Can we be space invaders ?? - similar experiences

Wed Apr 28 05:46:21 PDT 2004

Marei wrote: So if I believed in the idea of space invaders (which for me is
a theoratical construction I don't like very much - who decides when space
is invaded and when not?)

The simple answer to your question is that the participants decide. And they
do and they will. The function of the facilitator (or at least my function
when facilitating) is to keep the space open so that a decision can be made.
This can be interesting, if only because the Space Invaders in my experience
are mostly interested in closing the space down. Things become particularly
interesting if the Space Invader, by whatever name, happens to be the
President of the Company. Suddenly it occurs to him or her that things are
getting out of control – and in words of some sort he/she says, “Folks, It’s
my way or the highway.” Space closed.

Such an action (and I have only seen it happen once or twice) eliminates all
possibility of discussion, decision – and of course Open Space. As the
facilitator, this puts me in a very curious spot. I have come (and committed
to) open space. Unless the Space Invader shows up in the first moments
(which I have never seen), certain promises have been made implicitly and
explicitly. You (the participants) are important. What you think is
important. Your issues are important – all of that has been communicated to
the participants. And I have been very central in that communication. If
nothing else it now becomes a matter of my integrity, to say nothing of the
integrity of the Open Space. So what to do?

It really is not my meeting. And so if everybody just wants to sit there and
be miserable – that is obviously their choice, and they will make it. I see
it as my responsibility to open the space up sufficiently so that a choice
can be made, and simultaneously, everybody can recognize that they are
making a choice – even if they sit there and do nothing. How to do that will
vary with the situation.

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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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Marei
Kiele
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 7:05 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Can we be space invaders ?? - similar experiences

Dear Gerard,

back on the web after three weeks off I am overwhelmed by some 300 postings
to be read. And more and more are coming in each day. I started answering
your mail before I left but didn't have the chance to send it any more.
Sorry for my being late - but I decide to write late better than not at all
- loving your idea of sharing our mistakes, ups, our learnings ;-)

Opposite to Harrison I agree with you. So if I believed in the idea of space
invaders (which for me is a theoratical construction I don't like very much
- who decides when space is invaded and when not?) I'd say you did invade -
I guess already by asking the question. Questions open. But on the other
hand they lead (in german we have this saying: "Wer fragt, der führt" = "who
is asking is leading"). And should not the participants of an open space be
their own leaders?

You wrote:
"If there would be a good reason for this to happen, what would that reason
be ??"
and 
"Why invading the space was the only thing this facilitator could do ?"

One of the many possible good reasons (and of course there was one) could
have been that the facilitator felt so connected with the pain or the fear
he witnessed that he couldn't wait till they found their own
problem-serving-strategy. And as you said: He was totally convinced to serve
the system.

Thank you for sharing. I like your two questions very much and find them
very helpful for accepting what I or others are doing.

Will you be solving the riddle one day?

With love,
Marei

PS: I tried to escape without my own share - but opened up this posting
before sending it out. Here it comes:

Facilitating a prepatory-meeting some weeks ago I tried to convince the
planing-commitee to invite additional people by saying "I as a facilitator
would include...". First I thought this was only because of my being
attached to the outcome and my fearing the group might be to small for
finding out the suitable theme. And later I took a deeper look into myself
and discovered a second reason: I had prefered doing something else on the
date we fixed and by including these new people the date would have been
defered. And I didn't want to let go of my other plans without being sure
the prep-meeting was going to be sucessful.
Fortunately they stayed to their own intention, we meet in a small group on
the agreed-upon date and had a wonderful meeting (with conflict inside the
group showing up and all the timetable going down the tubes me doing nothing
but witnessing...). 

In the end it's been a great experience and learning-opportunity for me. And
the group was satisfied with my work, too.

Anybody else out there with similar experiences?

