stories of results from opening space in divided communities.....
Christine Whitney Sanchez
milagro27 at cox.net
Thu Sep 19 14:03:52 PDT 2002
Chris, I missed your PS but greatly appreciate the story. So, from today's
vantage point do you think your perception was real or was it "just you?"
In my case, the split I was observing/suffering with was real (within me and
also within the group) but there was more to it than that because, of
course, it is never one dimensional. Beyond the split there was another
level of self-organization taking place that has led to multiple
collaborations in our community that were not a part of the explicit
convergence at the event. Evidentally, the convergences were happening
within individuals and small groups that did not come together until a
couple of months later.
Christine
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Christine Whitney Sanchez
Milagro Organizational Consulting, Inc.
2717 E. Mountain Sky Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85048-8990
480.759.0262
milagro27 at cox.net <mailto:milagro27 at cox.net>
www.milagro3.com <http://www.milagro3.com>
Inviting miracles in our Work!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Chris
Corrigan
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 1:48 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: stories of results from opening space in divided
communities.....
Thanks Christine. That story happened almost two years ago now, and it
actually set me into a pretty strange spin for about six months. The
major issue for me was trying to reconcile the fact that on the surface,
the OST was a stunning success, and is now used on a fairly regular
basis with that organization, and yet, I felt completely differently.
My problem was then trying to figure out why I couldn't see what was
really happening, and whether what I was going through was real or just
me.
I got through the whole thing fine, but anyone who says that
facilitating in Open Space gets a little grin from me. For Romy, my
advice would be to prepare yourself well to deal with the sheer
difficulty of holding space while it's all swirling around you.
Harrison's story from Rome is a great one for this too.
Chris
---
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology
Bowen Island, BC, Canada
http://www.chriscorrigan.com
chris at chriscorrigan.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Christine Whitney Sanchez
> Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 12:55 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: stories of results from opening space in divided
> communities.....
>
> Chris, your heartbreaking honesty causes me to take a deep breath,
open
> my
> heart, and thank you for allowing all of us to learn with you. I had
a
> similar experience last April and it truly took me months to work
through
> all the shame, anger and regret before moving on to the deeper
learning.
> Or
> perhaps it was that dark passage that contained the learning.
>
> May Friday bring you peace.
>
> Christine
>
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
>
> Christine Whitney Sanchez
> Milagro Organizational Consulting, Inc.
> 2717 E. Mountain Sky Avenue
> Phoenix, AZ 85048-8990
> 480.759.0262
> milagro27 at cox.net <mailto:milagro27 at cox.net>
> www.milagro3.com <http://www.milagro3.com>
>
> Inviting miracles in our Work!
>
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of
Chris
> Corrigan
> Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 11:30 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: stories of results from opening space in divided
> communities.....
>
>
> Hi Romy:
>
> What follows is the story of the most conflicted OST meeting I have
> done, the event that caused me to consider taking up goat farming. I
> left all the warts is. Looking back, I grin with amusement and
> amazement at that day, and how much learning I have done since then.
> Enjoy!
>
> PS This meeting happened in January 2001.
>
>
>
>
> Colleagues:
>
> I have stared into the abyss and come away with a new appreciation of
> goat farming as an occupation.
>
> What a day I had.
>
> Now I've dealt with all kinds of space invaders before, most of them
are
> benign, or only mildly ornery. But today I had my first encounter
with
> a space invader who grabbed the mic and used the following words:
>
> "This isn't working for us. Whet we need to do right now is bring a
> table into the middle of this circle, get someone to figure out how
to
> address all these issues and talk about them around the circle!"
>
> It wasn't just a small intervention. It was a show stopping, riot
> inciting, process-scrambling mother of all interventions. It
resulted
> in 68 people stopping dead in their tracks and considering the idea
on
> its merits. And I must admit that the first thought that went
through
> my head was "I'm F***ked."
>
> But let me back up....
>
> Fishing issues could not BE more contentious for First Nations people
in
> this country and especially on this coast. The right to fish,
> especially for salmon and herring, is as deeply rooted and sacred an
> Aboriginal right as you're going to ever find. Armed standoffs occur
> regularly over access to the fishery between First Nations people,
non
> Aboriginal fishers and government. It's serious, serious business.
>
> Today I opened the space for 68 people who are at the heart of the
> matter in British Columbia. They are Chiefs, folks in charge of
large
> Aboriginal fisheries organizations and political leaders. Serious
> heavyweights. The purpose of the gathering: "Organizing our Nations
to
> reclaim the Pacific fishery." Lofty goal. The sponsor was the
British
> Columbia Vice-Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, an umbrella
> political organization. He convened the meeting to provide an
> opportunity for diverse groups to get together and start to take
> responsibility for moving their issues forward.
