looking for OS practitioner in Philadelphia area

[Pat Black]

Well said Lisa Thanks
Pat Black

On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 10:14 AM, Lisa Heft <lisaheft at openingspace.net>wrote:

> John and others - Thank you so much for opening us to this important
> conversation.
>
> Something I think we all share - as facilitators experienced in working
> with groups (comprised of individuals) - is that we cannot know what
> another's personal life experience is.
>
> We can be well intentioned, and kind, and loving, and appreciative, and
> welcoming.
> But we cannot know what someone's life experience has been with the complex
> dynamics of race and power, class and access, 'isms' and '___phobias',
> survivorship and identity...
>
> Even if we are the same (seemingly) as another person (such as both women,
> or both looking like the same color) we cannot know or assume that other
> person's experience - we can only listen well, stay humble, and learn from
> what we hear, see and bump into (when we make mistakes).
>
> And especially in terms of being able to know or expect or assume ... when
> one is of a majority culture and that other person is not of majority
> culture.
>
> So many hidden complexities and histories that inform one's sense of
> inclusion or exclusion.
>
> To add to that, for anyone who feels they have been marginalized
> (dis-included in many ways over time) - it seems quite natural that they
> would yearn for visible leadership from someone who looks and sounds like
> them.
>
> The amazing thing about Open Space is that the facilitator soon becomes
> invisible as the group jumps off into space.
> So if one cannot find a facilitator that looks like / is of the culture of
> the group being facilitated, this is one of those tools for which the
> participants can claim their own space rather immediately after the opening.
>
> However I think it behooves us to honor a group's interest and request for
> someone of their culture as a facilitator, in any culture, if we can find
> someone of that culture who is also capable and skilled.  I would hate to
> put someone in the facilitator role who was not able to do the job, so
> sometimes this either means taking extra time and resources to train
> someone(s) or a candid discussion with the client about this process and how
> it upends the usual power dynamics as the participants self-organize.
>
> My two any-color cents, dear colleagues,
>
> Lisa
>
> *Lisa Heft*
> Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
> *Opening Space*
> lisaheft at openingspace.net
> www.openingspace.net
>
>
>
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