Law of Two Feet--the rest of the story

Fri Feb 16 07:01:03 PST 2007

i did an some work on the navajo reservation about 10 years ago,
diane.  was there for about 6 weeks, as i recall.  lots of interviews
and a few leadership meetings, then at least one big meeting in open
space.  some follow up meetings, i think, too.  i do remember the
whole process unfolding at what felt like slow pace to me.  in the
interviews, some went slowly or nowhere.  others bubbled up and over
in lively stories and conversation right away.  the latter less often,
however.  and i remember thinking that the real work didn't seem to
happen *at* the big meeting, but kind of around and under and beside
and before and after it.  not sure that's all that different from some
other spaces i've opened, but maybe more obviously so in this case.  i
had the same sense when i read chris corrigan's account of the os
where nobody came until lunchtime, apparently... but that the whole
community had been talking about the issue all day, but out there,
wherever they were... so the space was just a bit more open than
usually expected.  he's actually out on the navajo reservation right
now, so he'll no doubt have more to tell you when he gets  back.
michael

On 2/16/07, Diane Brandon <diane at keysregion.org> wrote:
> A few random thoughts -
>
> • At the OS a few weeks ago, I found myself turning to someone hanging back
> and saying "you've been quiet -- would you like to say something?" or "I'd
> like to know what brought you to this topic." (I wasn't the convener in
> either case.) It seemed to work fine -- each time, the person did then speak
> in the circle.
>
> • However, in the situation you describe, Joelle, where the person sat
> behind the circle, I would have assumed that they just wanted to observe,
> and I probably wouldn't have tried to include them in the conversation.
>
> • Maybe she went home and thought about her experience, and reflected on how
> to get her voice out there, as a shy person. Maybe she decided to go to an
> assertiveness training, or to start a blog. Or maybe she was really
> depressed and lonely and felt helpless. Or maybe she decided that she loves
> facilitated meetings, and won't go to anymore OS gatherings.
>
> • In the couple of years that we lived in Flagstaff, AZ, and went to many
> "meetings"/gatherings on or near the reservations in that area (Navajo,
> Hopi, Apache), I learned how slowly the Native Americans talked, and what
> long pauses they often left between speakers. A talking stick sometimes was
> used, which helped to keep that slow pacing, but even without one, they just
> had that slow pace as part of their culture. One time I brought a Navajo
> woman to a meeting of about 10 "Whites" and the pace of conversation was so
> rapid that she didn't say anything. I was the convener of the meeting,
> regarding substance abuse issues, and I finally invited her to speak, and
> asked the group to please listen well to her, and give her some time to
> share her experiences on the reservation. It didn't work... she got out a
> few sentences and then others jumped in to comment, inform, disagree. I made
> a few more attempts and then gave up. I could have introduced a talking
> stick, but it didn't fit at that point in the meeting. Conclusion? I thought
> I'd meet with some of the non-Natives one on one and talk about what
> happened; ruminate with them on how to make conversational openings the
> Native people could use.... maybe enlist several to help with the pacing the
> next time. (Has anyone done an OS on the Navajo Reservation? I'd be curious
> to hear about it.)
>
> • Sometimes I'm in a meeting with people who communicate in what I perceive
> as aggressive, joking, jabbing ways that leave no place for the kind of
> communication I enjoy. I leave, either mentally or physically, and that's
> okay with me. Just not my culture, nor one I want to get into. Not my game,
> but maybe great for them. Would I want someone to tell them to be quiet and
> let me say something? Rarely, but maybe if I had some information I wanted
> to give to them.
>
> Diane Brandon
> Eliot, Maine
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 16, 2007, at 3:36 AM, Joelle Lyons Everett wrote:
> Sorry this message was sent unfinished.  I'll try again:
>
>  In one Open Space, a fairly short meeting, a woman came to me and asked if
> I thought that Open Space did not work very well for shy people.  I replied
> that shy people often seemed to be comfortable speaking in the smaller
> groups.  She said that she thought we should add active facilitation to make
> sure that everyone had a chance to speak.  I did not offer to do that, but
> encouraged her to find a group that interested her, to speak up if she
> wished, and to use her two feet to find the right spot.
>
>  All the groups were in one room, and I observed for a bit.  Although the
> small groups were set up with extra chairs so a new person could easily join
> the circle, this woman pulled up a chair well outside the circle, behind the
> backs of many participants.  She listened for just a few minutes, then moved
> to a different group.  She repeated this same pattern several times, then
> left the meeting.
>
>  I did not observe "space invader" behavior in the small groups, though
> perhaps there were
>  subtle pressures that could have been noticed by members of the
> organization.  Not sure what I might have done, if anything--it seemed to me
> that the woman was making her choices.
>
>  I am not attached to the outcome that everyone has to be happy--which I
> really can't control.
>
>  Thanks, Bui, for making me ponder.
>
>  Joelle Everett
>  Shelton, Washington, USA
>
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-- 

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
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