<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi David,<div><br></div><div>Your question about urgency...that's a tough read. It was an annual event. That said, there were real business issues that were addressed during the session. In a company that is struggling with its sense of identity, mixed messages abound. I've observed through other work at this organization that the top and the middle have very different senses of what should take priority. I suspect some of the desire to hear from the top was probably a result of that dynamic.</div><div><br></div><div>thanks for your questions.</div><div><br></div><div>Peggy</div><div><br><div><div>On Jul 3, 2011, at 2:21 AM, David Osborne wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Peggy,<div><br></div><div>Thanks for your sharing...it's expanding my own learning. I sense your insight into a key difference being the sponsor is important. If the top isn't bought in and committed to the outcomes why bother may have been the attitude. As I listened to the story I wondered about the urgency of the topic. Were they using OS as an approach to fill a meeting time or did they really have an urgent focal issue? The two also may be connected..... if the top isn't committed to the process perhaps the sense of urgency was lower. The other thought that came to mind for me was the rule "when ever it's over it's over" and perhaps the session was over despite the planned schedule.</div><div><br></div><div>Those are my thoughts along the way.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks again for sharing.</div><div><br></div><div><div><font color="#999999"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Monotype Corsiva'" size="7"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 27px; ">David<br></span></font></font><font color="#656565"><font size="1"><font face="Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 9pt; "><a href="x-msg://96/dosborne@change-fusion.com">dosborne@change-fusion.com</a><br><a href="http://www.change-fusion.com/">www.change-fusion.com</a><br>703.939.1777</span></font></font></font></div><div><font color="#656565"><font size="1"><font face="Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 9pt; "></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><span><logo2124361_sm.jpg></span></font></font></font></div></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On Jul 2, 2011, at 7:29 PM, Peggy Holman wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><!--StartFragment--><p class="Body1">In the last few
months, I opened space at a tech company and a biotech company. On one level,
they looked similar: one functional area, international participation, a mix of
managers and individual contributors.</p><p class="Body1">Yet the
experiences and the outcomes couldn't have been more different!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I'll describe the two events and my
reflections on what made the difference between them.</p><p class="Body1"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:
Helvetica">Note: I wrote the story about the tech immediately following the
Open Space but didn't have a chance to edit and send it before the second
experience. You'll see a couple of questions that the experience raised for me
embedded in the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They took
on a little different light following the second experience.</span></i></p><p class="Body1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:
Helvetica">Corporate dynamics at play in a technology company...</span></b></p><p class="Body1">This OS was with
an international sales and marketing meeting for the launch of a new year. Day
1 was not in Open Space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was a
manager’s only session, using a mix of conversational forms (a huge stretch for
the power point, info-out culture). It went well. People appreciated talking
rather than just listening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Many
of the field people acknowledged the quality of listening from headquarters
people who usually do most of the talking.</p><p class="Body1">On the first
afternoon, the larger meeting – 100 people – began with a conversation between
execs and the people in the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>A great, candid conversation.</p><p class="Body1">On day 2, we
opened the space. During the Open Space, I ran into a several issues that I
haven't experienced before and wondered if others have.</p><p class="Body1">Overall, it was
a terrific day. And one of the unexpected dynamics surfaced: the managers
didn't feel complete with the conversations that they wanted just amongst
themselves. And they didn't feel they had the space for their private
conversation in the Open Space. My client caught wind of the situation as they
planned to organize a session during day 3's action planning/next step breakout
session time. That meant the management layer wouldn't be part of action
planning/next step conversations.</p><p class="Body1">We negotiated
having the manager session posted in the context of action planning/next steps
so that it would be visible even if not open to everyone. In practice, it was
announced but not posted.</p><p class="Body1">We added a
second action oriented round of breakout sessions in the afternoon following a
short briefing of what came out of the morning group to fit the timing of the
manager’s session,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It made room
for managers or others to host more action/next step sessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="Body1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">So question 1</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">:
have others run into the managers-only dynamic?<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>If so, how have you dealt with it?<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Are there questions you use in your pre-work for the OS to
surface the issue and deal with it in advance?<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>We thought we had handled the need with the pre-meeting
among managers. What signs might have tipped us off to the need for more?</span></i></p><p class="Body1">The second
dynamic completely blindsided me. Normally the second morning of an OS just
buzzes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Perhaps it was the party
the night before but the group was really subdued. When I opened the space for action,
no one came forward. Given the energy in the room, I had the sense that an
elephant was sitting there untouched. I asked if anyone would speak to what was
up. Someone said they didn't want to step on headquarter people's toes by
proposing action sessions that were really HQ responsibilities. The exec in the
room encouraged people to do so, saying that HQ was there to serve the field's
needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ultimately, five sessions
on topics of importance were posted.</p><p class="Body1">After the
meeting, my client said she thought the reluctance came from a pattern of headquarters
taking field input and having the suggestions disappear without any feedback on
what happened to the ideas or why. So why should field people offer anything?</p><p class="Body1">I got the
impression that the field saw it as the responsibility of headquarters people
to take the lead. And the HQ people already felt full up so they weren't
stepping in. Plus, people didn't see a need for action sessions since they felt
they’d been identifying actions throughout the Open Space.</p><p class="Body1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">Question 2: </span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">Given
that tension between field and headquarters is common, have others run into
this sort of reluctance to post action sessions? Might we have anticipated this
perception before it put a damper on things?</span></i><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:
Helvetica"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p><p class="Body1">It was one of
the only Open Space gatherings I've ever done in which people didn't come away
saying, "Wow! Best meeting I've ever attended."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Instead, we heard from many that the
meeting was too open and confusing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>People wanted to hear more from the senior managers about what was on
their minds. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I left the experience
pondering the dynamics that led to that outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>The contrast with this second meeting helped me identify
