[OSList] Dead Moose Society...just in case you don't know about it!

Birgitt Williams birgitt at dalarinternational.com
Sat Jun 30 17:37:44 PDT 2018


Here is one of my favorite Dead Moose stories from my archives. Twenty
years later, I still know Monica and she is still opening space where and
when she can...as is her friend. This story also is one of the early
examples that touched me deeply of an OST meeting working...and having less
than desirable outcomes over time...in one way. You decide.

Birgitt

A Dead Moose At School



You’ve heard of the lamb that followed Mary to school one day? Well, this
is the story of a moose that stumbled in on the birth of a new school and
caused anything but laughter and playfulness.



A couple of years ago a friend and I were planning to open an alternative,
charitable high school for kids who were academically gifted but
economically challenged. We wanted a school where creativity, physical
health, and community service were valued as highly as academic
achievement.



As part of our research and planning, my friend and I attended a conference
of The Learning Partnership, an organization that promotes the
collaboration of business and education. A portion of the conference was
held in Open Space. I sat in a huge circle and waited for something to
happen. I was fascinated by what followed. Birgitt Bolton began walking the
circle and explaining the principles and law of Open Space Technology and
inviting us to examine our passions around the theme and to post them as
items for discussion.  Her evocation of both passion and responsibility
struck a cord with me. The focus of our school was leadership and the motto
was “A culture of achievement in a framework of compassion”.  We, too,
wanted our students to be passionate and responsible in their learning and
in their communities.



As a veteran of many types of meetings with other educators, I was
skeptical of the group’s ability to rise to Birgitt’s challenge to identify
their passions on paper and take responsibility for leading a discussion on
them. I was very nervous in those few seconds after Birgitt sat down. What
if no one came forward?  What if all they wanted to do was discuss the
process without ever getting to the “meat” of the meeting? What if we got
stuck in the “us and them” rut that seemed to characterize previous
attempts to discuss this theme?  In a very few minutes the agenda wall was
filled with fascinating topics and then the conversations began. The rich,
open and productive nature of the discussions between business people and
educators was something I never thought I would see.



I was convinced that we needed Open Space to be part of our school life. We
met with Birgitt and decided to use Open Space for both our staff
orientation in the summer and student/community orientation during the
first week of our new school. The staff orientation was productive and
useful in many ways.  Discussion topics included conflict resolution
strategies, involvement of parents and volunteers, interdisciplinary
learning and teaching, and evaluation. We got a great deal of practical
planning done, and we got to know each other much better (although we had
been meeting monthly for over a year to plan), and started to realize that
we were perhaps not as aligned in our educational philosophies as we had
assumed we were. The moose had arrived and was in very poor health.



A few weeks later we had a large Open Space with our new students, staff,
administration, some parents and volunteers. Topics at this Open Space
ranged from freedom of expression, creativity, and community service to
sports and dress code. Here’s what we learned about the students: they had
passion, and ideas, and hopes and fears and questions; they jumped in and
took up the challenge to help create the school within the givens we had
established; they tested us and trusted us with their vulnerability.



Here’s what we learned about the parents: they were knowledgeable about
education, were in tune with the school’s mandate of social responsibility
paired with academic excellence, and they were supportive of the Open Space
approach.



We, the administrators, were thrilled. We felt that an open, creative, and
collaborative environment was being born. But then there was what we
learned about some of the teachers: they were intelligent, well educated,
hard working, but they were not willing to let go of control. Where we saw
the students as showing initiative, they saw them as rude. Where we
applauded the challenges they handed us, they saw impudence and
insubordination. While we, and the Open Space process were endeavoring to
break down barriers, they were desperately trying to shore them up. The
moose had given up its struggle and died.



 It was a glaring example of the saying, “The good news is that Open Space
works. The bad news is that Open Space works.” Open Space had brought the
“truth” of the school on the table: we had a dynamic group of students and
parents who were eager to carry out our mandate, and we had core group of
teachers who were not willing to relinquish the control necessary to enable
the school to effectively pursue that mandate.



We struggled for a year with this inconsistency. In our classes and in the
school leadership lab, my friend and I tried to continue to operate with
Open Space principles, but a core group of teachers ran very traditional,
teacher-dominated  programs. I think we made some gains overall, but
ultimately the tension was too great and we had to come to a parting of the
ways. The smell of rotting moose was too strong to be tolerated.



I wish this were one of those Open Space stories where everything got
sorted out and we were better than ever. In reality, my friend  and I left,
and the school is (in my opinion) limping along in a lackluster fashion
with little or no resemblance to our original dream. We, on the other hand
were moved by the experience to become an energy therapy practitioner
(that’s my friend) and an Open Space educational consultant (that’s me).
And who knows what the effects were on the students and the positive
ramifications it may have for them in the future. Without Open Space, we
may have ended up in about the same place, but it would have taken a lot
longer and taken a larger toll on all of us.





