Hi folks
Here is a story (Irish style) of a recent Open Space meeting 'in disguise'. I
hope it adds something to our ongoing learning and collective wisdom.
Cheers
Brendan
Open Space as Yarning Space - an Australian story
Context
A group of five different ‘language/family groups’ wishing to pursue their
intention of working together to submit a claim for native title over a certain
area of land that their families had continuous connection with for many years.
There was a history of disagreement, division and destructive conflict between
some of the group during the past 10 years, illustrated by separate, competing
claims over parts of the area in question. They had arrived at a place where
most of the elders had decided it was time to work together otherwise their
chances of achieving a successful claim in the national Native Title Court
would be unlikely. In order to prepare themselves for the next steps in
submitting a formal legal claim over the region, they suggested it would be
appropriate to spend a couple of days together so that ‘they could sit and
yarn' about the issues that divided them in the past, about how they might
reconcile with each other and how they might work together in the future. The
sponsor, a representative of the regional Land Council that would be
responsible for resourcing the meeting, wondered if an Open Space style meeting
would be appropriate.
Naming the Process
Another part of the context was that the sponsoring body did not have a
favourable disposition towards Open Space. I’m not sure of the details,
although it sounded like someone in senior management had previously
experienced some sort of Open Space meeting and wasn’t impressed. My contact
within the system asked that we not call it an Open Space meeting. I was happy
to oblige and we came up with the loosely described notion of creating Yarning
Circles ('yarning circle' is frequently used in indigenous vocabulary in
Australia to describe a group, often referred to as 'a mob’, sitting in a
circle discussing/having a yarn about whatever mattered to them. So the
underlying concept was similar, without the structure of an OST meeting).
From an introductory meeting with the family leaders, we formulated an
invitation that asked the questions: ‘how will we work together AND respect our
individual differences and identities?’
In describing the process, I simply renamed the main circle as the group
Yarning Circle, and the break-out spaces as Yarning Places…everything else
pretty much the usual set-up. I shortened the principles on the posters to
read: Right People; Right Time; Right Place; Right Yarning…the Law of Two Feet;
Butterflies, Bees and Billabongs; Be Prepared to Be Surprised…and linked my
introduction to each of these.
The Event
There was a lot of anticipation about what might happen. The complexity of
longstanding inter-familial, inter-generational disputes is well known in the
world of native title in Australia. Security guards were hired for the meeting
so that only those who were entitled to be there (another interpretation of
'the right people') were admitted. This was to do with the requirement that
only those who are directly descended from the original ‘traditional owners’ of
the particular areas are entitled to be part of the discussions and eventual
decision-making process. There are strict protocols around anthropologist
'connection research’ to ensure that this is the case and these reports often
generate additional conflicts among family groups.
On the first morning of the two-day event, while people were beginning to
gather in the meeting space, there was a very animated and highly charged
interaction between two rather large men (I subsequently discovered these were
two brothers who had not spoken directly to each other for nearly ten years)
and this generated a burst of high tension energy. A security guard
intervened, in a very professional, low-key way, creating a pause between the
men and providing an opportunity for some of their mutual relatives (mostly the
older women) to exert a calming influence on them…fortunately, they seemed to
be well practiced at such interventions!
I was certainly wide awake now! Too soon for a nap…and I wondered, rather
nervously, how the rest of the meeting might go
The men calmed, the senior elder (one of the women) gave a ‘welcome to country’
asking that everyone in the room (about 60 participants) respect the ancestors,
and each other, during this very important time together. I was then invited
into the circle…I did my usual intro, with slight variations of language,
verbal and body, to adapt to my environment. A the end of my introduction, as I
usually do, I wished them well for the work of the day, handed the space over
to them and exited the circle….
As I was heading towards the edge of the meeting area, I noticed a couple of
people dive straight in the centre for their paper and pen…and to my surprise,
the first topic announced was from one of the family members of the feuding
brothers who invited the whole family to meet in the first session to sort out
the issues that had been dividing them for the past decade. And it was an
amazing ‘yarning place’…for much of an hour, there were loud voices, quiet
voices, shouting, tears, hugs, reconciliation, laughter, resolve and agreement
to disagree on what had caused their disturbances and, beyond that, agreement
to work together in the future so that they could contribute constructively to
the collective claim for Native Title….amazing to witness.
