"Process Expert"

[Harrison Owen]

Doug wrote: "Reading between the lines of your response, Elwin/Chris, you
seem to do OS for existing organizations who are asking you, as the process
expert, to come in and make it easier ("facilitate") for them to come to
terms with some issue or opportunity confronting them. Is this anywhere near
accurate?"

 

Doug I think I understand why you use the phrase, "process expert," and I
also feel a degree of caution, perhaps discomfort with the notion. Speaking
personally I would admit to some degree of learning and expertise after
opening multiple spaces in odd places. At the same time, I must affirm that
each time I am afforded the privilege of opening some space for a group of
people to do whatever it is they need to do - it comes as the "first time."
Never before have I been in that time and that space with those people. I
come as a newcomer and need to remember that status. My experience
(expertise) can be helpful, but equally it can very much get in the way. If
I only see what I expect to see (that which my experience/expertise tells me
I should see) there is a very high probability that I will totally miss what
is actually going on.

 

I also think it is important to remember that what I "do" in that space can
be done very effectively by ANY person with a good head and a good heart. As
we have all learned, Opening Space is not rocket science. After all, how
difficult can it be to sit in a circle, create a bulletin board, open a
market place and get out of the way? If this is the work of a "process
expert" then I guess we are all equally endowed - which renders the phrase,
"process expert" rather curious at best. 

 

This is not a matter of ideology or philosophy - but rather experience. Time
and again I have watched people who have only read the book, or even just
"seen" an Open Space - do just superbly. Frankly I find myself cringing when
I hear people speaking of Open Space as some esoteric practice requiring
years of experience and lots of training. Even worse - when folks say they
can't "Open Space" because they don't have the experience or training. That
to me is a tragedy. From where I sit, opening space is a completely natural
act, which we all do. It is also true that we can all learn to do it better,
and in fact it may take a lifetime to realize our full potential in this
regard. But the same could be said of all our life. When we actually hit our
zenith, it is probably all over. And the worst thing would be waiting around
until we became "expert" before we start to live. Just Do It!

 

Harrison

 


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