some possibilities.</p><p class="Body1"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="Body1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:
Helvetica">High times in a biotech...</span><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="Body1">The work was
part of a company-wide change initiative. The senior manager was its host.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He was actively involved. For example,
he opened the meeting by speaking of his aspirations for the department.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He also said a few words at morning
announcements and evening news on each of the two days.</p><p class="Body1">Like the tech
company, this session was basically one function -- human resources -- with a
few others invited for spice. Also similar to the tech meeting, people came
from around the world.</p><p class="Body1">The meeting was
a hit!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>People instantly leaped out
to post sessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>With about 100
participants, more than 50% posted something. I don't think I've ever had a group
that size post in that ratio. The conversations were rich and useful. Along with the variety of topics, people worked through issues around organizational levels as well as field/headquarters dynamics. At least three Open Space meetings resulted, to be hosted by different
attendees over the coming weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>In fact, I was invited to help with one of them.</p><p class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">One other aspect
of this session: I ran a workshop before and after the OS for about a half a
dozen internal people to support them in opening space in the organization. We also met </span>to reflect on the experience <span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">before morning announcements and after evening news during the Open Space. In
other words, they had already adopted Open Space as a key element of how they wanted
to work. T</span>he organization is investing in a group of people to support
creating a conversational culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="Body1">At a second OS I
did with them a few weeks later, we brought most of the new practitioners
together to continue to learn together. It's wonderful because they now have an
internal community of practice to support each other.</p><p class="Body1">I was grateful
to have the biotech meeting on the heels of the technology meeting! I went from
questioning what I thought I knew to having some ideas of what created the
differences in the experiences.</p><p class="Body1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><br></b></p><p class="Body1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Reflections on the
differences that made a difference</b></p><p class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">The biotech was
committed to changing their culture and open to new ways of working. </span>The
OS was focused on the group envisioning how it can best perform its role in the
company in light of those changes. <span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">The
tech company meeting was more of a “stealth action” by a mid-level individual
contributor familiar with Open Space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>She was seeding the idea of a conversational culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In other words, the biotech event occurred
in fertile soil, the tech company event was breaking up the hardpan.</span></p><p class="Body1">At the biotech,
the sponsor was a senior manager who was explicit about using the event to
spark culture change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>His whole
team participated throughout the event so there was no issue around hearing
what senior people were thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>They were in the room. In contrast, the tech company host was a
mid-level individual contributor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>She is highly trusted and used her influence to bring Open Space
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Her goal was to take steps towards
creating a more conversational culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Both intentions are valid. They just created different experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="Body1">At the biotech,
the sponsor had used Open Space at a previous organization as part of a
successful culture change initiative. He "got" the simplicity of Open
Space, not even feeling a need for an action round.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>Instead, as part of session notes, we asked people to
include both a discussion and a "next steps/commitments" section.
That dealt with one of the disconnects in the tech company meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were confused when I re-opened the
space for action, saying they had been naming actions throughout. The biotech
meeting helped me see that re-opening the space for action turned out to be an
unnecessary thing to do.</p><p class="Body1">The biotech
meeting was offsite, so even those who were stretched by the Open Space stuck
around because it was a big effort to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>That gave them time to warm to the experience over the two
days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The tech company meeting was
onsite, making it easy for the senior managers and others to show up briefly and
leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="Body1">Finally, the
biotech is thriving and growing while the tech company is really struggling to
rediscover its identity. This external factor strikes me as a key difference in
the environments.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none">So what does it all mean? I
would still Open Space in the tech company.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>There were plenty of people who found the experience
worthwhile, even if their feedback was quieter than those who were frustrated
or confused. I believe we prepared the soil for a few seeds to take root.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none">For the tech company to take further steps, it strikes me that the person who hosted the Open Space
would benefit from finding informal partners, other inside change agents.
I like to believe that even without strong leadership support, she can make
a dent. As the biotech company shows, management involvement can be an
accelerator. Still, as I think about what someone sitting in the middle
of an organization can do, enlisting partners who share interest in
creating a conversational culture could be a way to continue to move forward.
By forming an informal community of learners, she can create a
system of support.</p><p class="Body1">Could we have
done better?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I look forward to any thoughts you
have.</p><p class="Body1">Appreciatively,</p><p class="Body1"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica">Peggy</span></p>
<!--EndFragment-->
<br><br><div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; 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font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Arial; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>_________________________________</div><div>Peggy Holman</div><div><a href="mailto:peggy@peggyholman.com">peggy@peggyholman.com</a></div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>15347 SE 49th Place</div><div>Bellevue, WA 98006</div><div>425-746-6274</div><div><a href="http://www.peggyholman.com/">www.peggyholman.com</a></div><div><a href="http://www.journalismthatmatters.org/">www.journalismthatmatters.org</a></div><div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium; "><div><br></div><div><b>Enjoy the award winning </b><a href="http://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/">Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity</a></div></div><div> <br>"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become <br>the fire".<br> -- Drew Dellinger</div></div><div><br></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(101, 101, 101); font-family: Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-small; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#999999" face="'Monotype Corsiva'" size="7"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 27px;"><br></span></font></div><font color="#656565"><font size="1"><font face="Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">
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