Dear eg,
seems a wonderfult ost-gathering opportunity.
Especially, if some of the preconditions for open space were looked at
once before the event:
-high complexity, that appears to be in place
-diversity, that seems to need expansion
-urgency and open question, that appears ok, hidden agendas are always there
-conflict, plenty, so that seems fine
Diversity, from where I stand, also has to do with getting "the whole
system" into the room. In the "planning sessions" which I pretty much
insist on having with a client I ask "Who all needs to be invited to the
meeting so that what we hope for as an outcome under the heading we have
chosen actually can be worked on productively"...that often expands
diversity and gets more of the system together.
Lets hear how it went
Greetings from Berlin
mmp
Elwin and Joan wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
A few days back, while I was on assignment in Ethiopia, a consulting
firm I have long association with emailed to say they needed me to
cover a 2 day management training and team building job with a US Gov’t
office in DC.
Fair enough I thought. The consulting firm knows me well and our
history together has always been one of success.
I asked for and received a Statement of Work (SOW) that was the usual
referencing of interactive approaches to building cooperation, respect
and a sense of teamwork.
Based on the SOW, I wrote a proposal for a 1 1/2 day Open Space
conference with the theme, “Looking for Opportunities to Improve Our
Teamwork”.
The proposal was accepted by the client.
I am now Stateside. I just talked with the client and things look
pretty ugly.
I now know the “real” interest in this exercise is to get rid of one
or two of the office employees. These two people are viewed by a new
management (my clients) as subversives, if not terrorists. The new boss
wants them “gone.”
In 5 days I am scheduled to do this Open Space with six employees
including the boss.
I am not at all reluctant to change my proposal and do my “hard hat”
management consultant routine.
On the other hand this might be a perfect OST opportunity.
What say you?
eg
Elwin Guild
Future Development International
Baltimore
elwinandj...@yahoo.com
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