Facilitator must be part of the conversations

[Mark R. Jones]

Hmmmm . . .

With regards to the generally accepted role of the OST ³Facilitator²
-- I essentially agree that Lisa provides an accurate interpretation.

And that is why I rarely ³facilitate² OST anymore.

My issue is with the concept of ³facilitator².  Originally, to facilitate
meant to make something easier -- from the Latin facilis or fac(ere)
³to do or make² + -ilis  ³easier².  So in its simplest expression,
I could as a facilitator make things easier by: sharing knowledge; or
increasing the ease of performance of any action or state of being; or
assisting individuals or groups in accomplishing their objectives through
conversations on particular topics; or actively participating in engaging
and involving others in accomplishing objectives.

In the OD world, a facilitator is ³someone who skillfully helps a group
of people understand their common objectives and plan to achieve them
without personally taking any side of the argument. The facilitator assists
the group in achieving a consensus on any disagreements that preexist or
emerge in the meeting so that it has a strong basis for future action².

In my past experiences with OST, ³without personally taking any side of
the argument² came to mean -- being a ³space-holder² and not being a
³participant².  

When I do this from a "Living in Open Space² perspective, this becomes
an instance of a Separation Fallacy.  The Separation Fallacy supposes that
it is possible and/or desirable for me to view myself as distinct from the
systems of relationships and dynamics that I engage (observer, ³witness²,
act in or upon, hold space for, . . . ).  This calls for me as a facilitator
to be
³independent² of the other participants -- a proposition which for me is a
physical and meta-physical impossibility.

My friend Charlie Johnston would call this experience ³differentiation
without integration².

>From a "Living in Open Space² perspective, I am always ³holding space²
and always full-on participating in every interaction with others and the
environment -- be it in one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many
relationship dynamics.  As an archetypical ³Butterfly², I am very aware
that my ³Presence² creates a response in the field -- whether I am
speaking, sleeping, napping, quacking, etc.

So for me, the questions are not about whether I exert undue (and negative)
influence in a context -- but how I exercise my ³Presence² and leadership in
any situation (any context).

Is the impact of my views, intentions, communications, and behaviors an
³opening of space² with and for myself and others -- or is the result a
³closing 
of space²?  Do I need to modify my being and doing?

As a result of my ³Presence² and leadership -- does the leadership and
creative 
capacity of the individuals and collective manifest and/or increase, or does
it
remain only a potentiality and/or decrease?  Do I need to modify my being
and 
doing?

Does the individual and collective capacity and practice of Hearing, Seeing,
and 
Loving (HSL) increase or decrease as a result of my ³Presence² and
leadership?
Do I need to modify my being and doing?

>From a "Living in Open Space² perspective, I am required to ³show-up² and
³hold
space² in every interaction -- be it a one-to-one, one-to-many, or
many-to-many, 
OST conferences, intimate contacts, whatever;  I am required to take
responsibility 
for what I love; I am required to Hear, See, and Love myself and every
sentience 
that I encounter; I am required to be as aware, mindful, discerning,
nurturing, and 
compassionate as I can be in each moment.

Because ³Facilitator² is such a loaded word with ³authority and control²
prickles 
studding its exterior and interior usage, of late I have preferred to think
about 
what I do as ³Hosting² -- from the Latin hospes ³receives visitors² with a
kind, 
welcoming, and generous reception of or disposition toward or treatment of
guests 
(visitors, strangers, emergence, coherence, and disturbance).

I am joyfully content to ³host² conversations in which I fully participate
in: holding 
space; taking responsibility for what has meaning and passion for me;
Hearing, Seeing, 
and Loving myself and others; constantly paying attention to being as aware,
mindful, 
discerning, nurturing, and compassionate as I can be in each moment; and
working to 
manifest my ³Presence² and leadership in ways that increase the leadership
and creative 
capacity of the individuals and collectives that I come into relationship
with.

In this way, I strive to increase the overall experience of
interconnectedness, creativity,
joy and peace.  And hopefully, I can do this without falling into a ³Unity
Fallacy² where I 
confuse ³Wholeness² (multiplicity) with ³Oneness² (singularity) -- thus
forgetting 
that the converse of ³Unity² (oneness or singularity) is ³Wholeness²
(multiplicity or 
diversity) --> not separateness or uniformity (sameness).

My friend Charlie Johnston would call this experience ³integration without
differentiation².

So while ³hosting², I continually challenge myself to hold a view of system
³wholeness² 
that includes every aspect of what I can sense and imagine regarding --
 (1) Consciousness (Self-Awareness)
 (2) Whole-Person (physical | emotional | intellectual | consciousness)
 (3) Whole-System  (all Stakeholders)
 (4) Community | Relationships (Interconnectedness)
 (5) Whole-Life Cycle (Continuity)


In the Field . . . where we meet . . .

Mark R. Jones
Chief Executive Officer
The Sunyata Group
The Integral Wellness Group
----------------------------------------------------------------------
PO Box 58788
Renton, Washington
USA 98058-1788
Phone:      425-413-6000
e-Mail:      mark.r.jones at sunyata.ws
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 



From: Lisa Heft <lisaheft at openingspace.net>
Reply-To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 10:06:27 -0400
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Subject: Re: Facilitator must be part of the conversations

Dear all -

Jack's and Marc's comments make me think that our holding space for the
group - for both the client and the participants - is the embodiment of
trust.  We breathe, we believe, we trust the people and the process, we
are always there (in physical presence and or in Harrison's case at times
in our dream state during our naps ;o)  ).  We are completely present.

I do not feel it is separate from or outside the group.  I feel we are all
very much interrelated.  We are (in the Open Space event) all part of a
vast living system (of systems, of systems, of systems...)...with one (or
a duo or team) of us holding space, to be midwife to emergent life, to
witness, if you will, the marvelous transformation we (the space-holders)
know is happening at every moment - on levels from the cellular to the
stellar to the realms we little tiny humans cannot even know.

We breathe, we trust, we hold trust.  We help others breathe....and
trust...and trust themselves...


Lisa


Lisa Heft
lisaheft at openingspace.net
http://www.openingspace.net

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