[OSList] FW: Once again: Blending OST with Training - an absolute NO NO?

[Harrison Owen]

My experience is that doing something "formal" first, followed by Open Space
works very well. And it certainly isn't "blended" in any sense I would
understand. What doesn't work is inserting Open Space into something else or
inserting something else into Open Space. By "not working," I mean that the
flow is broken and people become confused even if they are apparently
following along. The only down side of doing what you propose is that people
will come up at the end to ask why they "wasted" all that time at the
beginning? Doesn't always happen, but it happens often enough to make me
notice. Have fun.

 

Harrison

 

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

Phone 301-365-2093

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Bernd Weber
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 7:03 AM
To: OSLIST
Subject: [OSList] Once again: Blending OST with Training - an absolute NO
NO?

 

Hi All

 

Last month I posted about a new Learning Workshop Format-in-production:

"Participants can learn (1) to play with surface waves/breakers with their
bodies (2) use the "waves-of-change" metaphor in reflecting their
experiences as change agents and change facilitators in the light of 1 and
(3)equilibrate these two levels of movement by mental non-movement and
physical slow movement according to the Stress Management Technique "Cyclic
Meditation" as recently developed at SVYASA Yoga University Bangalore/India
where I have learned it in January"

 

During my design work I got the strong feeling, that I would like make the
training/learning part as focussed and concentrated as possible and then to
"open up" for mutual learning of the participants. It will be a
heterogeneous crowd with a lot of experience (English and German speakers,
experienced Change agents in Education and professional Consultants, Change
Facilitators. So I thought, I can only "kick-them-off" in a concentrated
training but then they better self-organize asap for action planning in the
sense of "How could we Play with the Waves of Change Back Home". And there
it was: the idea to do a 2,5 day Training and then a 1,5 day OST event. 

 

I reacted very ambivalent to my own idea. One one hand the result of many
discussions in the OSLIST and my own experience show, that OST is best, when
"stand-alone" and "not blended": 

I thought: A training up front would probably re-inforce the everyday
"anti-self-organization" habits; the invitation procedure can not be done
properly; it will not be a large group anyhow; Where is the burning issue
and the urgency? etc. pp.

On the other hand  I could not get rid of the idea. It seemed to be the
right thing to do, since my WS methodology is also oriented towards
self-organization and then I know: working in the OST format (even if not
doing it in the purest way) simply is the most effective way of moving
things ahead. 

 

I got stuck finally. Could not continue working on my WS-Design without a
clear decision. So I decided to ask the interested ones and the potential
participants directly by putting that question into a survey monkey
questionnaire(you might have a look at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SBPQW6C)

I thought: If people say "we want it" why not? On the other hand: making
nonsense because "people say they want it" is also not the finest style.

 

So I would humbly ask you: what do you think?

 

Bernd (in Colombo/Sri Lanka right now)

 

 


Bernd Weber

Change Facilitation s.r.o., A Global Partner Who Makes Change Happen in
Complex Environments; www.change-facilitation.com,
www.change-facilitation.org, www.change-management-toolbook.com,
www.change-management-blog.com; bernd.weber at change-facilitation.org; Austria
Mobile: +43 6641354828, Landline + 431 5968657; Sri Lanka landline +94 11
2785859, iPhone: +94 777740757, mobile +94 71 6090839

 

 

 

 

 

 

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