[OSList] How do you "hold space?"

Thu Feb 13 15:54:16 PST 2020

This was such a rich thread. Thank you all for sharing.

My "understanding" of OST and the facilitator's role deepens the more I
engage in spiritual practices.

At some point I imagine the notion of "me" as an "OST facilitator" will
also fall away. Then, I am fully present--hell, I AM the present. :) Or
just I AM. And the notion of the "group" falls away too.

Much love all

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/>

On Mon, Feb 10, 2020 at 1:03 PM Thomas Perret via OSList <
oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> Birgitt,
>
> Awesome, thank you!
>
> Kindly,
> Thomas
>
>
> On 10 Feb 2020, at 17.40, Birgitt Williams via OSList <
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
> Hi Thomas,
> My perspective about OST started because I was in a senior staff position,
> accountable for the performance of my organization, when I introduced OST
> into the organization and paid a lot of attention to what worked and what
> didn't over time. My perspective is added to by my choice to work
> predominantly in helping organizations transform. My use of OST is within
> intact organizations and multiple OST meetings are always part of our
> transformation process. The best I can offer on the list is my perspective
> from my own experience.
>
> Most important is that every person who facilitates OST has an
> understanding of the form of OST, and their own chosen concept of what the
> essence is. What is this thing referred to as 'space', what is meant by
> 'open' and then 'open space'. From a personal understanding comes a
> personal perspective of what it is to open space and hold space, if those
> words suit the person. It is a personal journey. I have come to understand
> that it is more about the persona/leadership development of the facilitator
> over time than about anything else. It is a way to learn to be the change
> you want to see in the world.
>
> The decisions about what to do and not do come from this understanding and
> the associated perspective that develops. I have a perspective that is
> uniquely mine, although I have set teachings from my perspective out into
> the word in our Working with Open Space Technology module of the Genuine
> Contact program. In turn, every GC trainer shares via their own unique
> perspective.
>
> Thank you for noticing,
> in genuine contact,
> Birgitt
>
>
> *Birgitt Williams*
> *Supporting You in Developing Your Leadership*
> Author,The Genuine Contact Way: Nourishing a Culture of Leadership
> <http://www.genuinecontactway.com/>
> 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 Co-owners Group, I <https://genuinecontact.net/about/co-owners/>nc
>
> *Learn with us for your skill and capacity development for leading and
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>
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>
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>
> On Mon, Feb 10, 2020 at 5:22 AM Thomas Perret <thomas at dooning.fi> wrote:
>
>> Hi Birgitt and Michael,
>>
>> Reading your responses to the question about holding space, I see a
>> possible difference in approach to space invaders and would like to hear
>> more.
>>
>> You, Birgitt, stressed that dealing with space invaders is the job of the
>> facilitator and you added - not the participants’. Which makes me think you
>> consider this important. Whereas you, Michael, wrote that you might wait a
>> moment and then sometimes the participants themselves deal with it.
>>
>> Will you tell me from your viewpoints what you consider beneficial with
>> your approach?
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Thomas
>>
>>
>> ___
>>
>> All is possible together
>>
>> On 10 Feb 2020, at 2.17, Birgitt Williams via OSList <
>> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>> The sponsor opens the space in their organization.
>> The facilitator has the privilege of opening the space for people to get
>> in touch with what they are passionate about. The facilitator is very
>> controlling when doing so, not allowing any space invaders to sabotage the
>> creation of the container.
>> The facilitator does their work of making sure that space invaders don't
>> derail the experience. This is not the job of the participants. It is the
>> job of the facilitator.
>> The facilitator does whatever they think is the holding of space, each to
>> their own interpretation of what this is, and above all avoids becoming a
>> space invader him/her self.
>>
>> in genuine contact,
>> heart to heart space,
>> Birgitt
>>
>> *Birgitt Williams*
>> *Supporting You in Developing Your Leadership*
>> Author,The Genuine Contact Way: Nourishing a Culture of Leadership
>> <http://www.genuinecontactway.com/>
>> 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 Co-owners Group, I <https://genuinecontact.net/about/co-owners/>
>> nc
>>
>> *Learn with us for your skill and capacity development for leading and
>> working in the new leadership paradigm "Leading So People Will Lead"*
>>
>> *Mentoring Circles & Mastermind Groups* | December 13, 2019 | Online
>> *Achieving Organizational Health & Balance* | February 21 & 28, 2020 |
>> Online
>> *Strategic Planning the Genuine Contact Way* | March 20, 27 & April 3,
>> 2020 | Online
>> *Holistic Leadership Development *| April 15-20, 2020 | Waterloo, Canada
>> *Whole Person Process Facilitation* | April 24, May 1 & 8, 2020 | Online
>> *Genuine Contact Organization/Summer Academy 2020 *| July 3-10, 2020 |
>> Waterloo, Canada
>>
>> >> Learn More & Register
>> <http://www.dalarinternational.com/upcoming-workshops/> for any of these
>> workshops here.
>>
>>
>> PO Box 19373, Raleigh, NC, USA 27613
>> Phone: 01-919-522-7750
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Feb 9, 2020 at 6:40 PM Michael M Pannwitz via OSList <
>> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Jake and you others, (after finishing this piece I suggest you
>>> first get yourself a cup of coffee or other beverage you cherish, find a
>>> couch and take a little time to read this lengthy piece)
>>>
>>> I as facilitator will increasingly get into the mode of "total presence
>>> and absolute invisibility" by reflection. As I inch up, or millimeter
>>> up, in this regard the easier does it get to hold "time and space".
>>>
>>> Now, this is both more than rocket science as well as simple. However,
>>> and this is the tough part, not easy.
>>> After pushing myself in the early years of my practice I eventually
>>> realized that "total presence and absolute invisibility" requires
>>> life-long attention and learning. As does holding time and space. Both
>>> are part of this. And if you start with OST late in life, as I did at
>>> the age of 56 and three decades of OD and related stuff behind me, its
>>> mainly a lot of un-learning.
>>>
>>> Okay, here are some of the things I reflect on... best with others right
>>> during an ost event (I actually plan timeslots for this in the agenda
>>> the team has for itself):
>>>
>>> --- Being unattached to outcome and not getting involved in content is a
>>> prerequisite for having the high energy required for attaining the mode
>>> of "present and invisible." (I think it was HO who tells the story of
>>> being asked by someone during an OST event about apparently doing
>>> nothing... and him responding with "Doing nothing is what I get paid
>>> for.").
>>> --- One thing I can arrange for and reflect on before getting into a
>>> facilitator situtation, is not to facilitate an ost event in a situation
>>> that I have stakes in (like in my own organisation).
>>> One practice tested way is to help oneself and other facilitators in
>>> this regard is to arrange for a "rain check" system: I work as
>>> facilitator without pay in your organisation and you in turn work as
>>> facilitator without pay in mine. That allows us in each case to be fully
>>> participant in a setting we have stakes in. And for lots of learning.
>>> Which happens easily in sustainably reflecting my practice.
>>> --- One more thing I can arrange for once it is clear that I am
>>> facilitator in a specific event is to have an assistant who supports me
>>> in doing nothing and reminds me to stay out of the way. (This reminds me
>>> of a story about one of the Ceasars in Rome who hired someone to quietly
>>> tell him that he is not God when everyone adored, admired, fell on his
>>> knews before him.) The assistant, in turn, has a team to take care of
>>> all the nitty-gritty stuff around setting up the event and caring for
>>> the event without being space invadors.
>>>
>>> --- What is central to my role as facilitator in regard to
>>> "holding/expanding time and space for the unfolding of the force of
>>> selforganisation"?
>>> OST has this as its central characteristic. I know of no
>>> approach/method/process/etc. that has "holding/expanding time and space
>>> for the unfolding of the force of selforganisation" as its central
>>> characteristic. It is unique to OST. This I think is also one of the
>>> reasons why it always works, appears familiar to everyone once they get
>>> into it, is effective in all cultures, etc.
>>> As is often told, there is really only one effective way to reduce the
>>> unhampered unfolding of the  force of selforganisation: Control.  Mind
>>> you, the force of selforganisation does not appear completely (this, I
>>> think would stop everything, the universe would disapper). It can get
>>> very tiny, but its there... an organisation or a group or a neighborhood
>>> would not be unless the force is still active. The way, it often shows
>>> itself, is in the "informal" part of a system that is used by everyone
>>> to make things work. It can also rest in the "informal" leaders in a
>>> neighborhood that Saul Alinski, among other things, looked for in
>>> working with communities.
>>> --- So, all situations, tempting as they may be, in which I exert
>>> control are counterproductive for the central characteristic of OST.
>>> "Control" can be around little things that I intuitively do in
>>> situations where I feel I need to step in: Walk up to the Bulletin Board
>>> to pick up an issue-poster that got unstuck and put it back in it place.
>>> A bit more control might be my suggestion that no issue needs to be put
>>> up more than once. And even more control is active when I proclaim that
>>> a certain issue has nothing to do with the overall Theme of the event.
>>> --- Being fully present for me is also a prerequisite for dealing with
>>> space invadors. There are no recipies for this. One thing that helps me
>>> is to start counting before I address the space invasion. Most often a
>>> fellow participant will speak to this before I reach 6. For me, this has
>>> nothing to do with "trusting" the group. I prefer to say that I know
>>> groups will handle stuff like this all by themselves. If they are let.
>>> Sometimes in the early part of the ost event a participant will walk up
>>> to me and request that I come to a break-out session that has problems
>>> with the issue or the process. The first time I was approached, I
>>> actually went with the participant. It was interesting to see that the
>>> group had already found its way in the time that their scout went to
>>> find me and bring me to his session.
>>> Eventually I experienced that the folks at an ost event can and will not
>>> only deal with every issue they have but also selforganise everything
>>> they need. And, if pointed out to them that they selforganize structure,
>>> leading, managing, etc. they find this not especially interesting. I get
