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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Chris -- funny thing -- I have never noticed great power
differences making much of a difference either. What I have noticed is that in
situations where everybody said that the differentials in power would shut the
space down -- this did not happen. I found that very surprising. In a Latin
American corporate setting with the President-owner very much present and taking
an active part in a "whole company" OS, the going in conventional wisdom was
that nobody would say a word until "he" spoke, and then only those words that
aligned with his position. In actual fact, the President was largely ignored and
one session that he proposed had zero participants. I guess it isn't accurate to
say that he was ignored -- but certainly treated as a respected colleague. No
less, no more. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Would this always be true? Obviously you can't say
-- and for sure there must have been somebody, somewhere, sometime who felt
repressed for what ever reason. And the next question, of course, would be
should we (as facilitators) attempt some special intervention/facilitation to
assist such people? Personally, I rather think not -- for several reasons. First
of all, I am not very clear how you would determine who such people were. Words
are not the only way of participating and making a point/contribution, and just
because somebody says little or nothing is not necessarily an indication that
they are uninvolved. I remember one lady in a non-western culture who attended
several sessions where the other participants were for the most part male. It
was a smallish OS, so I could pretty well hear/see what was going on. As best as
I could see, she never opened her mouth. But when the session was over, the
other participants came up to her and thanked her for her contribution. She
smiled and went to another group -- also male dominated.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I guess the major reason I would keep my hands off is that
I find that empowerment is ultimately something you must give yourself. If I
intervene and offer a quart of power -- guess who is powerful? On the otherhand,
when an individual takes that first, perhaps tentative, step to claim
their own power by word or deed, that is a self-gift that can never be
taken away and will never be forgotten. And once that small step is taken others
seem quickly to notice the possibilities. In an odd way, the dis-empowered can
seemly empower others in ways that the powerful can never
manage. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Now it is quite true that in the moment a group will lose
the input/contribution of the hesitant. And perhaps that input/contribution
could have been critical to the "mission" of the group. Obviously that is a loss
-- but I never look at a single OS "event" as an end in itself. As I see it, it
is always a moment on the journey. I think we have all had the experience of the
true impact of an OS showing up weeks, months, or years after the gathering --
and showing up in ways we could never anticipate. In several situiations like
that which I recall, the instigating factor was one of those apparent
non-participants who had a small taste of their own power and then decided to
use it. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>So Chris, I guess where I come down on your question is
just to let the "space" do its work. Of course, we have a major job to do in
holding that space with dignity, respect and expectation, but for me this
is just one more thing not to do.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Harrison</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Harrison Owen<BR>7808 River Falls Dr.<BR>Potomac, MD
20854<BR>USA<BR>301-365-2093<BR>207-763-3261 (summer)<BR>website <A
href="http://www.openspaceworld.com">www.openspaceworld.com</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=chris.corrigan@gmail.com href="mailto:chris.corrigan@gmail.com">Chris
Corrigan</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, July 12, 2005 4:45
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Deep power differentials in
OST</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hi all:<BR><BR>I was in conversation with some folks about Open
Space yesterday and a question was asked about how the process works in places
where there are deeply entrenched power dynamics. I'm thinking
specifically of a multi-caste event in India for example (that was the example
from our conversation) or in a mixed group in a place where women are
traditionally spoken for.<BR><BR>I have certainly used the process in many
places where there are a variety of marginalization dynamics at play, be they
economic, racial, age, cultural and class, and never have I heard about people
feeling like the self-organizing part didn't include them too. I'm
wondering if others working in more rigid places than Canada, the US or New
Zealand might have had different experiences and if so, what did you do either
before the event or during?<BR><BR>Chris<BR><BR>-- <BR><BR>CHRIS
CORRIGAN<BR>Consultation - Facilitation<BR>Open Space
Technology<BR><BR>Weblog: <A
href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot">http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot</A><BR>Site:
<A href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com">http://www.chriscorrigan.com</A> * *
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