2 Day OS - reflection (longish)

[BrendanMcKeague]

G'day folks

I have a need.....to share this beautiful experience with you

My client - a Govt dept with whom I have been working for two years -
invited me to facilitate a two-day OS gathering for all its workers - about
100 good folks working with people with disabilities in the community. All
the orthodox ingredients for a successful OS were present -
great venue - large, spacious function centre overlooking the beautiful
Swan River in Perth, Western Australia, 100 eager souls, the director and
management team behind the process, brilliant weather, great food and a
plethora of passion upon which to open a scrumptious space...and it was
just fantastic - an experience to lift the spirit of all present - at least
that what it felt like in the Closing Circle...

We had the first day's reports printed overnight and distributed on
everyone's chairs as they arrived second morning - fascinating to feel
their surprise (even tho they had been told this was going to happen -
don't think they really believed it would), their excitement and their
focus on reading - it was intense for the first half-hour - then the
morning news and few new conversations - there were only four and
five  topics posted for 100 people for each of the two sessions and
everyone participated intently (seemed to me) in each one - as though they
had really named the most important issues for the group....

What I did differently from previous experiences? Two major changes come to
mind:

1       I had an 'apprentice' alongside me - (is this is an appropriate
term) a trainee who had participated in an training programme last year and
who took on a role of the logistical support - helping at the Mkt Place,
News Board, computers, liaising with the venue staff....this left me
completely free to hold the space for everyone else (including the trainee)
and devote most of my energy to this...I was very loose and relaxed throughout

2       As well as form of convergence, I re-opened the space and it worked
wonderfully - using the suggestion of Michael Pannwitz ..thanks

After lunch we had a time for reading all the conversations on the News
Board and a 'red-dot prioritising process' that highlighted the top
five-six issues for the group - we left them there on the wall recognising
them as the areas that the gathering felt most passionate about at this
time - then I plugged into mmp's suggested process, something like this...
Gathered together in the cirlce once again

"Please put your books down....what you have worked on and written up is
prelude for action...it is like a backdrop for the things you might want to
do...before you start possible planning take 7 minutes to reflect just on
your own what all the things you have experienced and worked on mean to you
personally, for your work, your family, your neighborhood....to assist your
reflection here are some pens and paper to jot down some notes, just for
yourself ...after six minutes I will sound the temple bells...some of you
can do this kind of reflection with the greatest din going on others
require silence..."
There was complete silence and it felt intense - some folks eyes closed,
others gazing out across the river towards the city skyline, others writing
at various pace...(many people referred to the peace and the power of this
time during the Closing Circle)
After six minutes I sounded the temple bells in the faintest way I know how
to and people come back into the presence...
Then I continued like this:
"Now that you have reflected, here is one more chance to use the resources
and treasures in this group. Find someone, this might be the person sitting
next to you or someone across that you haven't really met yet but wanted to
contact all along....and use that persons questions, insights and wisdom to
more clearly understand what you have reflected on and then let yourself be
used by your partner...I will sound the bells after ten minutes..."
Within 10 seconds everyone was talking, laughing...pretty noisily in
contrast to the intense silence just before this step..one person walked
right across the space to speak the person sitting next to me, saying: "I
don't really know you - how about we share on this?" - beautiful.

"Ok, now that you have worked all day yesterday, produced a book of
proceedings, read and discussed it all and have reflected alone and with at
least one other person what this all means to you the time has come to see
what ideas have hands and feet and head and heart. If there is something
you feel you need to act on just jot it down put your name to it and post
it. And don't forget: The Law of Two Feet is still in force...so if you
find that you are neither learning nor contributing...."

People then got up, rather slowly - announced their project and posted it
on the walls around the circle. It took about 10 minutes for all posts to
be up and then I continued:
"This is the time to go walk to the project you are eager to act on and see
who else gathers there and find out what the next step is. This is not the
time for a new discussion or a complete strategic plan, just the concrete
next step you want to take. You have 20 minutes...we also posted a sheet
you can fill in with the name of the project, who all participates, what
the next step is, when a meeting might be and who takes on the role of the
contact person. These sheets will all be sent to you as "Next steps" in a
few days along with the other reports from today's conversations."
We then gathered again to listen to the brief reports from each of the five
groups that has formed and, after a short stretch break began the closing
circle which was awesome....

Time-line for Day II went something like this

9 - 930am       Gathering and reading reports
930 - 1000      Morning News
1000 - 1100     Conversation
1100 - 1130     Morning Tea
1130 - 1230     Conversation
1230 - 130      Lunch
130 - 200       Reading, dotting and prioritising reports
200 - 230       Quiet reflection and partner share
230 - 315       Action Planning
315 - 340       Afternoon tea (this is Australia)
340 - 400       Report back
400 - 500       Closing Circle

And so ended a wonderful open space.....thanks to all who contributed to
the space opening within me



*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu,
Visit:

http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20030406/07226341/attachment-0016.htm>