Bert. Never intervene!! Whether it is too "slow" for you or too conflicted and fast. That immediately takes responsibility away from the group and puts it back in the hands of the facilitator. They likely need the conversations they are having to get to the point where they can initiate. If your or others see a need for "process skill development" that can happened as training later or before. However, it is more likely that the theme and parameters for action for the Open Space are not compelling. Open Space is most powerful when there is a real performance challenge and the people have real power to act on it as framed by the sponsors. If the challenge and power to act are real, and people have a passion for them, then they will find the process capabilities.
Larry Larry Peterson Associates in Transformation 41 Appleton Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada, M6E 3A4 Tel:/Fax: 416-653-4829 lpa...@inforamp.net http://www.inforamp.net/~lpasoc -----Original Message----- From: Peg Holman [SMTP:phol...@email.msn.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 1998 8:00 PM To: osl...@listserv.idbsu.edu Subject: Do you ever intervene... Please give Bert your thoughts on his question. Thanks, Peg Holman -----Original Message----- From: Bert Elliott <avell...@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca> To: o...@tmn.com <o...@tmn.com> Date: Tuesday, October 06, 1998 3:30 PM Subject: Peggy Holeman To: OSI1 --INTERNET o...@tmn.com Thanks for the invitation to the conference in Nov. but I won't be able to attend. Nonetheless, I appreciate being part of the mailing list. I haven't talked with you since I tried Open Space last spring with wonderful results. The same group is asking for the process again and there have been several people interested following that initial success. What I did notice however, is that the discussion does depend on the facilitation skills or meeting skills of the convener. As an observer, it looked to me like the discussions rambled in some cases and in most cases, the group would choose to fill the allotted time with other chat if they had dealt with the issues before the time was up. Do you ever intervene in these circumstances. How doyou get them to quit "when its over". Regards, Bert Elliott Program Administrator Staff Development and Training (952-2334)