[OSList] Teach Them to Fish / A Note to My Friends

[Stanley Park]

It seems that there always is ba choice between living as a master of one's
own life or a slave.

Our role seems to be a herald of the good/bad news that the choice is open.

Well, what's our choice as a community of Openspacers? ;-)

spark
2012. 2. 28. 오전 1:06에 "Harrison Owen" <hhowen at verizon.net>님이 작성:

> Well done Peggy – and you really have my curiosity aroused. All about the
> 1%! I do understand that some significant percentage of the participants
> (did you say 20%?) appeared “disoriented” – and you are certainly right
> that a good dose of Freedom Shock can be unsettling, and might be the
> cause. My problem is that I don’t think I have ever encountered such a
> situation – at least with the numbers you indicate. This is not to say that
> every OS I have done had a 100% satisfaction rate, that Freedom Shock
> didn’t ruffle a few feathers, or that nobody ever left. But honestly, I
> have never seen anything such as you describe.****
>
> ** **
>
> Just to be absolutely clear – I am not doubting you for a minute, nor am I
> even vaguely suggesting that you are somehow “inadequate” as a space
> opener. I’ve known you too well and too long to even suspicion that. So
> what’s the difference. What have I missed?****
>
> ** **
>
> It could well be that my own powers of observation are less than acute, or
> if acute, then blinded by a natural bias – believing that everybody MUST
> love OS. All possible, but even with a with a very dark pair of rose
> colored classes, I don’t think I would miss 20-30% of the folks walking out.
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> The closest thing to what you describe that I ever experienced came in two
> rather strange, and never to be repeated situations. The first was not an
> Open Space per se, but rather a training program back in the days when I
> offered a whole mess of lectures and a little bit of Open Space. Hopefully
> I can be forgiven, but that is what “training programs” used to be, so we
> all thought. In the case, a substantial number of the attendees had come
> with the explicit purpose of discrediting Open Space and substituting their
> own understanding of what training and facilitation was all about. Needless
> to say I didn’t have a clue when we started that was the situation, but I
> sure found out – and once the cat was out of the bag I simply took a walk
> (Law of two feet) telling all the participants that when they figured out
> what they wanted to do, and if wanted me to be a part of it – just let me
> know.  It was all very interesting, and in a very curious way – total open
> space!****
>
> ** **
>
> The second situation occurred rather early on in my Open Space journey. A
> group of trainers and facilitators asked me to “demonstrate Open Space.”
> Not knowing any better, I asked them to come up with some sort of theme and
> “we did it.” We sat in a circle, created a bulletin board, opened a market
> place – and everybody left -- muttering, “Is that all there is?”****
>
> Never again!****
>
> ** **
>
> One thing I have thought of which might be the difference is that in
> virtually all cases (certainly in the last 20 years) when somebody comes to
> me they want an Open Space. Or putting it the other way around, it is never
> the case that I was trying to convince somebody to use Open Space. Indeed
> there have been any number of situations where after talking to the people
> I suggested that they go out and see if they can figure any other way to
> achieve what they had in mind. Should they run out of options please to
> come back and I would be happy to talk. Just for the record, the return
> rate was about 50%.****
>
> ** **
>
> So what do you think?****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> Harrison****
>
> ** **
>
> ****
>
> ** **
>
>  ****
>
> ** **
>
> Harrison Owen****
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.****
>
> Potomac, MD 20854****
>
> USA****
>
> ** **
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)****
>
> Camden, Maine 20854****
>
> ** **
>
> Phone 301-365-2093****
>
> (summer)  207-763-3261****
>
> ** **
>
> www.openspaceworld.com****
>
> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)****
>
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> OSLIST Go to:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org****
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org [mailto:
> oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf Of *Peggy Holman
> *Sent:* Monday, February 27, 2012 1:23 AM
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] Teach Them to Fish / A Note to My Friends****
>
> ** **
>
