Well said Lisa Thanks Pat Black On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 10:14 AM, Lisa Heft <lisah...@openingspace.net>wrote:
> John and others - Thank you so much for opening us to this important > conversation. > > Something I think we all share - as facilitators experienced in working > with groups (comprised of individuals) - is that we cannot know what > another's personal life experience is. > > We can be well intentioned, and kind, and loving, and appreciative, and > welcoming. > But we cannot know what someone's life experience has been with the complex > dynamics of race and power, class and access, 'isms' and '___phobias', > survivorship and identity... > > Even if we are the same (seemingly) as another person (such as both women, > or both looking like the same color) we cannot know or assume that other > person's experience - we can only listen well, stay humble, and learn from > what we hear, see and bump into (when we make mistakes). > > And especially in terms of being able to know or expect or assume ... when > one is of a majority culture and that other person is not of majority > culture. > > So many hidden complexities and histories that inform one's sense of > inclusion or exclusion. > > To add to that, for anyone who feels they have been marginalized > (dis-included in many ways over time) - it seems quite natural that they > would yearn for visible leadership from someone who looks and sounds like > them. > > The amazing thing about Open Space is that the facilitator soon becomes > invisible as the group jumps off into space. > So if one cannot find a facilitator that looks like / is of the culture of > the group being facilitated, this is one of those tools for which the > participants can claim their own space rather immediately after the opening. > > However I think it behooves us to honor a group's interest and request for > someone of their culture as a facilitator, in any culture, if we can find > someone of that culture who is also capable and skilled. I would hate to > put someone in the facilitator role who was not able to do the job, so > sometimes this either means taking extra time and resources to train > someone(s) or a candid discussion with the client about this process and how > it upends the usual power dynamics as the participants self-organize. > > My two any-color cents, dear colleagues, > > Lisa > > *Lisa Heft* > Consultant, Facilitator, Educator > *Opening Space* > lisah...@openingspace.net > www.openingspace.net > > > > * * ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To > subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about > OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
