done? After the sessions concluded at 2:30, we posted the handwritten reports on another movable wall. People gathered around the wall and read parts of the reports, but they were lengthy and people were more interested in conversation. I suspect they did not read very much. Perhaps we could have spread out the reports giving room to congregate around each one. We had scheduled to reopen the space at 3:00, have groups meet for a half hour after that, and then reconvene for the closing circle at 4:00. The group remaining, about 12, decided to stay in one group. Out of this circle came the decision to have a working committee to carry out the ideas of the various groups. Anne was flabbergasted that so many people wanted to help and were willing to volunteer. That alone made it a great day for her. After that decision, and people had signed up for the working committee, we went to a listening stick circle, again using the large artist's brush; then stood, faced out, and stepped out into the world. I was physically exhausted at the end of the day. There was much standing and walking. Picking up the coffee cups took on an added meaning as I washed the coffee cups and dishes throughout the day! But I was also dejected, and wondered whether I ever wanted to hold space again. Some of this was the exhaustion. Some of it was the fact that I was not part of the conversations and so shut out from the interactionsand magicthat the participants had. Some of it may have stemmed from having worked so closely and directly with the inviters, and now here I was on the outside looking in. Whatever it was about, I was left with a big emptiness. I have noticed this in many other open spaces, but this seemed stronger. Has anybody else experienced this? What's your antidote? Or should I even be looking for an antidote? One other thing learned: in the closing circle, Anne called herself an event junkie. This might be a clue for us as to who is open to OS people who already believe in the power of getting people together and in holding events. :- Doug. Germann * * ========================================================== [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 * * ========================================================== [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 * * ========================================================== [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