For the remainder of the first day, people wandered, sat, stood and lounged
around the room, energy and passion flitting and flowing in their own time,
with differing degrees of high intensity, laughter and lightness.
And for good measure, we also had a ‘space invasion’ in the afternoon, when
another group that had been seeking to prevent this combined claim going ahead,
and had convened a separate meeting in another part of the conference venue,
entered the space uninvited. Some of the leaders in the room stood up and
started towards the exit saying they would not stay while this new group was
there. In the pause of surprise and wonder, I could only think of asking a
question: ‘I don’t really know what’s happening here, would someone please
explain?’ That led to the incoming group, some of whom were related to the
meeting group, requesting to read out a short prepared statement to the meeting
group and then to leave. The meeting group agreed to listen. The statement was
delivered, there was silence and no return comments, the incoming group left
the room and the existing group spent the rest of the afternoon discussing how
they would respond to the information in the statement…a new agenda emerged for
Day Two.
The second day of the meeting saw the group working together in the Yarning
Circle, as an extension of ‘morning news’, for the first part of the morning,
then breaking out into yarning places in response to new issues that were
emerging. After a stretched-out lunch, the group converged to feed back the
Action Plans before a very emotional, enthusiastic and energised closing circle
(that included a short impromptu dance of celebration…)
The Outcome
On the next day, following the two day Yarning Circle, there was a formal
meeting with their legal representatives to ratify agreements made and provide
instructions to be taken forward into the due process for native title
claimants. Needless to say, this meeting was nothing like an Open Space
meeting. However, the group on the previous afternoon had decided how they
wanted the room to be set up for the formal meeting and, guess what, they chose
to have five different circles for each of the five family groups and one
centre circle for the elders from each group to enter when it came to
delivering decisions to the legal representatives…creating a very different
environment from the usual 'top table and rows'. That’s another story!
Concluding Reflections
A few thoughts: the presenting context seemed suitable for Open Space; the
meeting methodology was renamed, the underlying structure was retained; the
conflictual energy that appeared prior to the meeting provided a catalyst for
release of built-up tension and the courage to address what had caused it by
those who lived within it; the stunning significance of self organisation at
work, developing resilience to cope with a potential distracting/de-railing
invasion; the use of the opportunity (the space invasion) to generate new
agenda, to strategise and commit for the follow-up formal legal meeting (a
complex adaptive system at work?); the presenting signs of relationship
building, collective commitment and deeper levels of trust.
Sponsor feedback
1) Why did you chose to use Open Space?
We held a two day OS community consultation followed by a native title
authorisation meeting.
For the community consultation we needed an approach that allowed for a general
theme, linked to progressing a native title claim, that allowed for the native
title group to work out for themselves the best way to work together on a
native title claim and beyond. OS provided the environment for this to occur.
2) What did you notice about the process, the engagement and the outcomes
in this particular context?
The OS approach to the meeting allowed for the attendees to take ownership of
the direction of the two day meeting and, as a result, the
outcomes/undertakings that were generated. In turn, the outcomes provided a
roadmap for how the different traditional factions within the larger native
title group could effectively cooperate while acknowledging and respecting
differences. The outcomes will feed into the rule book and policy manual for
the corporation earmarked to be the PBC.
We used some OS concepts to good effect in the authorisation meeting.
3) What did you learn from this experience?
That our clients can truly benefit from an OS meeting and that certain elements
of OS can be introduced even into meetings with an agenda prescribed by
legislation.
I am convinced that an OS meeting should be convened early in the process of
working with a native title group, particularly if there are internal
divisions.
If used properly, I consider OS could also be useful in some overlapping
claims.
Who knows what will happen next…indeed, that's not ours to know in the complex
and mysterious world of emergence!
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