[OSList] Fwd: Certification?

Sun Aug 11 05:27:15 PDT 2013

Sounds like useful fun Chris. My only question would be why did you postpone
the initial Open Space? I heard what you said, but I also heard (and saw in
the press) that the pot is hot and boiling (a real issue, lots of
complexity, diversity, conflict, passion with a big dose of urgency). Sounds
to me like everything is in place all ready to go! Just name the place, and
invite the people. Those who care will come, and the upgraded website will
happen when it is ready. 

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)

Camden, Maine 04843

Phone 301-365-2093

(summer)  207-763-3261

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 Chris Weaver
Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2013 10:13 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: [OSList] Fwd: Certification?

You also wrote: "I'm also active in a most inspiring response to the current
alarming political situation in my home state, including by using OST."

That is something that, if you have time, I also would like to know more
about.

Hi Artur,

I'll try to put this story in a nutshell, and it will get to the OST part
after the first paragraph.

I have spent many years living and working in an apolitical (perhaps
anti-political) bubble, teaching in a wonderfully progressive school, living
in a lovely progressive city, and tending to the home fires of family and
spiritual practice.  In the past six months, the governor's office and the
state legislature in North Carolina have both been in republican control for
the first time in well over a century, and they have enacted a dizzying
slate of pieces of extremist legislation that leaves even my republican
friends feeling embarrassed and angry (see NYTimes editorial - The Decline
of North Carolina <http://goog_242060000>
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/opinion/the-decline-of-north-carolina.html
?_r=0)

I might have slept through this too but for two things.  First, the state
budget passed a few weeks ago cut thousands of teaching assistants and
teachers, raised class sizes, eliminated pay for advanced degrees, and wiped
out the meager job security that public school teachers have in our state.
The second thing is that a country preacher named Dr. Rev. William Barber,
who is the head of our state's NAACP, has stepped up like the prophet Isaiah
to "speak truth to power," and inspired by his inclusive message and his
eloquence, nearly 1,000 people have been arrested this summer for civil
disobedience (requesting an audience with leaders who have refused
dialogue).

As a teacher, I am responding to this situation in several ways, one of
which involves OST.  So let me say first that I do not consider OST as a
tool for engagement in partisan politics.  In fact, I do not consider any of
my own actions as engaging in partisan politics, which I see as basically a
group projection of the meaningless dramas of our egos.  One of the beauties
of OST is that it is anathema to tyranny in any form by any political
agenda.

My use of OST is a simple one:  a sponsoring team of educators from a wide
variety of types of schools is starting something that we are calling the
Local Education Support Collaborative.  The model is to host a bi-monthly
OST over the weekend (including storytelling, OST, and convergence) around
the theme of Supporting our Students, Teachers, and Schools.  One of the
functions of this OST is as a "Gift Circle," where needs and resources can
find one another as part of a non-monetary gift ecomony (see the work of
Charles Eisenstein for lots more about this).  We're developing our web
platform to serve as a kind-of educational-gift-economy-"Craig's List,"
where teachers can post what they need and donors can contact them to
provide it.  The same web platform will include the books of proceedings
from the OSTs (including action plans).

Although I have enacted some similar projects before, this one is exciting
because the political situation is lending intense relevance and interest to
what we are doing.  And the magic of OST to reveal hidden unity will help us
to cross many existing barriers - between district-public, public-charter,
independent, and home-schools, between political parties, between economic
classes and across racial boundaries.

We were going to host our first OST next weekend, but we have postponed it
until October to give us time to prepare our sponsoring team and to build a
web platform that can do all the things we want it to do in user-friendly
ways.

When we get it together, I will share the invitation on this list, and make
the time to tell the story when our first OST is complete.

And in case anyone has a spare 33 minutes and would like to watch the speech
that Dr. Rev. Barber gave in my hometown this past Monday, have a look at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjL7X6gt16s.

Warmly,
Chris

On Sat, Aug 10, 2013 at 3:01 PM, Artur Silva <arturfsilva at yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi Chris:

Thanks for your clarification.

