Diana -- were it not for the fact that driving to Toronto from Washington, DC seems a little much, I would definitely be on the road! At least I would make the offer. And I think I even have the necessary experience.
Some years ago a friend became ill and asked me to fill in for her with what she termed "a difficult client." She didn't provide any more details, but she was a good friend and obviously in need, so I agreed. The client was a major division of a very large global institution, and when I arrived at the appointed time and place I was given an envelope containing a note from my friend. I have lost the note, but I remember the essence. She said, "I guess I should have warned you, but these people have the reputation in our organization of being the meanest, feistiest, most cantankerous group of executives in our organization. They dearly love a good fight, but best of all they totally enjoy eating facilitators for lunch, after which they can go home with their reputation in tact. Good luck!" In as much as I was about to enter the circle (yes we were going to open some space!) I didn't have too much time to think about it -- so I just went with the flow, so to speak. I walked into the circle, protected only by my hat. I stood quietly for a moment considering the assembled group. Seems to me that there were about 150 of them and truthfully I have never seen a more hostile crowd. Arms folded across their chests, heads lowered, eyes barely slits -- and very quiet. I let the silence build for a long time, a very long time. When I broke it (silence) I said, "I don't have a clue why you are here or what you expect to do, having just come into all of this. But if you know what needs doing, have some real passion for getting it done, and are willing to take personal responsibility for your actions, I can help. If you don't care or won't take responsibility, we can all go home right now. Your choice. It was pretty quiet. People looked at me and each other. They looked at the floor and up to the ceiling. I just waited. After a while a voice from somewhere in the circle said -- "We have an awful lot to do and we care about doing it. Let's get on with it." "Right", I said, and started walking around the circle -- inviting people to notice each other and to take a deep breath. . . Well you all know what happened next. At the end of two days in the closing circle when the microphone came back to me I thanked them for the pleasure and privilege of being with them. Truly they were an awesome bunch. And I couldn't help but add that it seemed to me that they had just blown their reputation as real Tigers. I don't quite know where I am going with all this, but one thing for sure-- I have never met a group that could not function well in Open Space provided they cared and would accept responsibility for what they cared about. And if neither passion nor responsibility is present -- not much of utility is going to happen. And it doesn't have much to do with strength, so far as I can see. Indeed vulnerability may be much more important. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20854 Phone 301-365-2093 Skype hhowen Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org Personal website www.ho-image.com OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Diana Larsen Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 1:55 PM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Seeking a very strong facilitator Hi, I'm looking for your help and recommendations. Do you know someone who is a strong facilitator and lives in the area within driving distance of Toronto Canada? When I began wondering how I could find such a person, my thoughts immediately turned to this list...where I knew I would find other strong facilitators who would recognize and know where to find the best folks. So, thanks for being here. Here's the story: This year, I'm serving as the chair of a group of thirteen strong personalities who work together on the board of a industry association non-profit (mostly volunteers and a couple of staff members). We usually work in monthly teleconferences for our board meeting, then two or three times a year come together for a face-to- face meeting. We have set the time for 1.5 days in early December, and already have a list of tasks we need to accomplish during the meeting, including at least one report from an outside service provider, so I suspect we won't hold the meeting in open space. :- ( (Just to manage everyone's expectations.) I'd like to find a strong, general facilitator who can rein in some folks and encourage others; who can offer a few alternative processes for discussion, visioning and action items; and who comes from outside the software industry. I need someone with excellent facilitation skills because we have facilitator members in the group, and I want them to focus on the topics at hand rather than meta- critiquing the facilitator in the backs of their (my) minds. ;-) We need someone who is strong enough to let us relax and trust their process. Who would you recommend? Please send suggestions/recommendations to me off the OS list at dlar...@futureworksconsulting.com . (Michael, I will also check the worldmap. ;-) ) Again, thanks everyone, Diana Diana Larsen www.futureworksconsulting.com Chair, Agile Alliance Board of Directors www.agilealliance.org co-author: "Agile Retrospectives" http://tinyurl.com/3dr5v3 Ask me about: "Secrets of Agile Teamwork: Beyond Technical Skills" workshop Dec 11-13, Portland OR * * ========================================================== 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