making requests of leaders

Wed Dec 1 09:29:38 PST 2010

Lisa my friend – I applaud the sensitive effort you obviously expend in the
“prework.” But I think I find myself in a different place, perhaps only a
nuance away? In my conversations with the client prior to an Open Space I
find myself doing virtually everything you do, although me being me I seek
to do as little as possible – one more thing not to do. J Except – I have
never made any attempt to suppress or equalize the power equation. I have no
problem talking to anybody (CEO included) about their concerns in this area,
but that conversation is almost inevitably a short one. I simply tell them
not to worry about it. If it is suggested that senior managers should “hold
back” my response is the same, perhaps sharpened a bit by my expressed
expectation that those senior managers (along with everybody else) will add
value.

I can understand that some may find my actions irresponsible, naive, or
both. Irresponsible in the sense that an extreme power play on the part of
some senior manager could be very painful, and I should prevent that
possibility. Naïve in the sense that I am seemingly blind to the destructive
power realities in many organizations. Possibly – but I do not think it is
my responsibility to “fix” the organization. However, I fully accept the
responsibility to open some space so that the organization can fix (heal)
itself.  There are some practical considerations here – I simply do not
possess the wisdom, time, or energy to unravel the organizational pathology.
However, what I lack, the people of that organization probably possess in
abundance, and if they don’t, my feeble efforts will make little difference.
Indeed those efforts are very likely to make the whole situation worse. My
task is to create the time/space in which those people can identify their
own resources and bring them to bear on the issues at hand.

I have to tell you that what I have described above is directly opposed to
everything I thought I was supposed to be doing. Truth to tell, during the
first 25 years of my professional life I was a “fixer” for sure. Give me a
good organizational pathology, and I was all over it like a tent with
resolution and brilliant solutions just moments away. Or so I thought. What
changed was Open Space which confronted me with the incredible restorative
powers of a self organizing system. Not always, not everywhere – for
organizations, like all other life forms, do die. But if there is life and
the will to live – the folks will find the way. Contrast all of this with my
powers as a fixer, and I wasn’t even in the ball park. Talk about eating
Humble Pie! 

The last 25 years have been wonderful, although the diet of Humble Pie
continues. I have been privileged to work in some of the most massively
autocratic, dictatorial situations where it was presumed by one and all that
the operative power paradigm would simply carry over into the Open Space
producing pain and destruction for the trusting few who dared raise their
heads along with new and different ideas. I can’t say that there were not a
few bumps along the way, or that all the new ideas found immediate
acceptance. Truthfully some of those new ideas were plainly stupid. However
the predicted carnage has never happened. And the truly good news is that
the people left with genuine empowerment. They knew they had done it all by
themselves – and nobody was pulling any punches. As for the formal leaders
(CEO and all those nasty senior manager types) they received the education
of a lifetime. They suddenly saw in glorious living color the robust
character of all those funny people called “Employees.”

Will this always be true? I don’t know, but it has worked so far.

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

Phone 301-365-2093

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
<mailto:oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:

 <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html>
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Lisa Heft
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 11:31 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: making requests of leaders

Raffi and others - 

In my experience and approach...

- everything in context,

- do thorough pre-work,

- be aware of culture

- talk in advance about those things that support people of minority or
diverse viewpoint (not in the OS process but in such things as the
invitation, signage, whatever is appropriate)

- analyze with the client what (Open Space or otherwise) is the right tool
for the task, time available, capacity and needs of the organization /
group, and so on.

So: in my pre-work conversations with the client - especially when I hear
about a group of mixed levels of perceived or actual power - we talk about
power dynamics. 

And then if we agree after our analysis that Open Space is indeed the tool
we will be selecting for this event, sometimes the client says something
like "My managers will be there - and they are very into leading and
directing - and I can see that it is important to let all participants
experience co-leadership / self-leadership instead. What shall I tell my
managers so we can help them understand the benefit of not directing
everybody?"

So we talk about this, and either they say 'Okay I know what I will say to
them' or they say 'Can you give me some thoughts to help them keep in mind?'
and we work together in the context of what they are asking, their needs,
and their work culture.  Sometimes the client / supervisor invites them to
come or not come, but if they come, to be full participants rather than
directive. Whatever s/he thinks works in her/his cultural context. Sometimes
they invite me to meet with the managers to answer their questions about the
upcoming Open Space.  Sometimes we even meet at the hotel bar the night
before and have a casual chat.

And in those times I let them know that if they direct everyone they are
losing the benefit of this interactive process.  It will tell them a great
deal about emergent leaders in their organization if they step back from
directing everything and see who shines. And I invite them to be themselves
- if they feel inspired to post a topic - especially something that comes up
from within as a juicy puzzle or inquiry - this is the place and time.  

Sometimes we talk about how if they jump up too soon to fill the space with
topics, will that leave space for others to emerge, given the power
dynamics?  If they feel that may be an issue, I invite them to therefore let
others post their topics, see what comes up, go with the flow and then
announce any topic that inspires them. My response springs from their
pre-event inquiry.

Sometimes they want me to write up something as a reminder. So I do.

It is again: in context, it springs from conversations with the client and
their teams, they are often the ones who lead and inquire in this pre-event
exploration, and I'm there to answer their questions about what I have
noticed in other similar Open Spaces when people with great power mix with
people with lesser power in the meeting.  All part of the conversation.

I don't do it automatically. I don't do it for every organization I perceive
to have a strong hierarchy. I don't do it most of the time. 

That would be a cultural assumption, and it would not be about me listening
to them.

That, I think, is the nuance, Raffi.

And the context.

Thanks for inviting this exploration,

Lisa

Lisa Heft

Consultant, Facilitator, Educator

Opening Space

lisaheft at openingspace.net

On Nov 30, 2010, at 3:55 PM, Raffi Aftandelian wrote:

Queridos amigos,

Muchas gracias for your responses. And I'm surprised to hear at least based
on the current responses that this practice of encouraging "leaders" to hold
back is rather uncommon.

I've cross-posted this question to the Genuine Contact list, too.

abrazos, 
Raffi

p.s.-- Querido Miguel- I think right now we're a little less lucky here in
San Diego (and hence if you're calling me a "lucky cat," that probably makes
me a little less feline, too)-- it has been rather cold here recently...

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist

* * ==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about
OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist 

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20101201/79bda990/attachment-0016.htm>