[OSList] Fwd: April 16 OS Meeting Notes

[Peggy Holman]

Dan,

I did a search through the OS listserv archives. Below, from April 27, 1997 is the oldest message I located using the term "hold the space".  Interestingly, it includes a discussion of what it means to hold space.  I made it bold.

Peggy


_________________________________
Peggy Holman
peggy at peggyholman.com

15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA  98006
425-746-6274
www.peggyholman.com
www.journalismthatmatters.org

Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity
 
"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become 
the fire".
  -- Drew Dellinger


Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Open Space Institute" <osi at TMN.COM>
> Date: April 27, 1997 12:17:03 PM PDT
> To: "Multiple recipients of list OSLIST" <OSLIST at IDBSU.IDBSU.EDU>
> Subject: Fw: April 16 OS Meeting Notes
> Reply-To: <osi at TMN.COM>
> 
> For those interested in the latest of the OS training discussion, the
> meeting notes are attached.
> 
> This session became more part of the practice of how training might look
> than a conversation on training.  What I mean is the basic form of training
> we've been discussing is to view training as an entry into the OS
> community.  As such, the flow is something like:
> 
>        Attend an open space
>        Participate in OS discussions (like we had on the 16th and will have aga
> in
> on May 14) in which stories are told, questions are asked and answered)
>        Be linked up with a mentor to support conducting your first OS
>        Attend OSonOS if desired.
> 
> We haven't yet given thought to the mentoring role -- timing, preparation,
> beginning and ending, etc.  We also haven't thought through the pricing and
> costs associated with such a design.  I would expect the next meeting to be
> a combination of discussing these aspects of the training design and
> continuing the conversation on OS.  It will all depend on the mix of people
> and where the energy lies.
> 
> Peg Holman
> 
> ----------
>> From: Holman, Peggy  <holmanp at wdni.com>
>> To: Open Space Institute <osi at tmn.com>
>> Subject: FW: April 16 OS Meeting Notes
>> Date: Thursday, April 24, 1997 10:01 AM
>> 
>> 
>> ----------
>> From: MaHower at ix.netcom.com
>> To: Holman, Peggy
>> Subject: April 16 OS Meeting Notes
>> Date: April 22, 1997 10:23PM
>> 
>> OS Meeting Notes: April 16, 1997
>> at Peggy & Neil Holman's residence.
>> 
>> Participants:
>> Peggy Holman
>> Neil Holman
>> Spencer Fox
>> Clarice Sieden
>> Mark Hower
>> 
>> Next Meeting: May 14 at 6:30 PM (we'll have pizza again)
>> Peggy & Neil Holman's residence: 15347 SE 49th Pl, Bellevue
>> 206-643-6357
>> 
>> The turnout on April 16 was very small due to my failure to get the
>> word out.  I apologize to Peggy and all of you who may have wished to
>> attend, as it was a truly invigorating meeting for those few of us
>> participating.  Below are my notes of our free-ranging conversations.
>> I have occasionally recorded the speaker, but what follows should be
>> taken as the product of an engaged and fully present group of folks.
>> 
>> Peggy asked each participant to answer: "What has brought me to this
>> meeting?"  Our responses follow.
>> Peggy: I have an interest in inviting new people into OSI to keep it
>> vital.  I hope to see beginnings of what someone needs to know to be
>> comfortable to facilitate OS.
>> Spencer: I'm here to find out what I want to know.  New questions are
>> evolving...: how to participate and facilitate at the same time?  And
>> it seems that we can learn how to facilitate by participating or doing
>> Open Space.
>> Mark:  I am interested in seeing how Open Space or Open Space
>> principles can be applied in our daily lives.  People seem to
>> learn/embrace OS with ease, can't we use it elsewhere in our lives?
>> Clarice: OS is so right, so rich, so important.  What can I do to
>> contribute toward the work that needs to be done?  How do I speak
>> about this to others?
>> Neil:   I find OS energizing -- the participation/exchange of ideas,
>> growth.  At work, I am trying to implement management tools in a
>> company that has been largely without.  How do you introduce
>> infrastructure with its discipline without destroying the creativity,
>> etc. that is so essential?  I am using an open format, helping people
>> see that they control their own destiny, must take personal
>> responsibility, go with passion.  I hope to give them a taste of these
>> things and then use Open Space.
>> 
>> 
>> What would we get out of the OS Training?
>> Peggy: a greater renewal of Spirit....  Also, part of Open Space is to
>> get people to breathe together..., or to sing together.  There is a
>> very slow, deliberate pace to the convening of the circle.  Tone of
>> voice, pace, modulation are key.  Many people learn kinesthetically,
>> so this kind of thing cannot be learned by reading Harrison's books.
>> 
>> Other things that may be missed by those reading the books:
>> the importance of sacredness, honoring, ritual, spirit.
>> Since these things are so contradictory to our work environments, they
>> need to be seen and experienced.  People are not willing to be
>> responsible at work.
>> 
>> 
>> Qualities of Open Space differing from traditional training or OD:
>> the learner is often seen as an empty vessel in traditional trainings.
>> Open Space assumes everyone contributes/belongs.
>> The "facilitator" is NOT the expert in OS.
>> OS has a pull vs push philosophy.
>> 
>> Spencer: Its power is its simplicity.  There is just enough structure
>> for freedom to take off without anarchy.
>> 
>> Unlike traditional OD consultants, Harrison is saying take this
