OST for Office Conflict. Yes or No?

[Zelle Nelson]

Hello Elwin,

I have facilitated an Open Space where one of the resulting actions  
was a key person leaving a position of leadership and the group.

I did not know about the conflict going into the os - I was actually  
filling in for Chris Weaver when a family need came up for him which  
conflicted with the scheduled os.

The situation i was in seems different, but I'll offer my story:

The group was a 12 member council putting together a conference in  
North Carolina called Earth Spirit Rising. I found out later - a year  
or two - that there were several people in the group who had done  
some pretty powerful group processes in their lifetimes, a real  
asset. One of the members, a man who had done a great deal of primary  
groundwork on the project and was deeply invested, was in conflict  
with some of the other members, and was having some personal issues  
to deal with on his own.

Right from the beginning after opening the space the issue of the  
conflict between the man I mentioned and the group flared up. Some of  
the group wanted this man to leave, others had tacit support for him,  
and others wanted the best for the project and the conference, and  
the man was conflicted himself about whether he wanted to leave or  
not, but at the beginning was resisting being thrown out. Everyone  
turned to me to directly facilitate the conflict, and I told them  
that it was now there meeting, their passion, their responsibility to  
deal with the most pressing issues as adults. And I left the room,  
essentially opening more space.

It was hard to leave the room and let them proceed without me, but it  
was the best thing I could have done.

I returned after about an hour to see how they were doing. They  
survived, they self-organized. The man in the center of the conflict  
ended up deciding it was best for him and the group to leave the  
project. The group as a whole created and dealt with an exit plan/ 
transition strategy.

And then a beautiful, powerful moment unfolded as the group designed  
a parting ritual that took place in the middle of the circle, with  
the man in the center surrounded in circle by the rest of the group.  
And they thanked him for his contribution and together they found  
healing.

I don't know what will happen with your project, but I've found Open  
Space to provide a very powerful container for conflict, drama,  
passion and responsibility.

So, whatever you decide to do, prepare to be surprised!

with grace and love,

Zelle

Zelle Nelson
Know Place Like Home/Engaging the Soul at Work/State of Grace Document

www.knowplacelikehome.com
www.engagingthesoulatwork.com
www.stateofgracedocument.com

zelle at knowplacelikehome.com

work/home: (001) 828.693.0802
mobile: (001) 847.951.7030

Isle of Skye
2021 Greenville Hwy
Flat Rock, NC 28731
USA






On Aug 29, 2006, at 5:31 PM, Elwin and Joan wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
>
> A few days back, while I was on assignment in Ethiopia, a consulting
> firm I have long association with emailed to say they needed me to
> cover a 2 day management training and team building job with a US  
> Gov’t
> office in DC.
>
> Fair enough I thought. The consulting firm knows me well and our
> history together has always been one of success.
>
> I asked for and received a Statement of Work (SOW) that was the usual
> referencing of interactive approaches to building cooperation, respect
> and a sense of teamwork.
>
> Based on the SOW, I wrote a proposal for a 1 1/2 day Open Space
> conference with the theme, “Looking for Opportunities to Improve Our
> Teamwork”.
>
> The proposal was accepted by the client.
>
>  I am now Stateside. I just talked with the client and things look
> pretty ugly.
>
> I now  know the “real” interest in this exercise is to get rid of one
> or two of the office employees. These two people are viewed by a new
> management (my clients) as subversives, if not terrorists. The new  
> boss
> wants them “gone.”
>
> In 5 days I am scheduled to do this Open Space with six employees
> including the boss.
>
> I am not at all reluctant to change my proposal and do my “hard hat”
> management consultant routine.
>
>  On the other hand this might be a perfect OST opportunity.
>
> What say you?
>
> eg
>
>
> Elwin Guild
> Future Development International
> Baltimore
> elwinandjoan at yahoo.com
>
> *
> *
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