Marei

"Harrison Owen" <hhowen at comcast.net> schrieb:
> I guess I see your action less as "invading the space" than as "opening
the
> space." The significant thing to me is that you posed a question ("What is
> the most important topic we have forgotten?"). In my experience, questions
> open space. Statements close it. We see this happening every time we open
> space with something like -- "What are the issues and opportunities (fill
in
> the blank)?" I think the atmosphere would be radically different were we
to
> begin with a statement. And then when you "let go the arms of the chair"
You
> offered a choice -- again another question.
> 
> I see my major role as facilitator in terms of keeping the space open,
even
> when that becomes quite uncomfortable. Ordinarily this can be done without
> saying a word -- just be present and open yourself. I don't have a clue
how
> this works, but I have seen it happen again and again. The folks get
stuck,
> and I just sit there. I suppose they are expecting that I will "fix it" --
> but I just hang in there as a witness to the unasked question(s). Most
times
> I don't even know what the question is -- most particularly when the
> operative language is one I don't understand. But there do come times when
> some more overt word or action seems to be called for -- but only after
> being a silent witness for longer than you can bare. It is a dangerous
call,
> for it is quite likely that things are going on beneath the surface in
ways
> that you (I) will never understand. God forbid that you jump in with an
> answer (statement) just as the folks are figuring it all out for
themselves.
> But with a question, there are choices, and if you have misperceived the
> situation I find that the folks just smile at your lack of cultural
> awareness. Humbling for sure, but not fatal.
> 
> Harrison
> 
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Drive
> Potomac, Maryland   20845
> Phone 301-365-2093
> 
> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
> Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Gerard
> Muller
> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 5:47 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Can we be space invaders ??
> 
> In one of the Open Spaces I facilitated seven years ago I featured as a
> space invader.
> It took me a long time to begin to look at it that way, so here it is.
> 
> The client was a national association, the issue an internal conflict -
> basically concerning the interface between the national Board of the
> organization and the regional ones.
> 
> The chairman opened and clearly stated the issue, ending with something
> like:
> "I am convinced that if we do not solve this issue together, our
> organization could die.
>   Help us resolve it "
> 
> And everyone involved was there.
> 
> Plenty of topics on the agenda.
> Not a single one directly related to the central issue - as far as I
> could see.
> 
> After half an hour, the first participant came and complained "The most
> important topic is not on
> the agenda !". So I suggested he might put it there. "No, I am not the
> right person to do this".
> 
> Number 2, 3 and 4 came. Same story.
> To number five I said "you are the fifth who tells me you need this
> topic but that you are not the right person to put it there, I wonder
> why ?".
> More followed.
> 
> By lunch time, the situation was unchanged.
> 
> Instead of continuing to do what I was doing, I made a sign posted where
> all would pass by when returning from lunch saying "What is the most
> important topic we have forgotten ?".
> 
> Right after lunch, someone posted the missing topic (at the time I
> thought I had "helped", little did I know).
> 
> Everybody had soon left all other discussions and 70 participants were
> talking in a room I never had though could contain so many people.
> Something important was clearly going on there.
> 
> But it was the closing circle that really got me.
> The first person said "I am quite willing to say what I have to say, but
> only if the National Board promises to take me seriously"
> The second one said "I will speak, but only if everyone else promises to
> speak"
> 
> I could not help myself. I felt all that had been achieved was at risk
> of going down the drain again.
> So I forgot to hold on to the armrests of my chair and invaded the
> space.
> 
> "This morning your chairman asked your help to solve a problem. If you
> choose to continue this way, you might be back where you started from.
> Or you could choose to do something else".
> 
> I sat down again. It seemed like 140 angry eyes looked at me. There was
> a silence.
> Then, there was a constructive closing.
> 
> 
> I really like the principle "Whatever happens......" .
> I have come to develop a habit that if something happens which really
> should not have (given my expectations, statistics, what have you) to
> ask myself "If there would be a good reason for this to happen, what
> would that reason be ??
> 
> So what is your guestimate as to why invading the space was the only
> thing this facilitator could do ?
> 
> Similar experiences ?
> 
> 
> Greetings from Svenmark,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gerard Muller
> Open Space Institute Denmark
> Phone (+45) 21269621
> gm at openspace.dk
> 
> *

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