[OSList] Quite a few questions about Sponsors, empathy and a safe open space for all it’s participants

Mon Jan 6 04:54:19 PST 2020

Dear Sagit!

I have facilitated and participated in OSTs.

As a participant I disliked when I have been confronted with assumptions of
the facilitator about my empathy style and that I should bring it in
(more). It closed my openness and raised my level of aggression.
On the other hand - the OSTs when a sponsor spoke from their heart,
speaking openly about the challenging situation we were facing and shared
vulnerable that s/he has no answers, but that we could only co-create and
find solutions together - then I softened and opened up.
What I have even more appreciated was when I was included in the prep
process - a place where I can already start to bring in my perspective and
feel heard.

As a facilitator an expression of empathy is the time and space I offer. I
believe that time supports healing and solution finding  - giving more time
for (a high conflict) meeting. Time is also super relevant when creating
the agenda - not assuming that it is over when no one goes to the center
for a while... on the other hand also accepting when only very few topics
get posted... it's a dance! ;)

Apart from the overall preparation - another very important part is my
emotional, spiritual, physical and mental preparation as the facilitator -
checking my own fears, assumptions, hopes and intentions, supporting myself
to be well rested, nourished and as balanced as possible.

A very touching meeting I facilitated which also had high conflict in the
room has been documented in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u3rlpcjKoY
You see an amazing sponsor team, diverse participants and Mia
Konstantinidou and myself - the facilitation team.

Many greetings from Berlin
Anna Caroline

*  Anna Caroline Türk*
  Mentor to Visionary Leaders
 +49(0)176 24872254 | TruthCircles.com
<http://TruthCircles.com>

‪Am Mo., 6. Jan. 2020 um 12:48 Uhr schrieb ‫שגית רוסו יצחקי via OSList‬‎ <
oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>:‬

>
> Hello and good afternoon!
>
> Great learning I’m doing here!
>
> Thank you all for sharing this well of knowledge and experience!
>
> Hi jeff,
>
> totally agree, it is better to work with others!
>
> I dont plan on both sponsoring and facilitating an open space right now
> but I live in a small community and your refrasing my Q helped me
> understend that being a sponsor is an importent role in the (minimal)
> construction of the open space, and can be done in different ways but must
> be.
>
> Thanks for bringing in your perspective and experience, Birgitt!
>
> I loved what you said about the distinction between the ever existing open
> space within communities and the use of the OST for better advantages.
>
> It is very true that empathy can not and must not be forced. It can only
> be given freely and willingly so I find this sentence to be very importent
> for me “ Open Space Technology does not create or promise safe space. The
> principles of OST and the one law provide guidance for people to self lead
> including for taking personal responsibility for safety”
>
> I see now the diference between having an empathic mindset when creating
> and holding the space for Open Space event, on one side, and asking for the
> participants to be empathic, on the other.
>
> And also, my tendency to be (some might say over..) protective as not
> fully trusting the self-organizing power of people when they freely choose
> to “accept the invitation to attend”.
>
>  “in our preparations we need to be aware of this and tailor our
> leadership to allow people to overcome the reluctance to join and
> contribute”
>
> Thank you for that, Rob!
>
> best wishes,
>
> Sagit
>
>
> ‫בתאריך יום א׳, 5 בינו׳ 2020 ב-23:55 מאת ‪R Chaffe via OSList‬‏ <‪
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org‬‏>:‬
>
>> Thanks HO
>> The act of joining the circle is a very powerful and for some confronting
>> so in our preparations we need to be aware of this and tailor our
>> leadership to allow people to overcome the reluctance to join and
>> contribute.  The facilitator has a major responsibility to do their job
>> well.  There is no prescriptive process just be at one with the sponsors
>> and the participants.  Then be truely present.
>> My experience has been as Harrison describes the lion and the lamb sit
>> down together and in all my experience they leave with new understanding
>> and in many cases new fiends. Yes, things do get done.
>>
>> Regards
>> Rob
>>
>> On 6 Jan 2020, at 1:50 am, Harrison Owen via OSList <
>> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> This may be  a cop out on the questions… but one of the most amazing
>> things in the 30+ years I have been privileged to explore Open Space is
>> that common people, dealing with a common issue … while sitting in a
>> circle, creating a bulletin board and opening a market place – and then
>> going to work … always seem to get something useful done. And NEVER (in my
>> experience) has blood been shed. It can get terribly exciting, and I
>> suspect the facilitator is the most nervous. I have also heard of
>> innumerable suggestion for good things to do before, during, and after …
>> but none … to the best of my knowledge have made any difference. This does
>> not mean that people can’t and don’t kill each other, and of course we seem
>> to be on the edge of doing that (killing) more extensively at the moment
>> BUT I have never seen that take place in Open Space. It doesn’t even take
>> place when the participants are sworn and professional killers of each
>> other. Now there’s a mystery.
>>
>>
>>
>> Harrison
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On
>> Behalf Of *???? ???? ????? via OSList
>> *Sent:* Sunday, January 5, 2020 5:50 AM
>> *To:* oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
>> *Cc:* שגית רוסו יצחקי
>> *Subject:* [OSList] Quite a few questions about Sponsors, empathy and a
>> safe open space for all it’s participants
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I’m Sagit,  another one of Tova’s students :)
>>
>> I'm interested in learning more about three different topics so thank
>> you so much for sharing your experience and opinions in one or all!
>>
>>
>>
>> *Sponsors -* how vital are they for opening a space?
>>
>> For example, in the case of an association that is dealing with a
>> significant conflict. Since there is no external body that runs the
>> association, the question arises as to whether open space can be held
>> without sponsors? Can a community have an open space without a sponsor?
>>
>>
>>
>> Some questions about *empathy and open space -*
>>
>> The first one will be - Is empathy important for a successful open space?
>>
>> And if empathy is important -
>>
>> How can empathic space be created and maintained for all its partners and
>> voices that want to be heard?
>>
>> What techniques and tools do you use to bring empathy to the open space
>> and how do you invite other participants to hold empathy together?
>>
>> Do you have any signs or metrics for measuring the levels of empathy in
>> an open space?
>>
>>  Did you come across occasions where it was difficult or impossible to
>> create an empathic space?
>>
>>
>>
>> *Creating an open space that allows all participants a safe and
>> comfortable space for expressing themselves * *- *
>>
>> In Open Space participants are invited to stand up and offer their topics
>> for conversation in the marktplace . I’m wondering whether people who are
>> not accustomed to make their voices heard or such who are at some
>> disadvantage (social, age, gender, origin etc.) Feel safe and comfortable
>> initiating conversations in such a space?
>>
>> What are the ways you know for making the space truly safe and inviting
>> for all its participants?
>>
>> How much does advance preparation contribute to their participation and
>> what should it include, in your opinion?
>>
>> Thanks again for sharing,
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Sagit
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> OSList mailing list
>> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>> Past archives can be viewed here:
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> OSList mailing list
>> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>> Past archives can be viewed here:
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
> Past archives can be viewed here:
> http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20200106/0b387ac3/attachment.html>