[OSList] Renewing the Mission of the Open Space Institute U.S.

Tue Jul 19 12:22:49 PDT 2016

Learning how to facilitate meeting is artisinal knowledge, meaning that you learn it like an art.

“Training” is largely a term associated with acquiring technical skills that are easily demonstrated and acquired: how to fasten two pieces of metal together for example. 

Artisanal knowledge is transferred through practice, mentorship, apprenticeship and craft.  Usually when you learn something as an artist, you fail at it the first few times you do it.  This makes it hard to certify artisnal knowledge, because if you do it well, you are helping people learn how to fail well. 

So my question to you all is, what in your personal practice supports an artisanal approach to mentoring others to become good OST facilitators?

Chris

> On Jul 19, 2016, at 3:07 PM, Harold Shinsato via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
> 
> Wow - thanks Birgitt. I very much enjoyed your perspective and resonate with it.
> 
> I love trainings (as long as they're very little lecture and lots of experience, movement, creation and experiments... and play). I love the work of Sharon Bowman, "Training from the Back of the Room". It's almost required reading for moving up in the Scrum Alliance's trainer certification track. (Ack - did I say certification???!)
> 
> Some questions:
> 
> Is it wrong to take and enjoy an Open Space Training?
> Do the trainers and the trainees deserve censure for taking and enjoying, sometimes multiple times, such trainings?
> Is training a less than helpful word? Does it invoke Pavlovian punishment/reward processes, and sitting obediently around the guru/teacher?
> 
> A little bit about "question storming" that I learned from the book by Warren Berger "A More Beautiful Question <http://amorebeautifulquestion.com/>". It can be useful to build more questions by taking yes/no ones like the ones above, and opening them. And it can be useful to do the reverse too! Turning open questions into yes/no ones.
> 
> How can taking and enjoying trainings for Open Space be a good thing, and how can it be detrimental?
> 
> How do both offering and taking trainings for Open Space Techonology close space? How could it open it?
> 
> What other words invoke a more "Open Space" purpose and intent than "training"?
> 
> How can the use of the word "Trainings" for Open Space actually be a benefit?
> 
>     Cheers,
>     Harold
> 
> 
> 
> On 7/19/16 11:59 AM, Birgitt Williams via OSList wrote:
>> I just wanted to add a little to Harrison's point about 'unlearning'. In something we refer to as 'training' which is a misnomer unto itself, we have 
>> -unlearning
>> -getting in touch with the mythology, story, and ritual that we are, in other words getting into genuine contact with ourselves
>> -getting in even deeper genuine contact with ourselves until we can access the memories carried in our bones, in our cells, and in our hearts and souls of what is good, true and beautiful in us all and in our connections
>> -this leads to genuine contact with another, with the collective and with Creator/Creation
>> 
>> Does it take 2 days? Does it take a lifetime? 2 days is a starting point....personally I prefer to offer a 4 day learning journey...not just about facilitation and the essence of OST....the form is after all quite simple....I like to include how to work with OST within a fixed system so that the outcomes from an OST meeting have their best chance to shift into action and positive results.
>> 
>> I took Harrison's OST training 4 day training 7 times...learning more each time. I have offered countless OST trainings and learn more each time. Maybe it is a quirk of mine...I totally enjoyed three years deeply immersed in           studying the circle...and these days I am enjoying learning the nuances of the breath as metaphor. Great joy!
>> 
>> Blessings all around,
>> Birgitt
>> 
>> On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 8:08 AM Harrison Owen via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
>> Paul – Good to see you! And I was struck with your question… “How can it possibly take 2 days to "teach"
>> 
>> OST and why would anyone ever want to teach it anyway ?” In my experience it certainly does not take 2 days to “teach” Open Space. BUT it does seem to take two days to get even a minimal start on un-learning all the stuff we thought we knew about working together – All the stuff that clogs up our space so that working becomes difficult and sometimes impossible.
>> 
>>  
>> Harrison
>> 
>>  
>>  
>> From: OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org <mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>] On Behalf Of paul levy via OSList
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 7:06 AM
>> To: Harold Shinsato; World wide Open Space Technology email list
>> Subject: Re: [OSList] Renewing the Mission of the Open Space Institute U.S.
>> 
>>  
>> Harold
>> 
>>  
>>  A few more questions ...
>> 
>>  
>> Warm wishes 
>> 
>>  
>> Paul
>> 
>>  
>>  
>> Why are we still calling OST a technology ?
>> 
>>  
>> Why is the LAW of two feel a law ?
>> 
>>  
>> If the "principles" are not prescriptions but descriptions why are they called principles ?
>> 
>>  
>> How can it possibly take 2 days to "teach"
>> 
>> OST and why would anyone ever want to teach it anyway ?
>> 
>>  
>> Why do OST "elders" on the OS list keep advocating dogmatic views about OST? (Oh yes you do)
>> 
>>  
>> What if one less thing to do was facilitation ?
>> 
>>  
>> How could OSI begin a humble inquiry into new and valuable ways of opening space? And learn from them ?
>> 
>>  
>> What questions do we need to ask that cannot be formed into latinised words and phrases ?
>> 
>>  
>> Where is open space technology when the world needs to open space most - right now ?
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> 
>> On Monday, 18 July 2016, Harold Shinsato via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
>> 
>> Dear People of Open Space:
>> 
>> The Open Space Institute of the U.S. has been "holding space for open space" since at least 1997. It's origins lie in the summer of 1996, 20 years ago. In the beginnings, there were many serious conversations in the community as to the role and mission of such an institute, and that role has certainly evolved over the years. The board has determined it is time for us to revisit our mission and role, and especially to invite and trust the rest of the community refresh and renew our purpose.
>> 
>> Rather than have a mission statement, we hope instead to have a mission question. Or series of questions. What are the most valuable and alive questions for our community right now, and for the foreseeable future?
>> 
>> To start the "question storming", here are some questions that have been reportedly asked deeply within our community in the early days:
>> 
>> What is Open Space Technology?
>> What is Open Space?
>> What is Space?
>> 
>> And here are some practical questions that would help guide the OSI-US's operations:
>> 
>> How can the OSI-US best support our community?
>> How can we best work together with the community to co-create a broad and diverse circle of people holding space for open space?
>> 
>>     Thanks!
>>     Harold Shinsato
>>     on behalf of the Board of the Open Space Institute, U.S.
>> 
>> -- 
>> Harold Shinsato
>> harold at shinsato.com <>
>> http://shinsato.com <http://shinsato.com/>
>> twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>_______________________________________________
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> -- 
> Harold Shinsato
> harold at shinsato.com <mailto:harold at shinsato.com>
> http://shinsato.com <http://shinsato.com/>
> twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>_______________________________________________
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