Participant Driven Open Space Principles and Laws

[Meg Salter]

I find this fascinating - and agree that (mostly) real change will come when
a "behaviour rule change" comes from outside the group. This is exactly the
definition of 2nd order change or transformational change "changes to the
body of rules governing their structure or internal order". [For you
scholarly types - this last quote is from an older work "CHANGE - Principles
of Problem Formation and Resolution, by Watzlawick, Weakland and Fisch,
Morton & Co, 1974", that a seasoned OD practitioner put me onto some time
ago. It talks about group theory and the theory of logical types.]

This is why OS works; for those new to it, it proposes a new way of
working - one they haven't conceived of before. For those used to it, the
process is just a new set of assumptions, and they get on with the tasks
they care about.

There are other sources of transformational change too - sometimes it could
be in the form of a leader/teacher who embodies and role models a different
set of assumptions. Sometimes, it could be in technology (ie Internet
communication) that sweeps away old infrastructures.

But in mysterious and wondrous ways, the true change does seem to come from
outside the group. And is that just our role? To embody a new set of
assumptions- both in the rules and Law of OS, and in how we behave and BE
with the group?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joelle Lyons Everett" <JLEShelton at aol.com>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 12:11 AM
Subject: Re: Participant Driven Open Space Principles and Laws


> For a long time I've been interested in how changing the rules changes the
> game.  It seems that any time you re-define "the Laws" or the group norms,
it
> encourages behavior change, whether the new rules be dialogue principles,
> Open Space laws, or something as simple as brainstorming "rules."
>
> It also seems to me that such a rule change is more likely to originate
> outside than inside the group.  Having the group decide on group norms,
which
> I have done many times, brings forward best practices from participants'
> experience.  It isn't likely to result in a paradigm shift.
>
> If I, as an outside facilitator, propose such a shift, the participants
have
> a relatively low-risk setting to test new behaviors and see what happens.
> And what happens is often dramatic and effective.
>
> I think the really powerful place for participants to define what the
rules
> should be is after they have experienced a new way of being together.  For
> example, after a weekend work session when we operated under brainstorming
> rules, a group of clients realized that their habit of putdown humor was
> discouraging on-the-job creativity.  And an Open Space meeting in an
> organization often leads to discussion about what elements should carry
over
> into their everyday experience.
>
> I don't think there's one right answer to this question--I'd love to hear
> about your experience.
>
> Joelle Everett
>
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