> I'd like to dive under the metaphor of "distributing fish" when opening
> space.  What I'm about to say may be controversial, but I think it's a
> discussion worth having.****
>
> ** **
>
> As background, when I first started opening space, I always jumped right
> in. Ninety-five percent of the time, following a few words from the
> sponsor, I still do.  I want to be clear that the reflections that follow
> involve a narrow set of circumstances -- say 1% of the time -- when I have
> found it useful to give away some fish.****
>
> ** **
>
> In that 1% of cases, jumping into Open Space left a sufficient number of
> people confused, out of focus, and unsure why they had come that I think it
> reduced the potential of the experience for everyone.  I'd describe most of
> these situations as high in "freedom shock" -- a wonderful term that
> Harrison coined to describe, in his words, "the reaction of a very bright,
> experienced group of professionals who had suddenly been granted everything
> they wanted with no strings attached, and it seemed to terrify them".****
>
> ** **
>
> So when the conditions are ripe for a lot of freedom shock -- say, 20-25%
> of participants -- I think it's useful to give away a few fish.  ****
>
> ** **
>
> I'm offering my reflections on What does it mean to distribute fish? When
> does it makes sense?  How do you do it?****
>
> ** **
>
> I would love to hear how others see it.****
>
> ** **
>
> *What does distributing fish mean to me?*****
>
> ** **
>
> It means setting the context with why are we here and who is here with
> more than a few words from the sponsor. It doesn't take much but, I have
> found circumstances in which setting the stage makes a world of difference
> for the effectiveness not just for an event, but for what happens
> afterwards. Far more go fishing on their own and with newfound partners
> when they've been fed a few fish and learned something about fishing.****
>
> ** **
>
> *When does it make sense to distribute fish?*****
>
> ** **
>
> I first ran into the need through the early Journalism That Matters events
> (http://journalismthatmatters.org/events-notes/), which brought together
> the "whole system" of journalism.  When I co-hosted the second and third
> Evolutionary Salons (http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon.html) --
> wildly open ended explorations of what it means to be conscious agents of
> evolution, they added to my reflections on the need for some work up front.
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> Even in these events, most jumped right in and ran with the experience.
>  Yet there was a notable minority, perhaps 1/4 to 1/3, who were so
> disoriented they left or simply wandered around lost.  They couldn't figure
> out how to navigate the space.  Now I can make the case that this was
> exactly the right outcome.  I have no doubt the experience got them
> cooking.  So this isn't about right or wrong.  It is about overall
> effectiveness.****
>
> ** **
>
> I haven't tried to describe the conditions before now but found them
> emerging as I thought back on some of the wild rides I've had.  When the
> following conditions are ALL present, giving away fish is useful:****
>
> ** **
>
> *  There isn't the infrastructure of an organization or something that
> provides an implicit context for all that is happening.****
>
> *  The question is "big" -- which can seem abstract or unfocused to some.
> (Example: What is the new news ecology and how do we create it?")****
>
> *  The people are coming together just for the event.  While some may know
> each other, they're all likely to go their separate ways following the
> experience. When the group is highly diverse, it compounds the situation.
> (Of course, it also increases the potential of the experience when people
> have what they need to orient.)****
>
> *  The majority of people coming have never experienced Open Space or
> something like it. (So not only is the content, while attractive or they
> wouldn't be there, a stretch, the form is completely unfamiliar.)****
>
> *  There's no clear sponsor in the traditional sense -- a senior manager
> of an organization or an organization that brings an orienting set of
> assumptions.  (Journalism That Matters and the group of us co-hosting the
> Evolutionary Salons just brought interesting questions.)****
>
> ** **
>
> In short, if the context isn't easily understood, it's the responsibility
> of the organizers to make it so.  ****
>
> ** **
>
> *How do you distribute fish?*****
>
> ** **
>
> I've run into the conditions I described above when working with ambitious
> societal questions that aren't anchored in pursuing specific activities.
