A duty to take part?

[Michael Herman]

yes, in or out, you remind me that it's all about being
present in the service of 'the field' rather than myself.
every move, every word, every absence and silence ripples in
the field. to what effect?  pay attention. <grin>  very
tricky.  and also not quickly escaped.  <grin again>  m



Chris Corrigan wrote:
> This is true Michael, this bit about blurring the line between in and
> out.
>
> Earlier this year I did a similar thing with a retreat for an
> organization in a lot of pain.  One group of staff formed a discussion
> group and struggled with how to create a respectful work environment.
> They asked me if I had any tools.  There was a lot of pain in the group
> and I made the conscious decision to go there and simply be with them,
> ask a few questions and probe a few assumptions. In the end, the
> conversation took off when I asked them to what extent each of them had
> contribute to the environment of the organization, and (using a piece of
> Appreciative Inquiry) asked them to remember a time when they had been a
> part of something good.  And what were the differences in their own
> stances in each situation?
>
> Once the juice flowed, I left, choosing to be out again, and extend my
> attention to the whole.
>
> I think when we play with metaphors of "holding space" we can think
> about rigidity, like being a box, or elasticity, like being a bag.  Some
> days I'm more bag than box.
>
> My suspicion though is that it takes a great deal of experience working
> with groups to know what flavour of space holding is required in any
> given moment.  I would say that I'm far from an expert, and sometimes I
> make egregious blunders.  But in general, I've learned that as my
> practice of Open Space has deepened, so too has my ability to discern
> subtly in the application of the process.  It's overcoming the old
> problem embodied by the metaphor "if all you have is a hammer, every
> problem is a nail."  OST is a great hammer, but hammers can be used in
> all kinds of ways in a skilled hand.
>
> At any rate, this notion of blurring the in and out is an interesting
> one.  I was recently in a great OST session facilitated by Bill
> Cleveland, an experienced practitioner of art-based community
> development (he practically invented the field).  He was trained in OST
> by Larry Peterson in Toronto (nice job Larry!) and he was opening space
> on the topic of an art-based community development project we are all
> involved in.  Because the issue was near and dear to his heart, he
> bumblebeed around getting involved in conversations to various degrees.
> His curiosity was infectious, and his style was constantly inviting and
> I made scads of mental notes on this very topic watching him float
> around.  In the end I concluded that done with attention to the very
> subtle nature of influencing systems, it is possible to relax the
> separation between facilitator and group on a continuum between
> Michael's case of "becoming a participant" to Bill's example of doing
> both by growing the role of facilitator to include some participation.
>
> It is so tricky to do well though that it probably shouldn't be talked
> about much!  :-) It's one of those things learned through experience,
> felt in the gut and supported with some resolute backbone.
>
> Chris
>
>
> Etc...
>
>
>
> ---
> CHRIS CORRIGAN
> Bowen Island, BC, Canada
> http://www.chriscorrigan.com
> chris at chriscorrigan.com
>
> (604) 947-9236
>
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--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
300 West North Avenue #1105
Chicago IL 60610 USA
(312) 280-7838

http://www.michaelherman.com - consulting & publications
http://www.globalchicago.net - laboratory & playground
http://www.openspaceworld.org - worldwide open space

...inviting organization into movement

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