[OSList] Additional Organizational Open Space Case Studies?

Wed Oct 2 13:27:05 PDT 2019

Hi Jake,
thanks for digging this old case study up. It was published by the Open
Space Institute of Canada but the correct name of the study doesn't have
the word 'institute' in it.

My quest path from that first great experience was to find out if the same
experience and results could be created in other organizations. I
deliberately chose organizations of 100 people or less so that we could
track our process, the progress, the outcomes. From 1995 through 1998 I
worked with wonderful leaders, all of the senior leaders I worked with were
women yet there were influential, impactful men on the senior leadership
teams.

Length of consulting assignments varied but averaged nine months to
accomplish an organizational transformation. My involvement varied from
eight days to forty days over that span of time. The results were
consistent. The leadership teams were brave. Not all moments were easy. In
every situation, the need to transform was significant to achieve improved
performance. I demonstrated that the outcomes were the same as I had
achieved when I was CEO, and that it wasn't my particular leadership that
was needed for the outcomes.

This work led to the development of what I first named the Conscious Open
Space Organization and then, as per feedback from some clients, renamed the
Genuine Contact Organization. The Genuine Contact program was also born,
offering a blended package of modules that were our basis for the outcomes
we were getting. One of the primary modules is Working with Open Space
Technology. This module focuses on working with OST in the organization.

By 2000 we had requests from people who had learned several modules of the
Genuine Contact program, requesting the opportunity to be authorized
trainers of the Genuine Contact program so in Sept 2001 the first Train the
Trainer took place. One of the outcomes of these wonderful people and their
work in the world is that we proved to ourselves that I wasn't at all a
factor in the outcomes that organizations were achieving as the GC trainers
were also getting the same outcomes...in various cultures, various
geographic locations in the world, various languages.

The Genuine Contact community of practice <http://www.genuinecontact.net>was
born at that time and in 2020 we are celebrating 20 years of helping
leaders and their organizations. We are a membership organization. If you
go to that website you will see a link in the top right corner to be a
member. Then, you can have the experience of being in an organization that
has its roots in OST. Every one of us who gets involved has important
experiences, learning, experimenting, sometimes falling on our faces, and
always (so far) getting up again realizing we have done our best, and then
continuing on to our newest best.

We are neglectful of writing up our case studies except as reports for our
clients. Some of us are writing one of our newer  stories to be included
with the great project of the Library of Collaborative Change when they
publish the volume on Amazing Stories of Change.

and if you are really really interested, I encourage you to join a
fantastic group of people at the Genuine Contact Summer Academy
<https://www.dalarinternational.com/gco-sa2020/> taking place July 3-10,
2020 at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo Ontario, Canada.

At that learning intensive of eight deep dive days together, case studies
will be shared and recorded.

Birgitt

*Birgitt Williams*
*Supporting Next Level Leadership "Leading So People Will Lead"*
Author, Senior Consultant, President Dalar International Consultancy, Inc
<http://www.dalarinternational.com/>
Founder Genuine Contact Program
<http://www.dalarinternational.com/genuine-contact>
Co-owner Genuine Contact Group, LLC
<https://genuinecontact.net/about/co-owners/>
Founder Extraordinary Leadership Network
<http://www.extraordinaryleadershipnetwork.com/>

*Learn with us for your skill and capacity development for leading and
working in the new leadership paradigm "Leading So People Will Lead"*

Upcoming learning module: Working with Open Space Technology
<https://www.dalarinternational.com/curriculum/open-space-technology/>.
Three different learning options to learn a process for facilitating
meetings that engage the people. Self-Study + One-to-One Mentoring +
Mentoring Circle; Self-Study + Real-Time Workshop + Mentoring Circle;
and Self-Study
+ Real-Time Workshop + One-to-One Mentoring + Mentoring Circle with real
time workshop dates three consecutive Fridays from 9am to 12:30pm EST on
October 18, 25, and November 1st.

PO Box 19373, Raleigh, NC, USA 27613
Phone: 01-919-522-7750

On Wed, Oct 2, 2019 at 2:43 PM Jake Yeager via OSList <
oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I have come across two case studies of "organizational Open Space," i.e.,
> where the organization operated in Open Space at all times:
>
>    1. Open Space Institute in a Social Service Organization
>    <https://www.openspaceworld.org/files/tmnfiles/social.htm> by Birgitt
>    2. Practicing Open Space - Our First 10 Years
>    <https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/practicing-open-space-our-first-ten-years>
>    by Hans-Georg Wicke
>
> Both of these case studies offer very detailed descriptions of outcomes,
> and the organization described operated in organizational Open Space for
> many years. Does anyone know of other case studies like these? Does anyone
> want to write one? :D
>
> Thanks!
>
> All the best,
> Jake
> ________________
>
> When the mind is quiet, the sun of your heart will shine once again, and
> you will be free of problems.
>  - Robert Adams <http://www.robert-adams.info/>
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