Creating Space in Construction - sequel (longish)

Mon Mar 24 07:57:09 PDT 2008

Brilliant Brendan! How neatly you have turned the conversation to reveal the
possibilities. Folks asked for Passion and Responsibility -- they got it,
and it confused them! Food for thought!! But don't be surprised that if,
upon reflection, they opt for control (Consultant giving them hell) even at
the cost of the successful completion of the project. I guess it shouldn't
amaze me any more, but I am always shocked when people choose precisely the
path that led them into dysfunction in the first place. Old habits die hard,
and the preservation of a sense of control (even when everybody knows they
never had control) is one of the oldest of habits. But you have to keep
trying, and you surely are giving it a real good go. Congratulations!

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 
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Brendan
McKeague
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 9:17 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Creating Space in Construction - sequel (longish)

Last week I reported about an Open Space with Construction 
Engineers/Designers....my thanks to those who replied and provoked 
some further thinking...
I thought it would be interesting to continue the story as it unfolds...

During the week, I participated in a debrief with the Sponsors (Sp) - 
including the Project Director (PD) - and the Org Psych (OP) consultant.
The conversation began with a general affirmation of the successful 
achievements of the event ...noticings that people were engaged, got 
a lot of work done, achieved some outcomes/action plans and all three 
sponsors pleased - the OS process had achieved the purpose for which 
we used it - there was consensus that 'it does what it says it will'.

Here are some snippets (paraphrased) of what I recall beyond the 
initial summaries....

PD: I was pleased with how it went - I'm still left with a feeling of 
wondering if we would have acheived the same result using other 
models - e.g. the more conventional facililitated meeting...
OP:  how would you ever know?  I could have provided that type of 
facilitated meeting but really thought that 'more of the same' was 
not what you needed to break the pattern - although I accept that it 
may have been what you wanted or expected.
PD: My dissatisfaciton perhaps also stems from a sense of messiness 
of not knowing everything that happened - all the movement, some 
people never sure when one session finished and new one started - a 
bit of frustration about new people coming into a session and having 
to explain stuff again...one guy told me he found that difficult.
Sp: The same thing happened to me and I saw it differently. With a 
group I convened, there were a few comings and goings - I was able to 
recap, summarise, get clarification from those present and then found 
we moved on to even deeper issues...helped by the new guys coming in.
PD: Could you put less emphasis on the 'doing what you feel like' bit 
- I know why you said it - but maybe tone it down to say that if you 
really need to move you can..?
BMK: There is a reason for giving people these public permissions at 
the start...which bits do you think need changing?
PD: well we're a pretty disciplined bunch and need to have some 
restrictions and boundaries so that we all know what's going on...too 
much freedom can be difficult to handle...
BMK: I'm happy to adjust the way I say certain things and we can 
certainly discuss this for future events - the OS process is pretty 
robust as you saw last week - I would add that if the question you 
ask is the right one, then folks who come will be eager to 
participate and likely not to want to miss anything - those who do 
'vote with their feet' will either not come at all or leave when the 
topics don't interest or concern them....
PD: I can see that, but sometimes some people are needed so that we 
can get issues resolved...
BMK: In my experience, they are usually there and if not, then 
they'll be around the room somewhere and can be invited in....
Sp: In this case, some of the key construction supervisors didn't 
come to the meeting at all...they didn't like the last one and I 
don't think they were game to come to this one..
BMK: sounds like that would be a good question to ask them to address....
OP: Do you think you might use this process again - say with other 
superivisors/construction workers to help iron out some of the issues 
that are appearing at the different sites?
Sp: It certainly could be useful if we want to get folks together as 
the work escalates towards completion.
PD: And another question that I've been thinking about, can I ask why 
you call the report a Book of Proceedings - seems a bit contradictory 
to me - a closed account of such an open process...
BMk: that's an interesting interpretation - I've never heard it put 
like that before....as you noticed last week, OS is a highly 
structured process even though it's a different type of 
structure...boundaries are provided, just like the front and back 
cover of a book, to create a container in which the space is open, 
full of blank pages, which will then be filled with  a true account 
of the conversations and the recording of personal and collective 
accountability through Action Plans...
PD: Mmmm, I see what you mean...it is one of my biggest frustrations 
with this project (getting more animated) - I wish that people would 
take responsibility and be accountable for what they say they'll do - 
keep their promises and do the right thing...I had this argument with 
our client last week about this very subject - way back when we were 
contracting this Alliance, they said they would do everything they 
could to make sure this project was one of the best ever...now 
they're stalling and actually are responsibile for holding us up on 
some key parts of the construction.....they are not being supportive 
at all - exactly the opposite in fact. When this has happened before, 
we've brought in so-and-so (consultant from the big HR firm) who 
tells them straight out that they're wrong and need to get their act 
together, they take notice and pay attention. That's what I want more of....
BMK: So you want your client to keep responding to an external consultant?
PD: It seems to be the only thing that works for them
BMk: So every time the external consultant is not around, they go 
back to doing what they've been doing and dragging their feet?
PD: That's right - its so frustrating (words to that effect!)
BMK: What you'd like to see is that all members of this Alliance take 
responsibility for acting on what they really want to achieve...?
PD: Yes - I wish I knew how we could achieve that...I've been hoping 
that this Alliance would be just that - a truly collaborative alliance
Sp: otherwise it might as well be just another 'joint venture' project
PD: and we didn't sign up for that - this is an Alliance - suposed to 
be totally different - where we trust each other to act accountably 
and to take initiatives, when appropriate, without waiting for 
permission from higher up the line...
BMK: Mmmm - what did you notice happening in the Open Space around 
taking personal responsibility for one's own actions?
PD: I saw some of that happening, I just don't feel completely 
satisfied that it was the best way to go about it - as I said, I keep 
wondering if another process would have yielded the same or even 
better results...
BMK: So, it seems to me that there is a bit of a contradiction here - 
you wish to see people taking initiatives and being responsible for 
the overall success of the project - yet you admire the way the 
external consultant gets immediate results by coming in and telling 
people what to do - and they then seem to slack off when he's not around....
Is there a tension within you about whether the old way of bringing 
in the controller who directs and adjudicates the proceedings would 
work better or this new Open Space might provide the opportunity for 
people to take more personal and collective responsibility?
PD: Yes - you're right - I see what you're saying - and I think this 
what I now need to consider carefully....let me think about 
that....in fact, I'm wondering if the Alliance Board, and our clients 
would respond to this type of meeting...to get to the deeper issues 
around the whole Alliance pulling together for our remaining time
together...
BMk: could be a great theme for an OS meeting....?
PD: I think I'd use it again for sure......if you can just tone down 
that 'do what you feel like' bit...(grinning!)

And so the story continues....it was such a great meeting - really 
engaging and reflective...and also unusual as many of my clients tend 
to leave this bit out and don't allocate time for a debrief....maybe 
I need to be more encouraging and assertively invitational to others!

Cheers
Brendan
ps  on the way there, the Org Psych reminded me that if we get 30mins 
of these guys' time, we'll be lucky....we were there for almost 90 
mins with never a dull moment!

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