>
> The diversity in the group was very much compounded by politics.
Some
> First Nations here operated their fisheries under Canada's Aboriginal
> Fisheries Strategy which provides the federal government with a
> regulatory framework in exchange for First Nations having the ability
to
> fish according to their hard won Constitutional rights. Many other
> First Nations reject this strategy and see it as an infringement on
> their rights. Needless to say the two groups rarely talk and hardly
> ever appear in the same meetings together.
>
> But they were both at ours.
>
> 68 people proposed 24 groups and for some reason, no one put their
names
> on their topics. NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN! It is the difference
between
> an agenda topic being a dissociated issue or a passion driven matter
of
> importance. That was the first problem.
>
> The second problem was all my fault, and it had to do with a bad
> opening. Every so often we flub them, get tongue tied, forget
> something, say things in the wrong order, whatever. It wasn't the
worst
> opening I have ever done, but it was probably the worst situation not
to
> be perfect in. Usually people get the hang of the process anyway.
>
> This time however there were too many divisive politics at play for
the
> group to go smoothly into discussion. Folks milled around at the
wall,
> for 10 minuets, 15 minutes, 20 minutes. I started to break a sweat.
> My sponsor was cool, and level headed, but suggested that I prompt
> people to getting down to work. I refused. "They know what to do."
I
> said.
>
> They didn't. For some reason an air of confusions descended upon the
> group. People wandered away. A lot of little discussion started
taking
> place. In retrospect i think two things were happening. First folks
> wanted to be sure they were not going to be committing themselves to
> being in a politically awkward position, so a stand off of a sort
> ensued. Someone had to make the first move. Who you were meeting
with
> was as important as what you were going to be talking about, and so a
> lot of people were waiting for the right people to make the first
move.
>
> Second, there was a lot of socializing going on and folks catching up
> with each other which isn't normally a problem, except in this case
it
> provided a useful way to bide time creating a positive feedback loop.
> The more standing around that was going on, the more solidly people
got
> engaged in the social groups and the more engaged they were there,
the
> less inclined they were to meet in their groups.
>
> I finally assessed the situation from a chaos theory position (you
can
> see how close I was to losing it). i thought to myself perhaps the
> chaos here is just below the threshold. It isn't going to develop
any
> self organizing priorities without a wee addition of energy. So, not
> recognizing the self-organization that WAS going on (it was
happening,
> ii just wasn't what I wanted to happen -- see the fatal error?) I put
> the mic to me lips and said, quietly "The 10:00 groups can get going
any
> time."
>
> Stupid stupid stupid.
>
> That's when the mic was grabbed from my hand and a complete process
> reengineering was suggested. And it didn't help that it was a
prominent
> local chief that made the intervention. Great, I thought. A bad
idea
> backed with authority.
>
> My immediate reaction was to take the mic back when he was finished
> fomenting revolution and calmly suggest that if conveyors wanted to
> combine topics they were certainly invited to do so, but that I
thought
> in terms of the process, folks were expecting to be in Open Space,
and
> that meant that I was going to let the process unfold. I thanked him
> for his comments though.
>
> In two minutes the circles were together and stuff was happening.
And
> the first 1.5 hour sessions worked great.
>
> After that I have to admit that the fire went out of the belly and
the
> second and third sessions morphed into a circle with about 30 people
> talking about the dead moose: the way the Aboriginal Fisheries
Strategy
> divided our Nations. In effect, the group ended up in a situation
very
> close to what the chief had proposed, the difference however, was
that
> it evolved naturally and so it worked very well for them.
>
> I never did get grounded, and found holding the space to be very very
> hard for the whole day.
>
> That discussion went on for three hours, with other things happening
on
> the side. I wrapped them up at 2:30, the group prioritized the 12
> issues that were reported upon and we gathered in the circle for what
I
> was sure was to be the roasting of my life. My confidence was shot,
my
> demeanor reserved, my visage wan.
>
> And to my surprise we heard comments like: this is a great process,
it
> was great to talk in this way, the level of respect in the room was
> phenomenal, we have to do this more....etc etc.
>
> I was pleasantly surprised, although absolutely drained. I'm not
happy
> with how the day went altogether, although i have nothing bad to say
> about the process. This was also the very first time I have done an
OST
> meeting where people have acknowledged the power of the process but
did
> not thank me. And I did not deserve thanks. It wasn't a stellar
day.
>
> So the lesson? The process always works (you idiot, of course it
always
> works) but it works better if the facilitator is clear, cool, and
> collected and the opening has to be impeccably done, especially in
these
> kinds of situations, where there's no forgiveness. It's such a
simple
> lesson, so basic to any facilitation practice, but one that doesn't
hurt
> to be reminded of. Well, it hurts, but that's the point.