It always has been - and it is now - a great pleasure to read your posts.

You also wrote: "I'm also active in a most inspiring response to the current
alarming political situation in my home state, including by using OST."

That is something that, if you have time, I also would like to know more
about.

Regards

Artur

  _____  

From: Chris Weaver <chrisgweaver13 at gmail.com>
To: Artur Silva <arturfsilva at yahoo.com>; World wide Open Space Technology
email list <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> 
Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2013 3:53 PM
Subject: Re: [OSList] Certification?

Hi Artur!

So glad to have you turn around, I didn't see you here in the pub under that
hat :-)

Here is a perhaps indirect answer to your direct question about certificate
vs. certification.

My thoughts about it likely do not correspond to common usage of the terms &
ideas.

The way I think of these particular "certificates" is that they are a symbol
and reminder, for me, of an experience.  The experience was the workshop,
and the certificate is like one small gift that is a part of a complex
"gift-exchange" of energy (in many forms) and attention that constitutes the
workshop itself.  In this sense, the "certificate" could just as well be a
stone or a shell or a bottle of Oporto; it is a physical reminder of an
experience.

To me the verb "to certify" does imply the act of one "qualified" person
granting a rank of qualification on another person as a result of some form
of measured judgment.  So in this common sense, I would of course love to
have one of those certificates of non-certification mentioned above,
especially with regard to Open Space Technology facilitation.

To me, an interesting underlying aspect of our conversation is about the
symbolic "language" for a community of practice.  We are exploring a gray
area between the idea of "certifying" and the idea of "naming" something.
In the example I shared in this thread:  When I chose to invest time &
energy into Genuine Contact workshops, one of the responding opportunities
was to be part of a community of practice that naturally develops out of
shared experience.  So the words "Genuine Contact" may become the name for a
community of practice, without any of the "power-over" implications of the
idea of certification.  

With "Open Space Technology," we're exploring the same territory.  What IS
it?  What ISN'T it?  What does it mean for "IT" to have a name?  What are
the perils of putting forth a definition for the name?

I have one more response Artur to your post to me.  You wrote:

Nice to see you back to a list were you were once a frequent contributor,
until you had your time and interests diverted to another movement and list,
as you have now explained. 

So yes, that is for a while how I used my two feet.  Like many on this list,
I apply my attention to the online communities of practice that are most
useful to my work within the limits of time I choose to spend sitting at a
computer.  (The Genuine Contact list is an interesting list, and open to
anyone, at genuine-contact at googlegroups.com).  But I am relishing being back
in these conversations, and I have always enjoyed reading your posts Artur. 

Unfortunately I will begin teaching in about a week and my time will be
under much greater demands than in summer.  I'm also active in a most
inspiring response to the current alarming political situation in my home
state, including by using OST.  I'll at least be dropping by to share how
that goes.

Cheers,
Chris

On Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 8:01 AM, Artur Silva <arturfsilva at yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi Chris:

Nice to see you back to a list were you were once a frequent contributor,
until you had your time and interests diverted to another movement and list,
as you have now explained. 

You were not, by the way, the only person that almost disappeared from this
list. In fact, as I see it, it was like a schism, with some people that
stayed beyond, for reasons that only they know, but anyone can speculate
about.

I was not in your virtual table of the pub and could not taste the pinot
noir, but it happens that I was in a close table, drinking an Oporto wine,
and could not avoid listening to your interesting story.

I think that there are a lot of interesting stuff in your post, that
probably could give occasion to have (or repeat) discussions about, in other
threads (one probably - again - about the "givens" question - if one does
not want to search the archives; another about the history of what you have
called the ""falling out" that apparently was at the origin of the schism,
that has an historical interest, and maybe others on and off topic).

But, for the moment, and to stay on topic, I would like to remember that you
wrote:

I could not understand the difference between "certificate" and
"certification" (maybe I had already drunk too much Oporto wine or, more
probably, the cause is my lack of English proficiency...). Could you be so
kind to please elaborate a bit more about what is the difference between the
two concepts?

