Opening Space and Participating at the same time?

Wed Mar 17 16:55:44 PDT 2010

Hi Johannes,

As Peggy and Harrison have said, it takes the ability to truly hold  
the space for what is emerging, which is much more challenging for me  
when I've let myself loose into a discussion for which I have lots of  
passion.

In what ways will the nature of the topic require you to participate?   
Are you considered to be an expert/authority/leader in these  
communities?  I personally find it much trickier then.

Years ago, Harrison was brought in by our local Organziation  
Development Network to do an Open Space for that group.  Someone  
proposed a breakout session and asked Harrison if he would be willing  
to do a Q&A about Open Space for that time period.  Since these were  
all OD folks who wanted to learn as much as they could from the  
master, nearly ever one of the fifty or so participants ended up in a  
breakout with Harrison.  I certainly thought that he was able to hold  
the space and simultaneously participate in that breakout session.  At  
the end of the day, though, led by Harrison's self-disclosure about  
his discomfort with the process, we came to the conclusion that while  
we gained Harrison's insight and time with him as a "teacher" we lost  
a bit of the power of Open Space.

Warm wishes from a lovely warm Phoenix afternoon,

Christine
Christine Whitney Sanchez
Collaborative Wisdom & Strategy
480.759.0262
www.christinewhitneysanchez.com
www.promiseusa.com
Skype: christinewhitneysanchez
http://www.facebook.com/ChristineWhitneySanchez

On Mar 17, 2010, at 4:12 PM, Peggy Holman wrote:

> Hi Johannes,
>
> Harrison said it well: it is possible but difficult.  The more  
> experience I've gotten, the more willing I am to participate under  
> certain conditions.
>
> When I have been asked in by a sponsor to open a space, I don't  
> participate in the content.
>
> When I am part of the organizing and it is a subject of interest, I  
> will sometimes sit in on sessions of interest.  I almost never post  
> a session myself.  If I do post a session, it is because I'm working  
> with partners, so there is more than one of us consciously holding  
> the space.
>
> As Harrison said, tending to the space is job one.
>
> Best of success to you.
>
> From sunny Seattle,
> Peggy
>
>
> ______________________________
> Peggy Holman
> The Open Circle Company
> 15347 SE 49th Place
> Bellevue, WA  98006
> 425-746-6274
> www.opencirclecompany.com
> www.journalismthatmatters.org
>
> For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to:
> www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook
>
> "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not  
> get burnt, is to become
> the fire".
>  -- Drew Dellinger
>
>
> On Mar 17, 2010, at 3:55 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:
>
>> Johannes said: "I take it the first-best solution would be to have  
>> someone
>> else open
>> and hold space. Assuming that's infeasible: what are your experiences
>> with opening space and participating at the same time?"
>>
>> Always possible but difficult. If you understand that your FIRST  
>> job is
>> holding space and participation is second it can work. But the real  
>> issue is
>> how the other participants will see you. If this is a contentious  
>> issue and
>> you are perceived to be one of the contending parties your role as a
>> "neutral" force will be really hard. Good luck!
>>
>> 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
>> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
>> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of  
>> Johannes
>> Terwitte
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:54 PM
>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> Subject: Opening Space and Participating at the same time?
>>
>> Dear community,
>>
>> Over the past few months I have introduced OST in two NGOs I'm
>> involved in. In those few Open Spaces I tried to open and hold  
>> space -
>> and resist the temptation to jump right in and participate.
>>
>> Now there are three 1-day Open Spaces coming up in the near future,
>> two with around 20 participants and one with around 10. In all cases
>> the topic will be very dear to my heart, and in some the nature of  
>> the
>> topic will require me to be involved as a participant. My intuition  
>> is
>> that opening space and participating would not be much of a problem -
>> it is *holding* space and participating which don't go together so
>> well. Who would collect the empty coffee cups while I'm involved in a
>> discussion? Maybe someone would... then how much holding space is
>> necessary?
>>
>> I take it the first-best solution would be to have someone else open
>> and hold space. Assuming that's infeasible: what are your experiences
>> with opening space and participating at the same time?
>>
>> Appreciatively,
>>
>> Johannes
>>
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