Facilitation disasters - your stories please

Suzanne Daigle sdaigle4 at gmail.com
Mon Nov 16 08:44:15 PST 2009


Tonnie, Robyn,
This, and what you have each written, is why I am so committed to Open
Space.  The emotions, the vulnerability, the sharing, the internal turmoil,
the pain, the questions and *this* discussion is all part of the (our) story
of Open Space...it's about life itself! I feel connected and so very
grateful. It's why I'm here; it's why I am pursuing this path with courage
and a conviction that goes deeper than anything I've ever done in my life.

*What is success in Open Space?* If we see conflict, displeasure, chaos,
confusion, within ourselves or others, does it mean it was less of a
success?  If the sponsor expected something they did not immediately see, is
it less of a success?  How do we measure the "feeling of aliveness" that
surfaces or the gratitude we feel when people respond to an invitation to
speak their passion for the first time or the stirring in their soul when
they discover others in a deeper way? How do we measure when others find
their courage to take responsibility, no matter how big or small the step?

As Tonnie described it, stuff happened, big stuff when he went back 2 years
later. I have taken the liberty of reproducing the note that Michael
Pannwitz sent me (see below) this summer with a similar story. And there are
so many more.  As someone who was only recently introduced to Open Space, I
do not have those stories yet. The "greatness" that I see with Open Space is
based on where I have lived ...in the depth of organizations...which was my
home for nearly 25 years, the places where I worked with so many informal
and formal leaders at every level of the organization, people I loved and
admired. Oh how we would have benefitted from Open Space!

*My *courage here and  now is to speak my thoughts and "gut"  feelings after
only a half dozen Open Space experiences and to continue to open space
wherever and whenever I can.  I feel urgency because there is so much need
for what we do.  When people pay us currency for our work, they have
expectations.  Our "wave riding" work, I think, is helping them and us,
reframe what success looks and feels like. Seeing what we don't always see;
knowing what we "intuitively" know but don't speak, and learning to value in
a different way than just money, return on investment, solutions etc. --
something different than what we have traditionally valued...something that
has much greater meaning. No easy task to communicate what people cannot
know until they experience it.

Now here's Michael's inspiring story:

Dear Susanne,

just returned from an afternoon reception at the headquarters of the Berlin
protestant welfare organisation in honor of a couple of people who received
rewards for their lifelong passion for social issues...its the kind of
gathering where you are bound to see people you havent for years or even
decades...so I always go!

Shortly after I arrived a lady rushed up to me, calling out my name, hugging
me...I had no clue...and then excitedly told me about an event at a local
highschool in 2001 that she attended as a parent...and how it changed her
life...and the life in the school...and how amazing it is in which way the
spirit (yes, she spoke of the spirit) of that event 8 years ago is alive and
does its thing in the school even today.

She did not talk about any specific project...but I remembered that 8 weeks
after the event they had a "Next Meeting" to look at their projects. And
they had two more in the year following the event...at the last one I
attended the principle came up to me, furrowed brow, saying, well, something
strange is happening, he has much more time than he used to have, people
would come much less frequently to talk about stuff with him but obviously
were out there leading projects, and, for the first time he had really ample
time to pay attention to long range planning and conception, stuff he always
wanted to have time for...

Ok, part of the story I knew already, the part with the spirit jumped at me
today...it will become part of the kind of story that I tell clients when
they ask me about sustainable effects/outcome...and I can give them the name
of the school and the principal because the school and the principal are in
the local news and papers all the time...

Aside from all the organisational stuff I tell the sponsor when
sustainability is desired.

I enjoyed myself with your message and especially touched myself with the
pictures...all looked like "home", it is immediately identifiable as open
space.

Greetings from Berlin

mmp







-- 
Suzanne Daigle
NuFocus Strategic Group
7159 Victoria Circle
University Park, FL 34201
FL 941-359-8877;  CT 203-722-2009
www.nufocusgroup.com
s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com

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