>> framework and use only its essence, what is essential.  Others have
>> been taking something and building onto it, creating more complexity.
>> 
>> Spencer: So anyone can learn Open Space.
>> Peggy: Yes, but training is necessary to better hold the space..., or
>> to know how to just let things happen.  The role of the facilitator in
>> OS is not to control.  He/she should "be fully present and totally
>> invisible."  That can be very hard to do at times.
>> 
>> Open Space is natural.  It is "in" us already.  In the circle, we
>> readily share what we know.  We do not need experts.  People with life
>> experience can do this.  We assume that people know rather than assume
>> they do not.
>> 
>> 
>> What is the Open Space Institute?
>> place to mentor and be mentored
>> support for practitioners
>> place for research
>> a place to practice
>> on-line conversations
>> regular meetings
>> place to share stories
>> place to get feedback
>> come as practitioners to regular meetings
>> new members will be able to enter a community
>> 
>> OS people talk about spirit, what has heart and meaning,
>> intentionality, etc.  So it is not about certifying who can do Open
>> Space.
>> 
>> 
>> Can a participant also facilitate Open Space?
>> Spencer: I see how it could work.
>> Peggy: The first priority should be in holding the space.
>> Peggy also noted that she had participated before, but only for very
>> short periods.  "Participation keeps me from getting fully engaged (in
>> holding the space).  My bias is don't do this when getting started as
>> a practitioner."
>> Clarice: Holding the space means you are accessing something bigger.
>> When I speak, I am back in my head, so not so "present."
>> 
>> 
>> What does Holding the Space mean?
>> like meditation, being intentional, fully present.
>> Clarice: It's an altered state, silent sitting;  be authentic and
>> full; no opinion, let go, allow space to occur; observe, catch what is
>> off center, attention to self and state of being; don't do, let others
>> fill that void.
>> 
>> People entrust you to hold the space and they are able to do the rest,
>> to do the work.  Let go of old models of facilitation.  The
>> facilitator is not responsible for outcomes and at the same time, you
>> (the facilitator) put the work back into people's hands.
>> 
>> Pre-event planning includes plumbing the depths of people's passions
>> so that they will be able to go as deep as possible during the OS.
>> Interventions during OS are not part of this.  The level of passion
>> will directly correlate with how deep a group will get in Open Space.
>> 
>> 
>> O.S. Training through OSI:
>> 1) Attend an Open Space event.
>> 2) story telling session and get hooked up with a mentor
>> 3) when ready, work with a mentor to facilitate an Open Space event.
>> 
>> What should be taught/what people should learn:
>> 1) The circle is about communication and community,
>> 2) learn to breathe -- gather, disperse, gather, disperse rhythm
>> during OS (collective consciousness happens, the same kinds of
>> conversations take place within the various learning circles)
>> 3) bulletin board
>> 4) market place
>> 
>> A field is created during Open Space.  The notes of sessions, no
>> matter what the topic, tend to have common threads running through
>> them.  People tap into key themes.  Open Space has a kind of cycle or
>> rhythm regardless of its length.  There is an unloading (divergence)
>> followed by creativity (emergence).  However, the depth will be a
>> factor of time.  Harrison recommends at least a full day of OS.  Peggy
>> describes it as follows:
>>      in one day, people have a good conversation
>>      in two days, people begin to document and expand knowledge
>>      in three days, people begin to get into action.
>> Peggy also noted that the convergence of the third day is still seeing
>> experimentation.
>> 
>> Open Space is about getting things done.  People come together for a
>> purpose, out of intention.
>> 
>> Also Peggy said that Harrison believes OS should be a last resort,
>> when other methods are not working.  People must be ready for the
>> effects of OS since it has the very real potential to radically
>> transform an organization.  So, if the leadership is not ready for
>> such change, OS can create more problems.  The profoundness of the
>> Open Space experience, and its effect on those who participate must be
>> known beforehand.  Don't use OS unless ready for the consequences,
>> because it will run its course.
>> 
>> 
>> Walking away (after Open Space)
>> OS does not lead to traditional action planning.
>> It is more like the medicine wheel (vision, community, etc.)
>> To what extent do you as a manager allow flow to work, to happen?
>> That is the key to following up on OS.  And the manager needs to
>> continue to hold the space, so that what emerges is possible.  So,
>> this means that managers need to change or be different than those
>> found in traditional command and control environments.
>> 
>> 
>> It was an incredible meeting!   We demonstrated many of the truths of
>> OS in our participation at the meeting.  We pursued the questions
>> brought by each participant.  Like a pull model, we explored what we
>> felt passionate about, confident that somebody in the room would know
>> the answer.
>> 
>> Next Meeting:
>> May 14 at 6:30 PM (we'll have pizza again)
>> Peggy & Neil Holman's residence
>> 15347 SE 49th Pl, Bellevue
>> 206-643-6357
>> 
>> If you have any questions about these notes, please feel free to
>> contact me at (206) 781-5150 or through E-mail at
>> MaHower at ix.netcom.com.  Cheers!    Mark Hower

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