What is the Question?

Tue Apr 13 09:59:41 PDT 2004

Harrison, Brendan and All,

Yes, I find the convening question to be the centerpiece of discussions with
my clients.  In very natural ways, questions such as what are we really
hoping to accomplish here, sponsor commitment to supporting the outcomes,
pre-existing boundaries/givens, communication before, during and after the
event, and any ambivalence or fears arise while we are talking about the
question.  I don't go down a checklist, rather I listen for anything that
needs more clarification or depth.

Several of the OST events I have facilitated have been for community
gatherings where there is not an ongoing intact group/system that will
necessarily continue working together after the event but the hope is that
self-organized action groups will form.  The convening question for these
groups is especially challenging because their shared context is often the
lowest common denominator type (leaders from within the same industry,
people focused on providing different services to the same population, etc).
There is always a theme for the event (capacity building, creating a
community-wide strategy) but it is not necessarily what the OST convening
question will end up being.  In my experience, this is not so much a result
of people denying or skirting the real issues but rather a genuine confusion
about what the common compelling themes are.  In a paradoxical way, the more
difficult it is to craft a really good question, the more opportunity there
is for genuine discussion with the sponsors about what the real deal is
which helps us sort out what truly needs to be clarified ahead of time and
what just why opening space is a good idea (or not).

Christine

Christine Whitney Sanchez
Triune Milagro, LTD
2717 E. Mountain Sky Avenue
Phoenix, AZ  85048-8990
milagro27 at cox.net
480.759.0262  phone
480.759.0403  fax
VISIT OUR WEBSITE:  www.triunemilagro.com <http://www.triunemilagro.com>

Invoking the wisdom and capacity of the human spirit!

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of
Harrison Owen
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2004 6:55 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: What is the Question?

In our recent discussion of "The Givens" it may have appeared that I was
dismissive of looking at all that. And the truth of the matter is that I
have found myself spending little time with clients on the subject before
opening space with them. But that is only part of the story. It is not that
I think The Givens are inconsequential, not worthy of discussion, but rather
that  (for me) they are always secondary to The Question - which eventually
turns into the theme. Why are we doing all this anyhow? What, or where, is
the heart of the matter?

In a private note, Brendan McKeague wrote as follows:

In preparing for Open Space with a community, we always need to identify
'what is the key question here?'.  There is no point in gathering people
around an issue that does not touch their passion, their excitement, their
energy or their spirit. Oftentimes, organizations or communities do not
really wish to name the real issue, preferring to skirt around it, remaining
in denial, using avoidance tactics like procrastination or other subtle
forms of resistance. It takes a brave leader to stand up and declare that
the 'Emperor has no clothes' and that it is now time to confront the key
issue(s) facing this organization so that we can address these and move on.

Brendan expresses my feeling and experience very exactly. And I guess what I
have found is that when we (I) zero in on The Question, and go as deeply as
I can (or the folks are willing to go), The Givens take on a secondary
importance, or else are so obvious as not to need discussion, which may be
the same thing. I wonder if others have had a similar experience.

Harrison

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20845
Phone 301-365-2093

Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/>

Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
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