Interesting example of how we show up, even in small things, communicates big time values and believes.
Even a Town crier to me is the continuation of the "culture of dependency " Open Space is wanting us and helping us get away from. It's nourishing the old mental model that the participants can't do it by themselves but the people that know (authorities including the facilitator) can do it best. It sustains the thinking that participants need a mom to remind them. So they will not only be dependant on time but will continue in this frame of mind on many other aspects of the meeting. I let people self manage around time - other than having a schedule posted on a flip chart like Harrison had in his first edition of his Users' Guide. Participants tell me later on that they like having no one - no form of boss even a nice facilitator - telling them what to do. It really sends a clear message we are encouraging self-organization and more importantly, that we value them we value trust and show it by actually trusting them. It also makes room for the leadership to emerge from the group: the small and big task of reminding colleagues it's time to start is an opportunity for someone to take a special step in the group they belong to. It's also an occasion to add to the quality of their relationships. Doing it for participants, takes away from them, those opportunities for learning and being. It's been working for over 10 years for me. Harrison said about OST: it's not the techniques of OST that are hard to learn, it's letting go. Diane From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Peggy Holman Sent: 13 janvier 2008 12:23 To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Thoughts on a Town Crier Has anyone noticed more milling about before people move into sessions over the last few years? I'd been noticing enough of a trend this way that I always intend to explicitly tell people that there won't be anyone telling them when to move, that it is up to them to follow their own rhythms and interests. I haven't quite internalized this yet, so I usually forget. Anyway, I think I may have figured out what is going on. I just did an OS for a friend for a group of about 50. He uses OS a lot but wanted to be able to really participate in this one. He told me that he was a little surprised when the first round of breakout sessions was starting that I didn't tell people it was time to get started. He came to me when the first round after lunch were scheduled to start and asked me wasn't I going to ring a bell and let people know? I basically told him that I never did that. The participants were adults and could figure it out for themselves. He was floored and a little upset. He said he always lets people know. And then it dawned on me: there are more and more people who have experienced OS. Perhaps there are many practitioners doing what Jon does - telling people when it is time to start the next session. I realized that since most of these folks came at Jon's invitation, they were probably enculturated to responding to a bell. So I took what seemed a middle ground to me and rang a bell, saying, "It's 1:30 and all's well." I figured a town crier was a minimalist thing to do -- providing information without attachment to how people used it. I then spoke more with Jon because I wanted to understand his perspective. He said that to him, what is posted, like the session start times, are part of the commons and when he is holding the space, that is part of his contract with the group, to give them the information. He doesn't care what they do once they hear it. So, it strikes me that Town Crier is a good description of what he does. Given the trend I mentioned, I suspect Jon isn't the only one doing something like this. I'd love to hear other thoughts on providing information that marks the passage of time. from sunny (for a change) Seattle, Peggy ________________________________ Peggy Holman The Open Circle Company 15347 SE 49th Place Bellevue, WA 98006 (425) 746-6274 www.opencirclecompany.com For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to: www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become the fire". -- Drew Dellinger * * ========================================================== 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