[OSList] What does neutrality of a facilitator mean in Open Space?
doug
ost at footprintsinthewind.com
Fri Apr 26 10:11:04 PDT 2013
Chris--
Yup, got that on my Kindle! One of my favorites!
:- Doug.
On 04/26/2013 12:58 PM, Chris Corrigan wrote:
> Here is a little book I wrote on this topic a number of years ago:
> http://archive.org/details/TheTaoOfHoldingSpace
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 9:16 AM, doug <ost at footprintsinthewind.com
> <mailto:ost at footprintsinthewind.com>> wrote:
>
> MMP and friends--
>
> Thank you for this dive into the present and invisible and expanding
> of time and space.
>
> Although I have been doing OST for a decade, this is a practice I
> have yet to perfect. Often I feel at the end of an OS that I was not
> really there because I was facilitating. That is, I cannot tell
> someone else what went on or what the results were. (Sure I can
> count issues and assess the depth of the closing circle, but that is
> not the same as having been a participant. It is different when at
> an OSonOS I can simply be a participant.)
>
> So can you and others say some more about how you practice being
> present and invisible, what it feels like to expand time and space?
> Is it for you more than picking up coffee cups?
>
> :- Doug.
>
>
>
>
>
> On 04/26/2013 04:31 AM, Michael M Pannwitz wrote:
>
> Dear Carms,
> basically, there is no such thing as a "neutral" facilitator.
> As far as I can remember, and thats a few decades back, potential
> clients often ask for a "neutral" facilitation or consultation.
>
> Seems to me that the way to tackle this is to ask myself what I
> am not
> "neutral" about. And that, I found out, varies from case to case and
> from situation to situation.
>
> So, when I am facilitating I find it helpful to discover what I
> do not
> want to be "neutral" about and focus on that particular thing.
> When facilitating an Open Space Technology process I focus on being
> "present and invisible", "expanding time and space" (for the
> forces of
> selforganisation to do its thing).
> This I find is more than a full time job... any other interests that
> crop up (getting involved in issues participants post or paying
> attention to a co-facilitator...) simply have no space. The
> moment they
> do press for space and my attention I know I am no longer really
> paying
> attention to my task as facilitator.
> In practice this means that I am in desperate need for a team in the
> background that takes care of all the things I love to meddle
> with and
> control so that I can focus... which sounds simple but aint easy.
>
> A co-facilitator who has clear positions on issues and is
> absorbed by
> such stuff does not compromise "neutrality" of the team. He exerts
> control and that is from my experience a surefire way to reduce
> or even
> close space.
> So, how to deal with a co-facilitator of the kind you describe?
> It depends, of course.
> One way to avoid this destraction is to simply strike the
> position of
> co-facilitator.
> Have a great day
> mmp
>
> On 26.04.2013 01 <tel:26.04.2013%2001>:44, Carmela Ariza wrote:
>
> Thanks Kari for your thoughts and suggestions.
>
> How would you deal then with a co-facilitator who has a very
> clear
> position on issues that are being tackled and who runs the
> risk of
> compromising neutrality of the team of facilitators?
>
> Will take a look at the Amsterdam Musical Lecture on Open
> Space soon.
> This seems interesting...
>
> Carms
> /*If there is to be any peace it will come through being,
> not having. --
> Henry Miller*/
> ------------------------------__------------------------------__------------
> *From:* Kári Gunnarsson <kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is
> <mailto:kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is>>
> *To:* Carmela Ariza <carmela_ariza at yahoo.com
> <mailto:carmela_ariza at yahoo.com>>; World wide Open Space
> Technology email list <oslist at lists.openspacetech.__org
> <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>>
> *Sent:* Friday, 19 April 2013, 7:35
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] What does neutrality of a
> facilitator mean in
> Open Space?
>
> Hi Carmela
>
> I am perhaps not the best on neutrality, I am easily swept
> off my feet
> in passion for this or that, and usually I like to marvel in
> the novelty
> for a short while.
>
> I don't think there is any one truth that we can speak here.
> There is
> some big notion of neutrality in the academia, somehow born
> from the
> abstract thinking of the scientific methought. There is this
> belief that
> if I am to close too or worse - one of the locals, then I
> must be to
> bias to speak any truth.
>
> But what I have found is that if I am the owner or manager
> of the item
> in question, then I might have some previews thoughts and
> dreams that I
> may try to enforce it in the process with no regards to the
> underlying
> reality of the matter, if given the possibility.
>
> Also if this person is someone I am trying to please, I may
> be to
> co-dependent towards any power play that he might use for
> the same
> reasons.
>
> There is always the spiritual work of begin willing to be
> present and
> holding the space open by keeping a check on my charisma
> while the
> discussions take place.
>
> As soon as I try to force the outcome by closing the space,
> then the
> space is no longer open. I sacrifice the productivity by
> forcing my own
> will of outcome upon the group. The only way for me to not
> do this is
> simply to not have a way about how the outcome should be. If
> I am not
> willing to not have a way, then I have some personal work to
> do by
> cheeking my motives and fears and let go of them.
>
> If this is not possible, then I would suggest a twinning,
> where you find
> someone not in our department to do your open space and then
> do same for
> them.
>
> But I think that I am allowed to care deeply and have an
> opinion as long
> as my personal homework is done and I am spiritually fit to
> not have a
> way, and to let them have their own experience.
>
> I also have an experience where a small group where half of
> the group
> was familiar with Open Space, we decided to hold the space
> as a group
> and participate in our own open space. There was no external
> sponsor or
> external facilitator, but we managed to hold the space open
> because we
> cared.
>
> I like to end with an Amsterdam Musical lecture on Open Space:
> http://youtu.be/BgcomPDIUHY
>
> On 18 April 2013 22:40, Carmela Ariza
> <carmela_ariza at yahoo.com <mailto:carmela_ariza at yahoo.com>
> <mailto:carmela_ariza at yahoo.__com
> <mailto:carmela_ariza at yahoo.com>>> wrote:
>
> Dear OST friends,
>
> I would like to hear your thoughts on neutrality of
> facilitators in
> OST. Below are some specific questions...
>
> What does it mean in practice?
> If you are an interested party or have a stake in the
> outcomes, how
> must you facilitate?
> What are the ways to maintain neutrality (towards
> participants and
> topic/outcomes) even if the facilitator is also
> interested in the
> quality of the participation and also the outcomes?
>
> Your inputs/insights will be highly appreciated -
> especially sharing
> of experiences.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carms
> /*If there is to be any peace it will come through
> being, not
> having. -- Henry Miller*/
>
> ------------------------------__------------------------------__------------
>
>
>
>
>
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> --
> Kári Gunnarsson
> kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is <mailto:kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is>
> <mailto:kari.gunnarsson at __simnet.is
> <mailto:kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is>>
> gsm: +354 8645189 <tel:%2B354%208645189>
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> --
> ---
> CHRIS CORRIGAN
> Facilitation - Training - Process Design
> Open Space Technology
>
> Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
> Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com
>
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