our experiment of co-facilitating

[Birgitt Williams]

On September 26th and 27th, during the annual Open Space Technology meeting
on the Genuine Contact program, we did an experiment. With agreement
beforehand, we decided to have no one facilitator but for all of us who
gathered to co-facilitate the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to
co-create the future of the Genuine Contact program. Those who attend are
graduates of the program, in keeping with the business model that we have of
all graduates co-owning and co-creating the future of the program. For three
years, we have learned and grown together as we intentionally develop as a
Conscious Open Space Organization. And every September, new graduates emerge
and join us in the co-creation/co-ownership/co-leadership.



We are all well versed and experienced in working with Open Space
Technology. And so, our little experiment for how we would co-facilitate the
annual face to face meeting made sense. Twelve of us gathered, with a few
others participating on-line so we recognized that the space we were opening
and holding needed to be big enough to include others who were
geographically distant.



We arrived in the meeting room, which none of us had set up. A flurry of
activity began as signs were made, decisions were made about session times
and so on. There was a lot of laughter and it would have made a good video
as the participants worked out what was needed. We sat in the circle. Eiwor
Backelund from Sweden suggested that we all work with the energy by going to
the middle and then walking the circle. It was like a dance. Then Michelle
Cooper from Canada suggested we all pause because something was missing. And
she stooped to pick up the bells, rang them, and we all felt better and
continued. I cannot remember who then said what part but all of the parts of
the OST meeting opening were stated. Some facilitators sat while they spoke,
some identified their need to walk the circle and walked as they spoke. The
topics went up, the sessions happened, a lot of great discussions took
place, action plans emerged, productivity was high.



And we were all exhausted. During evening news on the 26th and again during
the closing circle on the 27th, we spoke about the difficulty each of us was
feeling about the dual role of holding the space and of participating in the
space. Each of us expressed great inner turmoil and great exhaustion. The
conclusion was that none of us want to participate in a co-facilitated
meeting like this again.



Debbie Sexsmith from Canada said that this experiment assisted in clarifying
for her that she will not be a participant in an upcoming OST meeting that
she is facilitating.



This morning, a few additional people arrived and we began another Open
Space Technology meetingàthe third annual conference of the International
Alliance for Mentoring. Thomas Herrmann of Sweden did an excellent job of
the opening of the space. When he finished and before we put topics up,
there was a large and loud round of applause as we expressed our gratitude
and really appreciated the worth of a facilitator.

Blessings to you and to all with whom you make Genuine Contact,

Birgitt

Birgitt Williams of Dalar International Consultancy
www.dalarinternational.com

We provide inspirational and practical “how to” guidance for leaders who
want to achieve healthy and balanced organizations to produce exciting,
tangible results for the organization and for its people.

View the calendar for upcoming training in the Organizational Health and
Balance series of workshops featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program at
http://www.openspacetechnology.com/training.html

We invite you to join the Genuine Contact list serve at
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/genuinecontact

Contact information for Dalar International Consultancy: Po Box 19373,
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619 Raleigh, North Carolina USA
Phone: 919-522-7750     Fax: 919-870-6599

Founders of the Wellness Revolution for Organizations

Founders of the International Alliance for Mentoring

Creators of the Organizational Health and Balance series of workshops
featuring the Genuine ContactÔ program


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