>  Such circumstances don't lend themselves to experts setting the stage.  So
> I look for ways in which people answer the questions for themselves -- in
> which they create a context through understanding the mix of intentions
> present, and who's bringing them.****
>
> ** **
>
> In other words, it's still about the people in the room pursuing what
> matters to them.  ****
>
> ** **
>
> I've used a variety of approaches to accomplish this, sometimes for an
> hour, sometimes for a half a day, depending on the situation and the
> desired outcomes: ****
>
> ** **
>
> *  People sharing the questions they've brought with each other, sometimes
> with a World Cafe around the conference theme.  Sometimes, when there are
> some folks who have some deep thinking or practice to offer as inspiration,
> 2-3 are invited as "conversation catalysts", to talk for a max of 10
> minutes each, setting the stage for a conversation in the room.  ****
>
> ** **
>
> *  Creating a "who's coming" bio book sent in advance can give people a
> sense of who's in the room without spending time on introductions.  Or
> we'll provide some means for people to self-identify the roles they play.
>  For example, at a number of Journalism That Matters sessions, we've had
> stickers for different roles that people could put on their name tags.
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> *  Setting up a "trade show", where anyone can share their work at a table
> for an hour or so.  It's lively, informal, and people get to spend their
> time learning about what others are doing.  It also clears the way for
> folks who come with an agenda to loosen their hold on it because they get a
> chance to tell their story. ****
>
> ** **
>
> By the time they're done with these types of activities, I find even the
> most freedom shock prone have gotten enough of a grounding to dive into
> Open Space.****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> All these activities are informed by the assumption that people have the
> answers within them.  They are a way to provide more context when it isn't
> coming from an obvious source.****
>
> ** **
>
> So, that's about it.****
>
> ** **
>
> Thoughts?****
>
> ** **
>
> appreciatively,****
>
> 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 <http://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/>****
>
>
> "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 Feb 24, 2012, at 8:06 AM, Harrison Owen wrote:****
>
>
>
> ****
>
> Artur – your point about “teaching” is well taken. And given the state of
> language at  the moment it is doubtless necessary to take the route you
> have taken in describing the role of teacher-as-mentor/guide. Couldn’t
> agree more! But wouldn’t it be nice if real teaching could be defined and
> understood as you have suggested? This whole subject is very pertinent to
> me at the moment as I am pulling myself together for the upcoming
> conference Manila on “The Future of Learning.” I have agreed to do a one
> day dialogue on Learning just to raise and shape the questions – then it is
> on to the Maine Event which will be 2 days of Open Space. Should be great
> and we will be having folks from all over Asia. You should come! And by the
> way so should anybody else on the LIST. Dates are March 27-20 and our
> hostess in Sharon Chao at SEAMEO-Innotech. For the details contact Sharon
> sharon at seameo-innotech.org****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> Harrison Owen****
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.****
>
> Potomac, MD 20854****
>
> USA****
>
>  ****
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)****
>
> Camden, Maine 20854****
>
>  ****
>
> Phone 301-365-2093****
>
> (summer)  207-763-3261****
>
>  ****
>
> www.openspaceworld.com****
>
> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)****
>
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> OSLIST Go to:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org****
>
>  ****
>
> *From:* oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org [
> mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org<oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>
> ] *On Behalf Of*Artur Silva
> *Sent:* Friday, February 24, 2012 8:20 AM
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] Teach Them to Fish / A Note to My Friends****
>
>  ****
>
> Amen for almost everything! And thank you, Harrison, for reminding us of
> all this.****
>
>
>
>
> ****
>
> A small observation: I have struggled myself with the same old saying:
> "instead of giving a fish, teach them to fish".  Yes, if you "give a fish"
> you are patronizing and disempowering the other. But, if you "*teach to
> fish*" aren't you also disempowering him?****
>
>  ****
>
> Having done professional training and facilitation (intermittently) for 40
