when a client hires Open Space Technology, is this what she gets?

[Birgitt Williams]

Harrison wrote:
Goodness --- you certainly ask the hard ones!!!! I guess for me, real open
space is safe enough so that people can really talk about what they care
about, and start on the process of taking useful action. Safe Space requires
that they have the time too -- for a complex, conflicted issue, there has to
be time to work. But it can't be too safe -- there is a risk, life is a
risk. And here is where passion is important. I guess a useful criteria is
that the space is safe enough for passion to show up. How''s that?
****************************************************************************
****************************************************************



Harrison,
on that notion of safe space. I wonder if you could say a few more words
about that. I very much appreciated your contribution with the conversation
on grief cycle. And I wonder if you might just have more of a go at this one
on "what is open space" and in relation to the notion of "safe space".
 I'll get this going the next step with my offering that I don't think we
are not about "safe space" when we facilitate Open Space Technology nor even
space that is safe enough for passion to make an appearance. Or maybe we do,
just for the time of the event, and not beyond. And it is the "before" the
event and the "after" the event that may in fact not be safe, and in fact
there might be a reduction in "safety" as a result of the event. Within an
organization where there is lots of conflict (passion too) going on, on a
daily basis, when we go in to to facilitate an Open Space Technology
meeting, I have witnessed situations where, despite the happy and warm
hearted closing circle, in the months following the Open Space Technology
event, there are firings, people quit, and the level of disatisfaction and
upheaval is huge. People look back on the Open Space Technology event as the
catalyst. In each and every case, when I follow up with people to find out
if they would rather that we had not done the Open Space Technology meeting,
the answer is always, always that it was good that we did it. The conclusion
is that the truth that was really there anyway has come to the surface. It
is one of the gifts of Open Space Technology that given enough time and
space, the stuff that no one likes to talk about, the "dead moose under the
table" comes to the surface to be talked about. And despite the pain and
lack of feeling of safety and confronting demons and bedevilments, my
experience with people over time is that they are glad to finally have
things "on the table" so that they can actually make life decisions from
that point. Life decisions, in my personal experience, are never easy.
Sometimes I make my life decisions because I feel safe enough to do so. And
sometimes I make my life decisions because I fear the losing of my life if I
do not--and in these cases I do not feel safe in my starting point. I have
seen the parallel in Open Space Technology, when there is a lot of conflict.
It surfaces but I am not sure this is because we have established a space
that is SAFE. I agree that it is OPEN, whatever that may mean. And passion
rises if it is powerful, whether space is safe or not, or safe enough for
passion or not. Or something like that.

Note: below my signature, I've included a posting that I did long ago about
"the Dead Moose Society" just for anyone who is not aware of this and might
be interested in the notion. Folks from other countries have used animals
other than "moose" which is very Canadian.


Kindest regards,
Birgitt

Birgitt Williams
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  OPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGY

  Dead Moose Society

  You are invited to join The Dead Moose Society

  Beware all of you in the world of Open Space. Another entity has formed
and we are extending an invitation to all of you to participate. At an
Opening the Space event in February 1997 in Ontario, Canada, we discussed
the importance of living our truth, with good heads, good hearts, and
extending care and compassion out into the world. We then talked about the
hazards associated with living this way. What happens when collusion
(co-illusion) is named? What happens when a truth that everyone knows about
but no one ever talks about (except for parking lot gossip) is named? What
happens when Space is Opened and truth surfaces?

  At first glance, the answer would seem that the air gets cleared and life
goes on better that before. Our collective experience has told us that this
is not so. It is more common that the truth teller comes to harm, is
targeted for harm somehow. Or Open Space itself is called into question,
with people being so angry about the truth having come out, that they end up
being angry at the Open Space process that they say "it didn’t work, look at
what resulted."

  So . . . we identified that all of this was like having a dead moose under
the table. Everyone knows it’s there, it smells, maybe has gathered flies,
is sickening, but no one wants to say the obvious. And we decided that Open
Space is to be honored for putting "the dead moose on the table" so that it
can be identified and appropriately dealt with.

  And thus we formed the Dead Moose Society as an adjunct to the Open Space
Institutes and all good Open Space work everywhere. The purpose of the Dead
Moose Society is to get the Dead Moose on the table wherever we can, and to
support each other in efforts to do so. The principles that will govern our
Society are:

  Harrison Owen’s four principles for Open Space:

  1. Whoever comes is the right people

  2. Whenever it starts is the right time

  3. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have

  4. When it’s over, it’s over

  As well as Angeles Arrien’s four laws of Spirit:

  1. Show up and be present

  2. Tell the truth

  3. Follow what has heart and meaning

  4. Let it go

  The Invitation

  Please form your own Dead Moose Society when needed (NOW isn’t such a bad
time) with whomever you can interest in this very important work. They must
be people who are willing to take risks, have courage, have vision, and
enjoy community. And be committed to living by the principles as above that
encourage us to be about our own truth also.

  Location

  The first meeting of this first group took place in a pub in Unionville,
Ontario on April 16th, 1997. That sets a possible tone for where other
Society meetings should be located - a good pub.

  Fees

  We would like to say there are none, but for those of you who try to live
your truth, and who have tried to name truth in an organization, you know
the price can be very high - nothing less than your soul sometimes.

  Agenda

  Whatever happens, playfulness is certainly essential. We all need to come
forward with the abundance mentality of giving and sharing. For us, some of
the agenda items of our first meeting included:

    a.. Where did the dead moose come from anyway?
    a.. The loudest burp
    a.. When moose(s) extend their mating call, do we try to mate with them?
    a.. What is the plural of moose?
    a.. How do you spell carcass?
  We brought fun items along - a moose caller, a moose puppet, a moose
statue - the list goes on and on. We formally signed a register and
pretended like "Roberts Rules of Order." To sign the register, we each took
on a moose name. So much hilarity happened that poor Robert’s Rules fell to
the wayside, and we actually got a lot done.

  As you might guess, with the help of humor, the real Dead Moose stories
came out - very painful, very serious. We support one another to carry on
with bringing truth into the workplace. And because we are able to laugh,
amidst the tears, we are able to hold on to the space that Open Space and
truth need to bring healing into the organization.

  Stay in touch

  If you have a Dead Moose story to share or if you start your own "chapter"
of the Dead Moose Society, please let us know. Just for the record.






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