Begining in OS

[Lisa Heft]

...and that's how we are all delightfully different.

Jack, I honor how you feel and see things.
And yet I do see them differently.

I see abundance instead of competition.

I see inviting others to help me in events that I facilitate as an  
opportunity for wonderful help, greater service to the client and a  
colleague who is rich with observations and insights.
Plus the extra added value of helping a colleague grow into the field  
and gain more experience.  And I see it as my 'pay it forward' for  
having received such rich learning and opportunities from my diversely  
experienced colleagues.

I see their putting these jobs on their resumes (for example,  
'Newsroom Coordinator' as an essential role assisting an organization  
in utilizing their own documentation for their continued growth and  
learning) as a real job with real responsibility required, whether or  
not they were paid or pro bono consultants on that job.

I ask all clients if I can bring someone along to assist and ask them  
if they have funding for this. Often they do. If not, I try to find  
funding from my own resources. If I do not have resources it is often  
seen as an unpaid collaboration for the benefit of learning.

I find that offering learning opportunities for colleagues helps  
strengthen our work and our field.

I invite some of you on this list to share with us your experiences of  
being invited to help on Open Space events as you were / have been  
emerging into this field and this practice.
I invite others of you to share your experiences of bringing a newly  
emerging facilitator into a job of yours.
Tell us the (mutual) benefits and the learning - even your stories of  
when it has not been a good idea for the client, participants, or for  
you.

I think we have a learning opportunity here.
Thanks to David and Jack for tickling these thoughts in my head and  
opening up the learning opportunity.

I look forward to hearing others' thoughts on this.

A warm hello from a gray Berkeley California morning,

Lisa


Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Opening Space
lisaheft at openingspace.net
www.openingspace.net

>  Jack Martin Leith wrote:

What the client is really paying for is the consulting work and the  
design and organisation of the event. Facilitating the event is the  
easy bit that happens at the end. So to get maximum value from working  
with an experienced practitioner you'd really need to be involved in  
the entire project.
How do I explain your presence to the client?
What would your role be on the day, aside from helping get the space  
ready? Once the agenda is created and the sessions are up and running,  
there's very little for the facilitator to do.
I'll probably get shot down in flames for saying this, but what the  
hell: Here in the UK, OS consulting is a crowded marketplace. Do I  
really want to help make it even more crowded?
I mentioned that last point because I suspect that the "training a new  
competitor" issue is often there, if unconscious, when an OS  
consultant is asked "Can I be an extra pair of hands?" and it's best  
that you're aware of it. Although the Open Space community is very  
supportive, and I do whatever I can to share knowledge and help  
others, the reality is that we're operating in a very competitive  
environment. I've competed with friends and collaborators for OS work  
on several occasions.

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