> years and teaching at Universities for 20 years, I have come to the
> conclusion that *the role of a Professor is not to teach*. It is to *help
> the students to learn* and more specifically to "*learn how to learn*" -
> anything, anytime, for all their lives... ****
>
>  ****
>
> So it is not "to teach to fish"; it is to help them "*to learn*
>  (remember?) *how to survive*". It may be fishing today, hunting
> tomorrow, cultivating in another day, but especially it will change every
> now and then, and the student must be prepared to "*learn as a way of
> being*" (from the title of a book of your friend Peter Vaill).****
>
>  ****
>
> So, indeed the teacher/professor/facilitator must *learn how to disappear*,
> so that the student can surpass the master - at least, if he his younger,
> as he probably will continue to learn for a longer time.  ****
>
>
> But this is not a disagreement because - if I understood well - this is
> exactly what your post says.****
>
>
> Warm regards****
>
>
> Artur****
>
>  ****
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>
> *To:* 'World wide Open Space Technology email list' <
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> *Sent:* Thursday, February 23, 2012 9:31 PM
> *Subject:* [OSList] Teach Them to Fish / A Note to My Friends****
>
>  ****
>
> There is an old saying to the effect that when seeking to help people it
> is infinitely better to teach them to fish than to give them fish. The
> point is obvious. When you learn how to fish you can feed yourself. The
> secondary point may be less than obvious. When you are simply handed a fish
> the conditions for learned helplessness and continued dependence, to say
> nothing of subservience are created. Even with the best, most altruistic
> intentions in the world, a fish handout has its problems. And what does all
> this have to do with the price of tea in China? Not much, I guess, but I
> think it has a lot to say about our roles as facilitators.****
>
>  ****
>
> One of the things I have always loved about Open Space is that it is not
> rocket science. Anybody with a good head and good heart can “do it” – a
> reality which has been proved time and time again. Early on I thought the
> “magic” lay in the simplicity of the process – but it turned out it was
> worse than that. There isn’t any process that “We do” – in fact the process
> does us. Yes, I know – you have heard all this before… self organization at
> work. We are simply remembering what we already know. But well before I
> made any connection between Open Space and self-organization, I was struck
> by its simplicity and universality – it simply worked… everywhere. The
> immediate impact of this realization was a “tag phrase” I found myself
> uttering at every opening of space. At the beginning and at the end I told
> the folks,” There is absolutely nothing that I am doing with you that you
> cannot do for yourselves.” It was all about teaching fishing.****
>
>  ****
>
> As time went along I found myself working the implications of this phrase.
> Substantively, I told everybody who came to me that, while I would be
> pleased to open their space, I would do it only once. Should they want to
> do it again, I would help from the sidelines, and for all subsequent
> gatherings, they were on their own. A second impact on my practice resolved
> into a simple phrase: “Think of one more thing not to do.”****
>
>  ****
>
> Having come into the “business” (of facilitation) in the late ‘60’s I
> found myself in the midst of a flowering of methods, techniques and
> procedures emanating from the emergent OD movement in all of its
> manifestations. Suddenly the “simple meeting” became a massive cookbook of
> possibilities. Warm up processes, Ice breakers for starters. Interventions
> of all sorts during the main course, with “Kumb’yah”  and holding hands for
> desert. I jest, but only just.  Designing such a thing could take months
> and involve dozens of people. And when it came to the actual meeting it
> almost seemed that the Conference Committee plus assorted Facilitators
> outnumbered participants by 2:1. I couldn’t help but wonder…was this trip
> really necessary?****
>
>  ****
>
> In many ways, Open Space (OST) came to me as an answer to my questing. It
> is true that two martinis helped and marked the birth, but I think the
> period of gestation had been going on for a bit. I have joked that my
> essential laziness was the primal cause, but more basic was a deep hope
> that there had to be a better way. Was it not possible that human beings
> could engage in intelligent conversation without “all that stuff?” The gin
> helped, I suppose – but the answer was ridiculously simple: Yes – Just sit
> in a circle, create a bulletin board, open a market place, and go to work.
