I have opened space for a small board retreat. There were five board members present. I opened space and then they created their agenda. The agenda started out having nine separate topics, which got combined into three or four. And as the small group discussed the agenda, combining topics, etc. they also discussed how they were all interested in all of the agenda items. Then, without any consultation with me, they decided they would stay together for the three hours they had and work through each of the agenda items (they ended up with three topics).
As they worked, I considered closing in a different way. . . but my consulting partner insisted that we have a closing circle. In the closing circle, it was reflected that 'everyone' liked open space: they liked creating the agenda together,they liked deciding how to spend their time together, they liked, well, the openness. I felt a little bit shaky at the beginning, when I heard them suggesting that they could all stay together. It took a littl effort to say nothing, to trust the power of self-organization. It was just fine. I have been invited back to facilitate their retreat this year, too. .. it is coming up in early October. On 9/19/06, catherine corbaz <c.cor...@hispeed.ch> wrote:
hello, Esther, i did not open space my self, with such a small group. However, i intended one last year. We were 6 people.It was in a seminar of for those, who wanted to animate OS within the genuine contact program. the OS was facilitate by Marainne Gerber (son...@bluewin.ch). According to me it worked well. We worked in a large room, so people courl walk from one groupe to another. However the law of the two feet was not much used.Maybe we where to shy to move in such a small group. Marianne has done from the afternoon to the next day morning. the convergence took place on the morning. And she did not walk inside the circle usual. I found it pleasant as a participant and i'm sure its possible. finally i end up in the cafeteria with a colleague. Like in OS with a large group.If you don't get other ideas, i suggest you contact her. Good luck Catherine Corbaz Ch.des Roseaux 20 CH-2503 Bienne Switzerland +41 32 323 38 43 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Communications Esther Matte" <ema...@excellence.ca> To: <osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu> Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 2:29 PM Subject: opening space with very small groups > Hello everyone! > > First, let me say thank you for the wonderful learning I found in the > OSList. I'm new to Open Space, and even though I have yet to make my > "first big circle" as Ted put it recently, I feel more confident thanks to > you all. > > I may have two possible projects with very small groups (5-7 people) > which is what worries me. I have participated to one OST in my > experiential training with Diane Gibeault (fantastic!), and co-facilitated > one with 45 people. But I simply cannot visualize how it works with as few > as 5 people. How do you do this? Do you have several rounds of discussions? > In separate rooms? Do people actually work by themselves and team up? Can > you do it in approximately 3 hours ? (Maybe 20-30 minutes opening, 2 X > 40-minutes rounds of discussion or 3 X 30-minutes, action planning and > closing). > > I'm sure some of you have done this. I'll be meeting with the first > possible group next week, and nothing is set in stone yet for the other. > Any comments, suggestions, ideas or warnings will be very much appreciated. > > Thank you very much in advance for your time! > > Esther Matte > Communications Esther Matte > 1011, Marie-Victorin > Verchères (Québec) J0L 2R0 > www.excellence.ca > > "L'art de dire" > > Tél. : (450) 583-5849 > Téléc. : (450) 583-3513 > > * > * > ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > ------------------------------ > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, > view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: > http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
-- Love rays, Tree Fitzpatrick . . . the great and incalculable grace of love, which says, with Augustine, "I want you to be," without being able to give any particular reason for such supreme and unsurpassable affirmation. -- Hannah Arendt * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
