Going underground as facilitator - Follow-up

Marc Steinlin (I-P-K) marc.steinlin at i-p-k.ch
Tue Jul 15 11:13:23 PDT 2008


Dear all,

I had asked you for your feedback and input almost 2 months ago on  
"going underground" as a facilitator and I have received much valuable  
input from many among you.

In the meantime, the event took place and it was great. We were about  
90 persons from the KM4Dev (Knowledge Management for Development)  
community gathered for our annual meeting in Lisbon. After having  
experimented with OS last year already, we this time decided to run  
the whole meeting over 2 days entirely in OS. We had a lot of  
enthusiasm and committed people, interesting discussions, countless  
sessions. Reporting was done online on a wiki (http://www.km4dev.org/wiki/index.php/Open_Space_Discussion_Reports 
) - so we didn't have to provide computers in the back of the room;  
most of the participants had their notebooks with them and we just  
announced the wiki URL - this worked excellent.

What also worked great was: having no facilitator to hold space. I  
opened the OS but during the nomination of topics declared that I  
would now convert into a normal participant; I quickly returned to the  
facilitator role for just one sentence to open the market place and  
they we took off. Evening news were done by other people - a group,  
one doing a closing circle, some doing some announcements, and a  
professional theatre artist did some funny performance games with the  
entire group.
I reopened the OS next morning to recollect some more topics, but from  
there onwards, I again dived back into the crowd and entirely forgot  
about the process. The second evening was pretty much "participatory  
managed" like the first. It just worked great!

This leaves me with the questions:
What means "holding space"? What is the function, if demonstrably one  
can do without?
Or is it really that the group as a whole can hold space (which seemed  
to be the case)? Any group?
Why do we really need any facilitator throughout the event?
And consequently under which conditions can we dispense with it?
What is the risk? Can this go totally wrong?

Again many thanks to those who contributed to the previous discussion!
Best regards,
-marc




IngeniousPeoplesKnowledge
Marc Steinlin
marc.steinlin at i-p-k.ch
Skype: marcsteinlin

PO Box 27494
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Sea Point
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‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can  
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’  
Margaret Mead

On 25 May 2008, at 14:46 , Marc Steinlin (I-P-K) wrote:

> Dear all, many thanks for your feedback! I will take up your ideas  
> and inputs with my colleagues.
>
> I can take some ideas with me: initially I was more thinking of  
> having each of us facilitating a part of the OS - "serial"  
> facilitation. But on the basis of your comments, I feel like maybe  
> rather going for "parallel" facilitation. I don't know exactly what  
> that means, but have a feeling emerging in my guts - I'm positive we  
> will know how to do it.
> Thanks for the words of caution, in particular to you Michael. I  
> have made similar experiences in other contexts with regard to  
> confused roles, projections and so on and if we are aware of this  
> possibility, I'm sure we - well, as you say maybe not avoid it, but  
> will be able to deal with it when it's there. But I'm not really  
> afraid of this, I have a lot of confidence in my friends' and my own  
> experience.
>
> What makes things easier is that nobody would consider me as their  
> leader. I will - together with others - facilitate the event, and  
> for some it will be their first full-fledged OS experience, but  
> nobody would think I might be something like their "leader" beyond  
> facilitating this day. The nice thing about this group of people is,  
> that it is very open and open-minded community - in fact I feel that  
> the open space philosophy is very close to the thinking of this group.
>
> I also like very much the idea of adopting OS as a system of  
> continuous operation, which has come through some of your responses.  
> I am currently thinking about how to run my own little organisation  
> in a micro-macro-OS way: micro because at this stage we are just 3  
> of us, macro because I would like to start somehow getting into the  
> OS way and opening space, but not really closing it anymore - eg.  
> having a constantly evolving market place of topics that we are  
> conversing about, and to somehow apply the principles as our normal  
> mode of operation. Don't know whether this (will) make any sense...
>
> -marc
>
>
>
>
> IngeniousPeoplesKnowledge
> Marc Steinlin
> marc.steinlin at i-p-k.ch
> Skype: marcsteinlin
>
> PO Box 27494
> Rhine Road
> Sea Point
> 8050 Cape Town
> Republic of South Africa
> Mobile: +27 (76) 222 81 12
>
> Zweierstrasse 50
> CH-8004 Zürich
> Switzerland
> Mobile: +41 (78) 850 42 32
>
> http://www.i-p-k.ch
>
> P Help save paper - do you really need to print this email ?
>
> ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens  
> can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’  
> Margaret Mead
>
> On 21 May 2008, at 17:31 , Ted Ernst wrote:
>
>> I echo the voices saying that this is not only possible, it can be a
>> good thing for the organization.  I've tried this alone and also with
>> a partner.  I felt much better with  a partner.  With four of you, I
>> would think you could all 4 be involved in breakouts without any
>> trouble losing the space-holding that you're all doing.  Can't wait  
>> to
>> hear how it goes!
>> peace,
>> ted
>>
>> On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 9:58 AM, Michael Herman
>> <michael at michaelherman.com> wrote:
>>> i'm encouraged by and encouraging of this, mark.  thanks for  
>>> sharing the
>>> question.
>>>
>>> this, to me, is the next step of the "facilitator" learning to  
>>> disappear.
>>> it seems to me that we'll ultimately have more and more open space
>>> if/when/as people/leaders learn to do this from within, not  
>>> abandoning their
>>> position as leader, but refining a pulsation between directing or  
>>> actively
>>> guiding, on the one hand, and inviting and hosting on the other.
>>>
>>> i think your sense of several being able to share the role, or  
>>> support each
>>> other in it, is helpful as well.  but i would encourage a faster  
>>> pulsation
>>> than daily.  consider a second law:  the law of two roles.  or  
>>> maybe the law
>>> of two minds.  one mind inviting, hosting, holding and the other  
>>> mind still
>>> nominally in charge, at the top, as director.  somatically, this  
>>> can be
>>> understood as pelvis (literally holding a space for everything  
>>> stacked on
>>> top) and brain (seeing, visioning, choosing and directing).  the  
>>> whole thing
>>> mediated by heart in the middle.  so you can find your way between  
>>> the two
>>> roles you've identified by following heart, same as navigating  
>>> learning and
>>> contributing as participant using law of two feet.  so the  
>>> practice is to
>>> refine your pulsation between the two, until they look and feel  
>>> like the
>>> same "being".
>>>
>>> two cautions, or mileposts really, on the way...
>>>
>>> first, while you're pulsing back and forth, i find it's easy to  
>>> get lost.
>>> yes, sometimes that means getting caught up in conversation, letting
>>> attention focus locally and forgetting about the larger space, maybe
>>> forgetting to ring the bells for evening news, for instance.  it's  
>>> helpful
>>> to have partners to remind you, or to ring them for you.  in the  
>>> same way,
>>> it is also possible to accidentally not be fully present in a  
>>> breakout
>>> session, to be not fully local, and in that state, be offering  
>>> views of the
>>> world that nobody else sees or can understand, cuz they don't have  
>>> this
>>> larger view of space.  the caution isn't about not sharing, but  
