[OSList] Open Space and Boundaries
Harrison Owen
hhowen at verizon.net
Tue Apr 8 12:48:07 PDT 2014
David - I have known Glenda for some years, and have always found her to be
bright, fun and contributory. She has some wonderful insights about self
organization, and she works very hard. As a good academic, she certainly
does her detail, sometimes a bit more than I feel I want or need, but good
for all of that. However, when it comes to enhancing our function in a self
organizing world (or Open Space), I suspect she is working a bit too hard.
She and her fellows have developed a whole series of approaches and
exercises which enable you to do what I find pretty much happens all by
itself. But that is probably just me. And for those of you who want to know
more about Glenda, I suggest her latest book --
http://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Action-Leveraging-Uncertainty-Organization-eb
ook/dp/B00C3WSKV4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books
<http://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Action-Leveraging-Uncertainty-Organization-e
book/dp/B00C3WSKV4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396971594&sr=1-1&keywords
=glenda+eoyang> &ie=UTF8&qid=1396971594&sr=1-1&keywords=glenda+eoyang
And now back to containers and boundaries. The issue (our differences) may
be purely semantic - but maybe not. As I think back over lots of Open
Spaces, and more particularly what I might call the natural appearance of
Open Space (Tahrir Square, for example, or the coffee pot) I fully agree
that from the outside they all look like bounded/contained experiences.
There seems to be an inside and an outside, a container of some sort. But
the question for me: - Is that boundary/container externally imposed, and
therefore prior to the process of self organization as a precondition - or
is the boundary/container a PRODUCT of the process of self organization? As
I read Glenda, she would opt for the former: Container as precondition. I
find myself coming down on the other side - The apparent container is
actually a product of the process. In a word, what starts out unbounded and
disassociated (random people and things) coalesces into a meaningful form,
or better, organism/organization - which is what self organization is all
about, I think.
I grant you that in an Open Space the "room" would seem to be a pre-existing
container, but I don't see it as essential. In fact I've "done" a number of
Open Space in the middle of an open field. And when you look at natural
occurrences, I think it becomes quite clear that pre-existing
boundaries/containers don't really have much to do with what is happening.
They may be convenient or inconvenient, but not determinative. The other
things you mention (time slots, bulletin board, etc.) don't fit for me
either. Helpful to be sure, but you can get along quite well without any of
it, or so I've found.
So what is going on? My sense is that self organization with humans (in Open
Space and/or everyday) commences when some sort of a vector of caring shows
up which draws people together. Someone, somewhere, sometime says, or just
thinks, "I care about... Not just a little bit, but I really care and am
prepared to take responsibility for what I care about. " If this
care/concern is shared - and others care for the same thing, but maybe in
very different ways... the ball starts rolling.
In Open Space, this caring is made concrete and specific with the
invitation. Of course, when the invite is sent out nobody has a clue whether
anybody will come... but if they care, they will come, and given a
date/place, electronic or physical they will all show up in one time/space.
The vector of caring will draw them in...
If the story I am telling roughly reflects the facts on the ground, I think
there are some interesting and serious implications for the role of the
facilitator and the function of the container. EVERYTHING is well on the way
before there is a facilitator in sight or container at hand. In a word, the
system, from the first moment of its emergence does it all by itself. We are
bystanders, midwives at best. And the container (whatever that might be) is
the product of the process ... and not the precondition or cause.
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 David Osborne
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2014 12:26 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] Open Space and Boundaries
Harrison,
I think this is one of the few times I have a different point of view that
you. I believe OS's have natural containers built in. I also believe you
need a container for open space to be effective. I think the difference
stems from having a different definition or viewpoint on what a container is
and can be. My view has been heavily influenced by Glenda Eoyang's theory
and work in this area. For something new to emerge from self organization
something has to hold our bind the diverse agents together for them to have
exchanges across their differences.
- The room or space the OS is being held in is a container.
- A concept or idea that people care about brings the people together.....it
binds or contains them creating the space to have the conversations to
emerge.
- The bulletin board is a container.....scheduling a specific conversation
at a specific place and time.
In my experience there are always multiple containers that are massively
intertwined.
My thoughts along the way.