>>> this as a pointer that they are doing what is inherently natural to them.
>>>
>>> And here is also a short take on what I have found very useful around
>>> the transition from the divergent to the convergent phase of an os event.
>>> First, I am pretty sure that we can skip convergence in the traditional
>>> sense: Having some kind of tool (there are myriad) of weighing or voting
>>> on issues that came up in the divergent phase.
>>> Years ago, when I still used the 55 dot method I noticed that the items
>>> that got the most dots rarely entered the project phase. It dawned on
>>> me, that prioritization is a statistical method that probably does
>>> result in finding out what might be most important to the group but not
>>> what has, yes you already feel it, someone or several people with
>>> passion and responsibility grabbing it.
>>> So, me and others came up with what we already had and simply convened a
>>> second os in the last half day after the Reading Gallery the evening
>>> before. Now, this is usually called Action Space. In this space the
>>> focus is not on issues but on projects. Folks are invited to post
>>> projects and gather around projects to develope next steps for tackling
>>> them. It looks and feels and is another os event with the participants
>>> that already experienced os in the diverging phase and get into this
>>> second one in 2 minutes flat already familiar with the process.
>>> The amazing thing was, that aside from what one would expect to see as
>>> projects, other projects were posted that had not been visible. I feel
>>> this is the result of participants having reached a much wider picture
>>> of the whole situation after being in the divergent phase and studying
>>> all the report sheets including the augmentation of them and also being
>>> in a better position on what ressources they now see in the group that
>>> they have worked with in the first space.
>>>
>>> Considering that basically OST is an action orienting approach and that
>>> action only happens if there is passion joined by responsibility for
>>> something that is to be done the Action Space is a good way to have that
>>> happen for which the entire gathering was that up for: Dealing with a
>>> wicked issue that nobody had an answer to at the beginning of the open
>>> space.
>>>
>>> It is also a simple way of doing it. I mention this because I still feel
>>> that anyone with a clear head and a good heart can facilitated an ost
>>> event, especially if it is a straigtforward approach.
>>>
>>> Greetings from Berlin where I look forward to seeing you at the WOSonOS
>>> this fall
>>> > https://wosonos2020.berlin/
>>>
>>>
>>> mmp
>>>
>>> Have a great day,
>>> mmp
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Am 08.02.2020 um 19:44 schrieb Jake Yeager via OSList:
>>> > Many questions these days. Thank you for entertaining them. :)
>>> >
>>> > This past week, I facilitated an eight-hour Open Space split across
>>> two
>>> > half-days. The attendees were an Organizational Development team, of
>>> > which I am a member. My AVP sponsored the event, because we had
>>> recently
>>> > merged with another group, and there was lack of clarity. So, our
>>> theme
>>> > was: "Who are we, and how do we collaborate to drive success?" Also,
>>> my
>>> > AVP--who is a leader in Learning & Development--wanted to experience
>>> > Open Space in order to understand it better as it is new to my firm.
>>> >
>>> > Since I am a fledgling facilitator, I chose not to participate in the
>>> > breakout sessions, even though I am part of the group. I wanted to
>>> make
>>> > sure that I provided the best experience for everyone, and
>>> participating
>>> > would have dampened my focus. I shared this with my manager, after she
>>> > inquired after the first day why I had not participated.
>>> >
>>> > Long story short, after the event, my manager had major concerns how I
>>> > facilitated the event. I had gone for long walks while the group was
>>> > working, and she felt that was very risky. I told her that the
>>> > facilitator's role is to remain "invisible" to allow the group to
>>> build
>>> > its capacity for self-management. She said that our firm's culture is
>>> > very hierarchical and that "baby steps" are needed. She suggested even
>>> > intervening in a group if it gets "stuck." I believe I mentioned that
>>> > intervening is not part of Open Space facilitation.
>>> >
>>> > So my question is: how do you "hold space?" I found Chris's
>>> description
>>> > on his website: "an Open Space Technology facilitator is neither seen
>>> > nor heard, but his or her presence is 'felt.'" I guess by going for
>>> long
>>> > walks and not being in the room, my presence was not "felt." One of my
>>> > colleagues provided feedback that by not being there, it didn't seem
>>> > like I cared. This is definitely not the case. I went on long walks as
>>> > an act of love, not negligence.
>>> >
>>> > Anyway, would love your thoughts.
>>> >
>>> > Thanks,
>>> > 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/>
>>> >
>>>
>>> --
>>> Michael M Pannwitz
>>> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
>>> ++49 - 30-772 8000
>>> mmpannwitz at gmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>> Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 490 resident Open
>>> Space Workers in 76 countries working in a total of 142 countries
>>> worldwide
>>> www.openspaceworldmap.org
>>>
>>> At my publisher you find books and task cards on open space and other
>>> treasures, most in German, some in English, some as ebooks, some
>>> multilingual
>>> https://www.westkreuz-verlag.de/de/Kommunikation
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
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