>>> about
>>> recognizing that it's possible to do, possible to try to be in a  
>>> breakout
>>> session but bringing experiences that are totally foreign to those  
>>> who are
>>> apparently your colleagues and partners in the group.  this not an
>>> unfamiliar situation for leaders who regularly have more  
>>> information, a
>>> wider view, that those in the "trenches" in an organizaiton.
>>>
>>> the second caution or noting here is less obvious, or peculiar to  
>>> straddling
>>> the facilitation/participation divide in open space.  i don't  
>>> think fr.
>>> brian will mind if i tell a story about osonos in oz to  
>>> illustrate.  he was
>>> facilitator and host, but also a member of the community.  he ran  
>>> a great
>>> event, facilitated the whole thing "by the book".  there was  
>>> somebody there,
>>> however, who had not had firsthand experience with our approach.   
>>> she also
>>> knew that brian was a priest.  when she had a difficult time with  
>>> how things
>>> were going in open space, and discomforts do naturally arise for
>>> participants at various and random moments, her experience with  
>>> "priest"
>>> allowed her to dump responsibility for difficulties on "how the  
>>> facilitator
>>> is", what he's doing, how he's run things, etc.  all of that story  
>>> she was
>>> making was nonesense and after a long talk, she understood that her
>>> difficulty came from what he wasn't and didn't do.  it was the  
>>> openess of
>>> the space, the press of responsibility and reality that was making  
>>> her
>>> squirm.  so it was the combination of *her* newness in open space  
>>> and her
>>> (in this case rather thin) connection to brian that allowed her to  
>>> make up a
>>> story that was getting in her way.  so if you have colleagues new  
>>> to this
>>> experience and you are still known as some sort of 'leader' or  
>>> just some
>>> sort of guy to these folks, they might be confused by what is open  
>>> space,
>>> what is you, what is you as leader and what you as facilitator,  
>>> and so on.
>>> in the end, this is just a noticing that such confusion is  
>>> possible.  there
>>> is nothing to "do" about it, other than know it's there and  
>>> possible.  if
>>> you notice it along the way in your meeting, and maybe it'll be  
>>> there or
>>> maybe it won't, then all the clarity you will bring to the process  
>>> from the
>>> very beginning, is all you will or can or should bring to that  
>>> moment.  just
>>> be as clean in both roles as you can, and as clear about what is  
>>> you and
>>> what is reality of org/world, and it's all still open space, or not.
>>>
>>> good luck!  i hope you'll find this is a great and fun practice,  
>>> and come
>>> back and tell some of the internal story of how it goes for you...
>>>
>>> m
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 8:07 AM, Jack Martin Leith
>>> <jack at jackmartinleith.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Harrison, those are some of the wisest words I've ever read.  
>>>> Thank you!
>>>>
>>>> Jack
>>>>
>>>> 2008/5/21 Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>:
>>>>>
>>>>> Marc – I have done what you are proposing (actively participate  
>>>>> in a
>>>>> gathering I facilitate) on multiple occasions and have never  
>>>>> encountered any
>>>>> problems, and I rather think you will have a similar experience.  
>>>>> I would
>>>>> never suggest that you try such a thing if it were your first  
>>>>> experience
>>>>> facilitating an Open Space, but that is obviously not the case.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The art of Holding Space is of course critical and because it is  
>>>>> so
>>>>> different from what most people have come to understand  
>>>>> "facilitation" to
>>>>> mean – it is just too easy for the first time facilitator to get  
>>>>> sucked into
>>>>> the action and forget to mind the store. But with experience, at  
>>>>> least in my
>>>>> experience, you can keep that old intuitive sense alive and  
>>>>> functioning even
>>>>> when actively engaged in a conversation of passionate concern to  
>>>>> you. As I
>>>>> think about it, this is probably where we all hope to end up  
>>>>> anyhow. At some
>>>>> level every conversation is an Open Space, and the more open the  
>>>>> space, the
>>>>> better the conversation. And a really great conversation has a  
>>>>> powerful
>>>>> (passionate) focus while still being open to everything else  
>>>>> that is going
>>>>> on in the environment.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Approaching the same thoughts from a slightly different point of  
>>>>> view, I
>>>>> find that when a group really begins to groove/cook/work – space  
>>>>> holding is
>>>>> a community activity. In fact, enabling a group to reach a point  
>>>>> where it
>>>>> will effectively "hold its own space," might well be the Holy  
>>>>> Grail of OST.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> So anyhow, I would think that rather than a problem, you have a  
>>>>> real
>>>>> opportunity to enhance your own capacity as facilitator by  
>>>>> moving into that
>>>>> marvelously "zeny" place where you are simultaneously attached and
>>>>> non-attached – passionately concerned about an issue and always  
>>>>> free to move
>>>>> beyond. And if you want to share this opportunity with your  
>>>>> colleagues