>
> I'm going to bed now. I'll wake up on Friday.
>
> Chris
>
>
>
>
> ---
> CHRIS CORRIGAN
> Consultation - Facilitation
> Open Space Technology
>
> Bowen Island, BC, Canada
> http://www.chriscorrigan.com
> chris at chriscorrigan.com
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
> romy
> > shovelton
> > Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 11:07 AM
> > To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> > Subject: stories of results from opening space in divided
> > communities.....
> >
> > hello dear colleagues and friends......
> >
> > I would love your help in tracking down brief details of stories
that
> > show
> > the results of opening space in DIVIDED
COMMUNITIES...............A
> note
> > on
> > the reason why, is below. The ideal will be to be able to give
(by
> the
> > end
> > of next week) a pen picture of Open Space stories which tell of:
> >
> > a) the issue
> > b) the approach ie. anything about that particular Open Space
(OST)
> > event/programme eg. the theme, how the people were gathered, who
the
> > sponsor was or anything else that seems relevant
> > c) the outcomes
> >
> > For instance........ can anyone help me with an outline of:
> >
> > 1) the work that was done in S. Africa many years ago, in the
> township
> > next
> > to Soweto, when Soweto was in flames. The presenting issue was
Taxi
> > Wars........ which was too inflamatory a topic to be used in the
Open
> > Space
> > theme itself........so the brilliant theme was "How do we make it
so
> our
> > children can play in the streets again". Can anyone confirm
whether
> I
> > have
> > remember this outline correctly....... and fill in a few more
details
> +
> > what happened after the Open Space? I know that OST has been used
> for
> > years and years in S. Africa..... and that there are many stories.
> >
> > 2) any news on what's happened since the amazing work that
Harrison,
> > Tova,
> > Avner and Carol did in Rome with 50 Israelis and Palestinians?
> >
> > 3) I am looking to find out what happened since the two Open Space
> events
> > I
> > did in Northern Ireland (Craigavon, including Portadown) last
spring
> -
> > one
> > for young people and one for the wider community (including young
> > people).
> >
> > 4) any other stories of folks in divided communities? For
instance,
> > Chris
> > (Corrigan), your stories are always so amazing, and I found
several
> while
> > searching www.openspaceworld.org for stories.... Do you have any
that
> > relate to divides within First Nation communities of between First
> Nation
> > folks and others?
> >
> > All help will be hugely gratefully received. And please do tell
me
> to
> > "go look in........" if that is what's needed. I am aware that I
> have
> > been
> > rather invisible on the OSLIST in recent months (nay
years!!)......
> and
> > I
> > do treasure every moment I dip in and see the incredible things
that
> are
> > being created through opening space around the world. Thank
> > you............
> >
> > THE REASON FOR THE REQUEST
> > thanks to Tova and Harrison, I am now in touch with a totally
> wonderful
> > organisation in the UK, called Trafford Hall. They support low
> income
> > communities eg. on large housing estates, to build their own
capacity
> to
> > change life in their communities. Their training courses and
> workshops
> > are
> > highly practical, in addition to taking people through the
> appropriate
> > emotional and relationship connections that will really make a
> difference
> > to their individual and collective futures..... (Btw, these are
my
> > words...... I'll trust that they are accurate !!)...
> >
> > A couple of months ago someone from the LSE (London School of
> Economics)
> > who had experienced Harrison and Tova's work with folks in Israel
> > suggested
> > that Open Space /OST would be helpful for the people at Trafford
> > Hall......
> > this lead to them getting in touch with me. The request was/is
to
> > design
> > a two-day workshop called "Breaking down the Barriers", to help
> > communities
> > that are experiencing tensions between black and ethnic minority
and
> > white
> > folks. The aim is to do some work on the barriers themselves and
to
> give
> > the people some skills that they can continue to use 'back home'
and
> in
> > the
> > on-going work that will be done with them. I've put together some
> ideas
> > which seem to be fitting the bill....... so now the good people
of
> > Trafford Hall are putting together a proposal for funding of the
> > course........... which with any luck may be able to begin at the
end
> of
> > the year.
> >
> > So....... these Open Space/ OST stories will be hugely important
to
> back
> > up
> > the proposal....... and would be really welcome, if possible
during
> the
> > coming week.
> >
> > thanks again dear Open Space community
> >
> > warm wishes and hugs (to those that know me and want a hug !)
> >
> > Romy
> >
> > PS just had lunch with Anne Stadler near Trafalgar Square in
London.
> Oh
> > what joy!
> >
> > *
> > *
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