Power, hierarchy and OS

Fri Nov 27 02:12:06 PST 2009

Diane

Thank you!

I agree - the importance of preparation and sending out the right messages
beforehand can be critical.

_______

Larry

Thank you also!

I like your insight that people who are comfortable with existing
constraints are often the ones who suggest that OS would be too open and
would disempower some people. I don't believe this lay behind the person's
comment I report - but I have met this elsewhere.

____________

Just to be clear - the situations I am talking about are where people have
differing levels of power in a more covert way - hierarchy is expressed more
in terms of power of providers over clients, middle class over working
class, articulate over the less articulate, people with money & budgets over
people without either etc (and including all the strands of diversity, power
and inequality). This is the terrain for building community cohesion.

Very best wishes

Jon

____________________________________________________________________________
___

Jon Harvey
Director

www.jonharveyassociates.co.uk

+44 (0) 7771 537535
+44 (0) 1280 822585
jon at jonharveyassociates.co.uk

Helping you connect the prose and the passion to deliver superlative results

http://smallcreativeideas.blogspot.com/  for ideas about how to improve
public & third sector services
http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/ for articles & ideas about
leadership and organisational change
http://twitter.com/JonSHarvey for ideas and questions to help build a more
creative, fair and ambitious world

Jon Harvey Associates Ltd
Registered Office: Chandos House, School Lane, Buckingham, MK18 1HD
Company Number 6661588. VAT Registration Number 936 2921 11 

Please consider the environment before printing this email. Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Diane
Gibeault
Sent: 26 November 2009 21:41
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Power, hierarchy and OS

Hi Jon,

You have a perspective that is consistent with the intent and the capacity
of Open Space I my view. Of all the facilitation methods I know of, OS is
the one that allows the most, the creation on site of a level playing field.

The circle creates that basis and the principles create the spirit and the
container. Together they bring the necessary safety and power for people to
work together in a respectful way.

It is also true that good preparation with a group representative of all
stakeholders invited will go a long way to increasing a safe, constructive
and creative climate for greater successful outcome.

It is a specialty of OS in fact to best deal with diversity, conflict and
giving power to speak to those who usually don't have it. 

This is nevertheless a common fear with people who have very imposing
structures and it helps to give them explanations and examples to show why
OS works.

Cheers,
Diane  

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Jon Harvey
Sent: 26 novembre 2009 14:49
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: [OSLIST] Power, hierarchy and OS

Hallo

I went to a meeting of community cohesion practitioners today (UK) and had a
really great time - lots of good ideas, research trails to chase and lovely
people. Of course it would have been better to have used OS as the process
of the day - which of course I suggested for the next meeting... 

But then we started a debate - with no time to explore it - as to whether OS
is always applicable to meetings where there are people present with very
different levels of power and authority. The presumption by one person was
that hierarchy would get in the way of the flat structure of OS - such that
the less powerful would not feel as empowered to have the conversations they
wished and needed to etc... He was advocating (although I may well have this
wrong) more structure & perhaps capacity building in adavnce to ensure a
level playing field etc where everyone's voice would be heard.

I was left frustrated - as this is a topic that interests me as I have some
sympathy for the point of view. Equally, I take the view that the law of
mobility means that the even the least powerful have vote with their feet /
wheels etc to move to other topics of conversation. And Open Space is what
it says on the tin - it is open to all - and part of our job as facilitators
is to make this abundantly clear.

So I promised to start a debate here on the OSLIST to see what others may
think. I have also just posted a link to here for people from the Community
Cohesion network (on the forum part of their website) so we may get some new
members too.. (if you want to check out the host organisation - here is the
link:
http://practitioners.cohesioninstitute.org.uk/PractitionersNetwork/About all
can join)

So to start the ball rolling:

1) Do less powerful people get less (or more) from Open Space?
2) How does hierarchy interact with the OS process - if at all?
3) Are less powerful people less inclined to go with / show their passion
and nominate topics for discussion - if so - what do you do about that?
4) If the subject is all about variable power (and in community cohesion it
often is...) - does that make OS more or less applicable?
5) Am I over complicating all this?!

I look forward to your thoughts.

Many thanks

Very best wishes

Jon

____________________________________________________________________________
___

Jon Harvey
Director

www.jonharveyassociates.co.uk

+44 (0) 7771 537535
+44 (0) 1280 822585
jon at jonharveyassociates.co.uk

Helping you connect the prose and the passion to deliver superlative results

http://smallcreativeideas.blogspot.com/  for ideas about how to improve
public & third sector services
http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/ for articles & ideas about
leadership and organisational change
http://twitter.com/JonSHarvey for ideas and questions to help build a more
creative, fair and ambitious world

Jon Harvey Associates Ltd
Registered Office: Chandos House, School Lane, Buckingham, MK18 1HD
Company Number 6661588. VAT Registration Number 936 2921 11 

Please consider the environment before printing this email. Thank you.

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