>>>>> (different people opening space every day) that would work for  
>>>>> me, or at
>>>>> least it always has.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Have fun!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Harrison
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Harrison Owen
>>>>>
>>>>> 7808 River Falls Drive
>>>>>
>>>>> Potomac, Maryland   20854
>>>>>
>>>>> Phone 301-365-2093
>>>>>
>>>>> Skype hhowen
>>>>>
>>>>> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
>>>>>
>>>>> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
>>>>>
>>>>> Personal website www.ho-image.com
>>>>>
>>>>> OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
>>>>> archives Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf  
>>>>> Of Marc
>>>>> Steinlin (I-P-K)
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 1:18 AM
>>>>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>>>>> Subject: Going underground as facilitator
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Dear OS list members,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I have been following this list for almost two years now and  
>>>>> have enjoyed
>>>>> many of your conversations, learnings, ideas and inspirational  
>>>>> thoughts!
>>>>> Many thanks for all that valuable insight and encouragement!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I myself over the last 2 years have organised/ facilitated  
>>>>> approx. 20 OS
>>>>> all over the world (from Switzerland to South Africa, from  
>>>>> Indonesia to
>>>>> Ethiopia), some as large as 70 participants (unfortunately I  
>>>>> never had the
>>>>> opportunity for a larger group - would love to try that!), some  
>>>>> as small as
>>>>> 5 persons - and I (as well as the participants!) enjoy it  
>>>>> greatly each time!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> We, the KM4Dev (a global community of practice on Knowledge  
>>>>> Management
>>>>> for Development; http://www.km4dev.org) have decided to run this  
>>>>> year's
>>>>> annual meeting over 2.5 days entirely as an OS. We are about  
>>>>> four persons
>>>>> who have already facilitated OS and are preparing the  
>>>>> facilitation of the
>>>>> event.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> However, all of the four of us are also greatly interested in  
>>>>> the topics
>>>>> which will be discussed, it's certain that we also want to  
>>>>> propose topics
>>>>> for groups to work on. Therefore my question:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Is it possible, that a facilitator opens the Open Space, but  
>>>>> once the
>>>>> market place starts, she/ he will transform into a regular  
>>>>> participant and
>>>>> mingle with the rest? I always attached great importance to  
>>>>> "holding space"
>>>>> - I have never been doing anything actively, I have done my best  
>>>>> to get out
>>>>> of the way, however I have been there, almost invisible, but  
>>>>> still...
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you have any experience or advice on whether the facilitator  
>>>>> can give
>>>>> up her/ his role and become a normal participant until to the  
>>>>> closing
>>>>> circle?
>>>>>
>>>>> Alternatively, do you have any thoughts about rotating  
>>>>> faciliators:
>>>>> person A doing it on the first day, B on the second day, so that  
>>>>> we all have
>>>>> the opportunity to participate in the discussions with our own  
>>>>> topics? I
>>>>> guess none of us would want to limit her/ himself for the full  
>>>>> duration to
>>>>> just holding space...
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Your experience is much appreciated!
>>>>>
>>>>> -marc
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> IngeniousPeoplesKnowledge
>>>>>
>>>>> Marc Steinlin
>>>>>
>>>>> marc.steinlin at i-p-k.ch
>>>>>
>>>>> Skype: marcsteinlin
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> PO Box 27494
>>>>>
>>>>> Rhine Road
>>>>>
>>>>> Sea Point
>>>>>
>>>>> 8050 Cape Town
>>>>>
>>>>> Republic of South Africa
>>>>>
>>>>> Mobile: +27 (76) 222 81 12
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Zweierstrasse 50
>>>>>
>>>>> CH-8004 Zürich
>>>>>
>>>>> Switzerland
>>>>>
>>>>> Mobile: +41 (78) 850 42 32
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.i-p-k.ch
>>>>>
>>>>> P Help save paper - do you really need to print this email ?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed  
>>>>> citizens can
>>>>> change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.'  
>>>>> Margaret Mead
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> * * ==========================================================
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Jack Martin Leith
>>>> Bristol, United Kingdom
>>>> Mobile: 07831 840541 (+44 7831 840541)
>>>> Skype: jackmartinleith
>>>> email: jack at jackmartinleith.com
>>>> www.jackmartinleith.com * *
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Michael Herman
>>> Michael Herman Associates
>>>
>>> http://www.michaelherman.com
>>> http://www.openspaceworld.org
>>> http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org
>>>
>>> 312-280-7838 (mobile) * *
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>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> http://AboutUs.org/TedErnst
>> +1 312 371 6625
>>
>> *
>> *
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