Add Australia and New Zealand to recent OS travels

[Larry Peterson]

It is great to hear of your journey, Harrison, through Japan, Taiwan and
China.  It sounds like a marvellous trip in order to share the story in
Japan and China and to increase the already active use of OST in Taiwan.
I hope you recover soon from the traveling, I'm sympathetic.

I've been wanting to tell a complimentary story to the list as well.  I
tried from Australia, but for a number of reasons it didn't work.  It
has taken me a bit of recovery time here in Toronto as well.  It is
interesting synchronicity that it's now at the top of my agenda since my
return.

Australia and New Zealand have had a long history with OST.  Fr. Brian
was a very early adopter and has attended more international OSonOS's
than anyone.  Harrison, Birgitt and michael herman have all visited (and
folks send their regards).  They hosted an international OSonOS in
Marysville (Near Melbourne) and have had many internal in Australia and
New Zealand OSonOS events.

I was delighted when Brian invited me to visit for the month of October
to support the networking of OSI Australia and New Zealand.  He
proposed, with support from other active OSI folks like Viv McWaters,
Andrew Rixon, Brendan McKeague and Anne Pattillo visiting the following
cities: Wellington (NZ), Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and Sydney.  We also
took a side trip for R&R to Cairns (near the Great Barrier Reef).  The
University gave Becky the freedom to come for the month.

Becky and I have now completed this learning journey - it was an amazing
gift to go and be hosted there.  It was a pleasure to support local
networks and OST practice development through workshops, conversations
and presentations (11).  I both learned and shared what I have been
trying to understand.  A couple of presentations seem to go really well,
but it was the conversations that I loved the most.  Andrew Rixon and I
played with using OST principles and the fishbowl for some larger,
short, conversations - it worked really well twice.  It was great to
have Becky as part of the conversations as she added substantially from
her experience as an OST practitioner and a professor who teaches about
facilitation methods in the context of environmental studies.

Before I left, I had asked my hosts by e-mail or skype what ideas or
presentations they thought would be of most help to their OST practice
or initiatives.  Each request was somewhat different.  Some wanted help
in legitimizing OST in their organizations.  Others were focused on the
practice of OST.  Some were interested in theory or evidence. I prepared
some power point pieces on Leadership, Complex Change and Spiral Dynamic
and open space.  

The people I met in New Zealand and Australia were delightful -- warm
and ready to talk, connecting with eyes and heart, mostly interested in
what I had to say or at least in the conversation and mutual
connections.  

At most events I said a few words about what I had been thinking, doing
or writing and then had conversations with the participants, following
the flow of questions and ideas.  With larger groups and time frames
(more than 1-2 hours) others opened the space with OST.  With groups
over 25 and less than 2 hours it was better to use the OS Fishbowl that
Andrew and I discovered.  The approach enabled some quite amazing
discussions at the Continuous Improvement Network of the State of
Victoria (160 folks) or the OD Learning Community in Sydney (50 folks)
in short time frames.  (I'll tell more.)

In New Zealand, State of Victoria and the University of Western
Australia there was substantial interest in the recent study by Sharon
King and I on what successful leadership looks like in complex or living
human systems.  There was also some interest in OST evidence like the
recent article Becky and I wrote or in my use of Spiral Dynamics
Integral to assist my understanding.  But it was in wide ranging
conversations that often included OST practical advice, what happens
before and after, emergent leadership and design, relationship to other
perspectives, or how to prepare personally that I believe the learning
was the deepest for all of us.

The networks of OST practitioners in various cities were at different
places, from active mutual support to colleagues looking to better
understand how OST fits in their consulting or teaching perspectives and
practices.  Some people have gone very deep with their personal practice
of open space.  Others have gone wide to include a number of approaches.
I saw the depth of connection and experience of key leaders who live in
open space, like Brian in Melbourne (in his Parish and the World Bank)
and Brendan in Perth (who has led 40 OST events this year).  It was
great to see the breadth of connections to open space experience and
perspectives - for example the links Viv makes to improv theatre were
similar to those of Phelim when he was in Camden, Maine.  The University
of Western Australia is the only University that I know with an internal
OD department.  The presentation and the Brendan led OST there helped to
stimulate two more OST events.

I plan to share more of my experience and learning. I hope this gives
some flavour of the trip.  I also plan to put up key materials on
websites from the trip.  I know that others have taken journeys to
spread OST.  Some locations are exploring where to go once it has been
spread a-bit and there are a variety of reactions.  I want to thank my
hosts in New Zealand and Australia for their warmth and openness.

I want to thank Harrison and others for blazing the paths.

Larry

Larry Peterson
Associates in Transformation
Toronto, ON, Canada
416.653.4829
 
larry at spiritedorg.com  
www.spiritedorg.com 
 

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