David
On Sun, Apr 6, 2014 at 9:33 PM, Michael Wood <michael.wood at uwa.edu.au>
wrote:
Thanks, Harrison, for your response to my question on 'boundaries',
particularly your paraphrasing of my question - which was spot on. One
thing I've taken from this brief conversation is that although considering
the boundaries can be useful, we also need to accept that boundaries are
never entirely clear, always moving on a spectrum from clear to
uncertain/murky and if we, as a sponsor or facilitator, get overly bound up
with boundaries then we might have moved, once again, into being too
controlling.
Michael Wood
Perth, Western Australia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 12:01:40 -0400
From: "Harrison Owen" < hhowen at verizon.net>
To: "'World wide Open Space Technology email list'"
< oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
Subject: Re: [OSList] Open Space and boundaries
Message-ID: <000301cf4f56$00776480$01662d80$@net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
It has been common for us to speak of Containers and Boundaries as somehow
essential to Open Space. I can't quite find the place, but I do remember
saying something like that myself, as in, "The role of the facilitator is to
create the container..." It certainly made sense at the time, but I always
felt a little uncomfortable with the image. Too mechanical, coercive... too
something. And Michael has brought the subject up again. "So...here we have
a situation where the 'boundaries' are actually in a state of complex flux
and uncertainty. The financial 'givens' are ambiguous; there is no 'locum'
pastor in place because of legal uncertainties with the existing
pastor...etc." You might call it "messy boundaries" -- and he raises the
question whether one should press ahead with Open Space, or wait until the
"mess" is settled down. On the one hand, Michael "hunches" that one should
press on -- Open Space. But his hesitation comes, I suspect, from the prior
notion that fixed boundaries/containers are necessary for an effective Open
Space. What to do?
Some thoughts (new ones for me): Containers are great for cooking soup, but
are unneeded and maybe even problematical in Open Space. It is all about
holding things together. In Open Space groups of people come together to
deal with their issues. At the very least that would mean gathering in some
common time/space, be that physical or electronic. It would seem that this
co-location could be facilitated were some suitable "container" provided,
presumably by the sponsor/facilitator. This certainly makes sense, and as a
rough way of speaking, it seems to describe what is going on. But as I think
about it, I think we may be missing a most important point. Coming together
in Open Space happens because people care to come. And they continue their
connection as long as they care to do so. (Law of two feet)
>From the "outside" it might look as if they were held in place by a
container, but that is illusory. The actual dynamics are centripetal, the
force is mutual attraction... people are "there" because they care to be
there and not because they are contained by some external structure. In a
word, we as facilitators really don't do a thing, and creating a container
is the least of what we DON'T do. The people, from the beginning, do it all.
Of course, there are situations where groups come together under orders,
mandates, whatever. And they are definitely "contained." It is also true
that the tighter that container, the less likely self organization will take
place. If true, providing a container is not only unnecessary but also
destructive. In the name of Opening space, we effectively close it. Or so I
suspect it might be. Just thinking...
Anyhow Michael, should my mental peregrinations lead anywhere useful, it
would seem that your "hunch" was spot on. Forget the boundaries/container.
Just invite the space to open.
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)
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST
Go to: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
-----Original Message-----
From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Michael Wood
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2014 9:59 PM
To: ' oslist at lists.openspacetech.org'
Subject: [OSList] Open Space and boundaries
A Case Study....
One of the principles that I have generally worked with in Open Space is
helping the client get clear on the 'boundaries' of the space that's being
opened. For example, helping people who come into the space to know 'what up
for grabs here and what isn't? What decisions have already been made?'
So picture this (purely hypothetical of course)....a church community in
which the pastor has (in many peoples' opinion) run off the rails and the
main church body is in the process of trying to dismiss him; the church is
in compete disarray and completely conflict ridden, many people have left;
the pastor who holds all the keys, banking passwords; church telephone
connections etc etc, has taken legal advice and had hunkered down in the
church owned house where he continues to hold the reigns of power (via some
of his 'allies' in the church) despite not formally being the Pastor of the
church anymore....
So...here we have a situation where the 'boundaries' are actually in a state
of complex flux and uncertainty. The financial 'givens' are ambiguous; there
is no 'locum' pastor in place because of legal uncertainties with the
existing pastor...etc etc.
So in terms of 'Opening Space', do we wait a bit longer until some of the
legal boundaries are clarified, OR open space right away in the midst of the
mess....my hunch is the latter, but any thoughts from anyone?
Cheers
Michael
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