Thank you and best regards

Artur  

  _____  

From: Chris Weaver <chrisgweaver13 at gmail.com>

To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
<oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> 

Sent: Friday, August 9, 2013 5:45 AM
Subject: Re: [OSList] Certification?

Greetings All,

Ah, I can't resist jumping in to stir the pot.  It is an honor to join a
thread peopled by so many folks whom I respect (and appreciate and love) so
much.  I invite you to settle in for rather a long story, which may, at some
point, have something to do with "certification."

After learning of Open Space in Anne Stadler's kitchen, I walked around as a
newbie at the OSonOS in Monterrey (the one fifteen years ago, from which
Harrison was unexpectedly absent, due to a nasty flu, I believe), with my
jaw hanging open to meet so many bold and brilliant facilitators (I remember
especially Michael P, Alan Stewart, Brian Bainbridge, Roxy, and Birgitt
Bolton) sharing stories that I sweetly strove to wrap my head at least
half-way around.

For a few years I engaged actively on the OSLIST as I began to facilitate
some OST meetings (without even "finishing the book," as I recall) in the
Seattle school where I worked as a teacher.  In 1999 I landed here in North
Carolina, where I attended my first OST workshop as part of the Genuine
Contact Program with Birgitt (Bolton) Williams who had recently landed a few
hours away.

Now I will say that I have an assumption only that at around that time there
was something of a "falling out" between Birgitt and her work and the work
of some other OS facilitators.  I do not know, nor need to know, the
details.  But I do know that there are some points of practice that have
generated some heated passion in the community and that I think are worthy
of putting on the storytelling table.  (I know that there is not supposed to
be a table, but I suddenly imagine myself with Jeff, Chris, Peggy, Harrison,
Michael in a pub somewhere with a rough wooden table, on which I am happily
uncorking a bottle of pinot noir.)

When I completed the Genuine Contact "Working with OST" workshop, I received
a certificate, but not a certification.  (The distinction is important
because there was no intention on the workshop leader's part to evaluate my
"competence" in any way.)  Based on my participation in the four-day
experience, I could, if I chose, refer to myself as an authorized "Genuine
Contact professional."  The workshop included an exploration of the form &
essence of OST, as gifted so effectively in Harrison's User's Guide.  The
workshop also shared some suggested approaches and tools for working in
depth with the sponsor of an OST meeting (usually a leadership team within
an organization), both prior to and after the OST event.  My own
understanding is that, by referring to myself as a GC professional if I
chose, I would be sharing the simple message that I had had exposure to the
approach of using OST that included these pre- and post-OST meeting
practices and tools.  The choice of whether and how to apply these practices
and tools was up to me.

So that is the part that relates to this thread topic of certification.  As
a practitioner, I honor the open-source nature of OST as Harrison's
"discovery" and gift to the world.  I refer people to the User's Guide (and
also the Non-User's Guide and other community resources) frequently.

As an aside, I continued in the years that followed to participate in
workshops on other methodologies that are shared through the Genuine Contact
Program (most notably Whole Person Process Facilitation, which I use very
often).  I collaborated with my Genuine Contact colleagues around the world
in developing the minimal appropriate structure for our international
community.  I participated in many mentoring circles, completed the Train
the Trainer workshop, and became one of the 43 "co-owners" of the program.
I also shifted my virtual community participation to the GC List, and
dropped off of the OSLIST for a number of years.  (I am enjoying being
back.)

So here, the plot thickens :-).  One of the practices included in the GC
"Working with OST" workshop is the use of...the "givens."  So, lubricated
with wine, I am going to place the notion of givens on the wooden
storytelling table for our enjoyment.  (This is worthy of its own thread, of
course, but I'll just keep going here.)