.
Monica Stewart

On Thu, Jun 28, 2018 at 5:03 PM Birgitt Williams <
birgitt at dalarinternational.com> wrote:

> Dear friends and colleagues who work with Open Space Technology,
> Ever so long ago (1997) and not so far away (Ontario, Canada) a few of us
> came up with a new society that we named The Dead Moose Society. I came
> across the invitation again just now doing some research....and want to
> share the invitation with you...just in case it has interest to your heart
> and sense of humor, and just in case you haven't yet come across this
> opportunity.
>
> in genuine contact,
> Birgitt Williams
>
>
> Dead Moose Society
>
>
>
> *You are invited to join The Dead Moose Society*
>
>
>
>                 Beware all of you in the world of Open Space.  Another
> entity has formed and we are extending an invitation to all of you to
> participate. At an Opening the Space event in February 1997 in Ontario,
> Canada, we discussed the importance of living our *truth*, with good
> heads, good hearts, and extending care and compassion out into the world.
> We then talked about the hazards associated with living this way.  What
> happens when collusion (co-illusion) is named?  What happens when a truth
> that everyone knows about but no one ever talks about (except for parking
> lot gossip) is named?  What happens when Space is Opened and truth surfaces?
>
>
>
>                 At first glance, the answer would seem that the air gets
> cleared and life goes on better that before.  Our collective experience has
> told us that this is not so.  It is more common that the truth teller comes
> to harm, is targeted for harm somehow.  Or Open Space itself is called into
> question, with people being so angry about the *truth* having come out,
> that they end up being angry at the Open Space process that they say “it
> didn’t work, look at what resulted.”
>
>
>
>                 So . . . we identified that all of this was like having a
> dead moose under the table.  Everyone knows it’s there, it smells, maybe
> has gathered flies, is sickening, but no one wants to say the obvious.  And
> we decided that Open Space is to be honored for putting “*the dead moose
> on the table*” so that it can be identified and appropriately dealt with.
>
>
>
>                 And thus we formed the Dead Moose Society as an adjunct to
> the Open Space Institutes and all good Open Space work everywhere.  The
> purpose of the Dead Moose Society is to get the Dead Moose on the table
> wherever we can, and to support each other in efforts to do so.  The
> principles that will govern our Society are:
>
>
>
>                 Harrison Owen’s four principles for Open Space:
>
>                 1.   Whoever comes is the right people
>
>                 2.   Whenever it starts is the right time
>
>                 3.   Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
>
>                 4.   When it’s over, it’s over
>
>
>
>                 As well as Angeles Arrien’s four laws of Spirit:
>
>                 1.   Show up and be present
>
>                 2.   Tell the truth
>
>                 3.   Follow what has heart and meaning
>
>                 4.   Let it go
>
>
>
> *The Invitation*
>
>                 Please form your own Dead Moose Society when needed (NOW
> isn’t such a bad time) with whomever you can interest in this very
> important work.  They must be people who are willing to take risks, have
> courage, have vision, and enjoy community.  And be committed to living by
> the principles as above that encourage us to be about our own truth also.
>
>
>
> *Location*
>
>                 The first meeting of this first group took place in a pub
> in Unionville, Ontario on April 16th, 1997.  That sets a possible tone
> for where other Society meetings should be located - a good pub.
>
>
>
> *Fees*
>
>                 We would like to say there are none, but for those of you
> who try to live your truth, and who have tried to name truth in an
> organization, you know the price can be very high - nothing less than your
> soul sometimes.
>
>
>
> *Agenda*
>
>                 Whatever happens, playfulness is certainly essential.  We
> all need to come forward with the abundance mentality of giving and
> sharing.  For us, some of the agenda items of our first meeting included:
>
>
>
> v  Where did the dead moose come from anyway?
>
> v  The loudest burp
>
> v  When moose(s) extend their mating call, do we try to mate with them?
>
> v  What is the plural of moose?
>
> v  How do you spell carcass?
>
>
>
>                 We brought fun items along - a moose caller, a moose
> puppet, a moose statue - the list goes on and on.  We formally signed a
> register and pretended like “Robert’s Rules of Order.”  To sign the
> register, we each took on a moose name.  So much hilarity happened that
> poor Robert’s Rules fell to the wayside, and we actually got a lot done.
>
>
>
>                 As you might guess, with the help of humor, the real Dead
> Moose stories came out - very painful, very serious.  We support one
> another to carry on with bringing truth into the workplace.  And because we
> are able to laugh, amidst the tears, we are able to hold on to the space
> that Open Space and truth need, to bring healing into the organization.
>
>
>
> *Stay in touch*
>
>
>
>                 If you have a Dead Moose story to share or if you start
> your own “chapter” of the Dead Moose Society, please let us know. Just for
> the record.
>
>
>
>                 Contact Birgitt Williams at birgitt at dalarinternational.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Birgitt Williams
>
>
> Closing the Gap Between Potential and Results
>
>
> Services http://www.dalarinternational.com/services/
>
>
> Leadership & Organizational Development Training, http://
> www.dalarinternational.com/services/training/
>
>
> Author, President & Senior Consultant of Dalar International Consultancy,
> Inc.
>
> Co-founder: Genuine Contact program
>
> Co-founder of the Extraordinary Leadership Network
> http://www.extraordinaryleadershipnetwork.com
>
> Co-owner of the Genuine Contact Co-owners Group Ltd.
> http://www.genuinecontact.net
>
>
>
> *Supporting leadership development for leading in a culture requiring
> agility and flexibility in a performance environment of constant change.*
>
>
>
> PO Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619
>
> phone: 1-919-522-7750 <(919)%20522-7750>
>
-- 







Birgitt Williams


Closing the Gap Between Potential and Results


Services http://www.dalarinternational.com/services/


Leadership & Organizational Development Training, http://
www.dalarinternational.com/services/training/


Author, President & Senior Consultant of Dalar International Consultancy,
Inc.

Co-founder: Genuine Contact program

Co-founder of the Extraordinary Leadership Network
http://www.extraordinaryleadershipnetwork.com

Co-owner of the Genuine Contact Co-owners Group Ltd.
http://www.genuinecontact.net



*Supporting leadership development for leading in a culture requiring
agility and flexibility in a performance environment of constant change.*



PO Box 19373, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 27619

phone: 1-919-522-7750
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