> All the rest is history, but I wasn’t out of the woods.****
>
>  ****
>
> Given my prior experience, to say nothing of the experience and practice
> of my friends, I just could not believe that something so simple could
> possibly work without help. Obviously we needed to “prepare” for Open
> Space. And so I tried any number of warm-ups and ice breakers – trust
> games, relaxation exercises, visualizations and more. Most were pleasant,
> maybe even fun – but did they really add value?  The only way to find out
> was not to do them – and find out.****
>
>  ****
>
> As often happens, the first iteration of the experiment (dropping stuff)
> happened quite unintentionally. I was in South Africa in the anxious days
> immediately post Apartheid. We needed to do an Open Space -- FAST. Nobody
> had ever heard of Open Space, but they were ready to try anything. So we
> just did it. No preparation, no warm up, no nothing. Just the barebones:
> circle, bulletin board, market place and to work. And to work they went! I
> learned something, which has been confirmed again and again as the
> experience grew. When space needs to open – Just Do it.  But I must confess
> that holding hands at the end still can feel good, although there is no
> need to sing Kumb’yah.****
>
>  ****
>
> But it wasn’t just the warm ups. As my experience with Open Space was
> growing, friends and colleagues were creating their own approaches. Diana
> Whitney and David Cooperrider with Appreciative Inquiry and Juanita Brown
> with World Café, for example. Wouldn’t it make sense to sequence or combine
> all these things? We tried, and it was fun – but did it really make any
> difference? Did the work move more swiftly, were the conversations deeper?
> Was the follow-on more effective? Despite my best efforts, I could see
> little if any improvement, *and I really wanted to*. And to the extent
> that there was a marginal plus, that seemed to have less to do with the
> cumulative effect of the several approaches – and more to do with the
> simple fact that people had been together longer. In fact on multiple
> occasions participants would come up to me to ask why we hadn’t done it all
> in Open Space? “That is where the cookie really crumbled,” one person said.
> (Translation: “That’s where the conversation really got real.”)****
>
>  ****
>
> I know this is an argument I can never win. But the truth of the matter is
> that there is no argument and I have no interest in winning. Each of us
> must make our own judgment as to what might be the most effective and
> appropriate in each situation. That said, the fact of the matter is that in
> 27 years of observation I have never seen any group of people have the
> slightest bit of difficulty entering into Open Space – even when the topic
> under consideration was viciously volatile. Always worked, all by itself. I
> have, to be sure, seen situations where the sponsors (and often the
> facilitators) were more than hesitant. But for the people themselves – no
> problem.****
>
>  ****
>
> I suppose there could be an argument if my basic concern were to defend
> this approach (OST) against all others, any combination thereof, or
> extraneous heterodoxies. Were that the case,  I am sure that I could be
> (should be!) accused of a very biased, proprietary self-interest. But my
> interest is rather different, and the simple truth of the matter is that I
> would be delighted if all methods and approaches were simply to disappear –
> right along with every last Facilitator. Throw out the Tool Box and The
> Profession! No longer needed. It is all about teaching folks to fish.****
>
>  ****
>
> I judge myself and the impact of my work by a single criterion: How fast
> can I become redundant? How soon can the folks fish for themselves? My task
> becomes infinitely easier as the simplicity of my approach increases and
> the necessity to explain fades away. Best of all would be a situation where
> there is really nothing to explain – just Do it. And then remind the folks
> that they did it, and can do it again. No more. No less. After that the
> only thing left to do is post a sign: “Gone Fishing!”****
>
>  ****
>
> Harrison   ****
>
>  ****
>
> Harrison Owen****
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.****
>
> Potomac, MD 20854****
>
> USA****
>
>  ****
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)****
>
> Camden, Maine 20854****
>
>  ****
>
> Phone 301-365-2093****
>
> (summer)  207-763-3261****
>
>  ****
>
> www.openspaceworld.com****
>
> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)****
>
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> OSLIST Go to:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org****
>
>  ****
>
>
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>
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