I have only infrequently worked as an external consultant/facilitator.  Most
of my work with OST has been within schools and community organizations.
Over the years, I have come to value highly the practices I learned in the
GCP of working with the sponsor prior to and after an OST (and I know that
among other OST facilitators, pre- and post- meetings such as these are
skillfully used and valued).  

In my experience, the purpose of careful preparation with the sponsoring
team is to assist them in considering the state of their organization.  What
is the story-line that has brought them to considering an OST meeting?
What's happening in terms of the grief cycle within their organization?
What (deeply now) is the purpose of the meeting?  What (deeply now) is the
context?  Basically, I ask the questions, and the team has the
conversations.  All this I explicitly place in the reality that when you
sponsor an OST, there is not, nor should there be, any turning back.

I use the givens as an essential tool in this process.  I draw a circle on a
flip chart and say, If this circle represents the open space, what are the
non-negotiables that form the parameters of the open space?

In the past, there have been passionate objections to this practice on this
list, based, I think, on the belief that to establish givens is to close the
space before it is even opened.  My long-haul experience within
organizations has taught me something different.

What happens when I ask what the non-negotiables are is that a bunch of
stuff goes up on the flip chart.  Then, I probe each one, and ask, "Is this
REALLY a given at this time for this meeting?"  The fifteen givens get
whittled down to twelve, and then eight, and then maybe five (ish).  As you
can imagine, the level of trust that organizational leaders have in the
people plays in heavily.  I let it be.  I cannot make them trust more; I can
only model trust, and hold space for trust.

But I also find that the few givens that remain are, every time, very
important and meaningful.  Some examples:  Perhaps the organizational
purpose is a given, and perhaps there is value in re-sharing the
organizational purpose at the start of the OST.  Perhaps there has been a
year of good work by a sub-group within the organization that has culminated
in a policy that not everyone attending the OST is aware of, and that policy
is a given.  Perhaps a "law of the land" that administrators, but not all
participants, know about is a given.  Perhaps it is a given that the
organization will stay within a certain budget, and any ideas generated
beyond the budget will have to include the funding source to support them.

Yes, the givens are shared with the group at the start of the OST.  In my
experience, this does not close the space, but rather it opens the space
clearly and honestly.  More importantly, it is a tool for building trust.
When participants hear their formal organizational leaders share, clearly
and transparently, what the givens are, they are more trusting that their
own ideas will be honored after the meeting and not squelched.

And this is what happens.  Using givens is a way to profoundly mitigate the
phenomenon, with which any seasoned OST facilitator is familiar, of
leadership freaking out and clamping down on the results of an OST.  The
practice does not (thankfully) prevent the productive chaos and re-framing
that happens after the meeting, but it greatly reduces the phenomenon of
reactionary fear on the part of formal leadership.  The result is that
leadership is more inclined to sponsor another OST soon, and indeed to
invite other groups withing the organization to utilize OST themselves.

Perhaps because I have worked inside organizations for many years, I have a
deep respect for the challenges that formal leaders face.  Perhaps an
organization is possible without any formal leaders, but I have not yet
encountered this.  In the school where I work, there is a fragile and indeed
even tender respect for our formal leaders whose responsibility it is to
hold the space for the organization in the community.  When leadership is in
its integrity, followership is a natural and beautiful thing.

Okay, I will pour the last of the bottle into all the glasses.  Sadly, I
won't hear your fine words until tomorrow, but so it is, according to the
odd and illusory parameters of space & time.

Take Care, with Love,
Chris

On Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 8:21 PM, Donna Read
<donna.read at managing4wellness.org> wrote:

Amen to that, Harrison!  Blessings, Donna

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 8, 2013, at 17:36, "Harrison Owen" <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

Jeff - as a sometime perpetrator and totally confused (certifiable) I can
attest that if at any point I were to intimate that I actually knew what I
was doing, that would be a significant error. However I feel quite
comfortable in my not-knowing if only because the "process" (OST) is not
something I "do." Under the best of circumstances my contribution is to
invite folks to do what they already know how to do - to be what they
already are. It always works, and it works even better when I get out of the
way. 

Harrison

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