MMP and friends--
Thank you for this dive into the present and invisible and expanding of
time and space.
Although I have been doing OST for a decade, this is a practice I have
yet to perfect. Often I feel at the end of an OS that I was not really
there because I was facilitating. That is, I cannot tell someone else
what went on or what the results were. (Sure I can count issues and
assess the depth of the closing circle, but that is not the same as
having been a participant. It is different when at an OSonOS I can
simply be a participant.)
So can you and others say some more about how you practice being present
and invisible, what it feels like to expand time and space? Is it for
you more than picking up coffee cups?
:- Doug.
On 04/26/2013 04:31 AM, Michael M Pannwitz wrote:
Dear Carms,
basically, there is no such thing as a "neutral" facilitator.
As far as I can remember, and thats a few decades back, potential
clients often ask for a "neutral" facilitation or consultation.
Seems to me that the way to tackle this is to ask myself what I am not
"neutral" about. And that, I found out, varies from case to case and
from situation to situation.
So, when I am facilitating I find it helpful to discover what I do not
want to be "neutral" about and focus on that particular thing.
When facilitating an Open Space Technology process I focus on being
"present and invisible", "expanding time and space" (for the forces of
selforganisation to do its thing).
This I find is more than a full time job... any other interests that
crop up (getting involved in issues participants post or paying
attention to a co-facilitator...) simply have no space. The moment they
do press for space and my attention I know I am no longer really paying
attention to my task as facilitator.
In practice this means that I am in desperate need for a team in the
background that takes care of all the things I love to meddle with and
control so that I can focus... which sounds simple but aint easy.
A co-facilitator who has clear positions on issues and is absorbed by
such stuff does not compromise "neutrality" of the team. He exerts
control and that is from my experience a surefire way to reduce or even
close space.
So, how to deal with a co-facilitator of the kind you describe?
It depends, of course.
One way to avoid this destraction is to simply strike the position of
co-facilitator.
Have a great day
mmp
On 26.04.2013 01:44, Carmela Ariza wrote:
Thanks Kari for your thoughts and suggestions.
How would you deal then with a co-facilitator who has a very clear
position on issues that are being tackled and who runs the risk of
compromising neutrality of the team of facilitators?
Will take a look at the Amsterdam Musical Lecture on Open Space soon.
This seems interesting...
Carms
/*If there is to be any peace it will come through being, not having. --
Henry Miller*/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* Kári Gunnarsson <kari.gunnars...@simnet.is>
*To:* Carmela Ariza <carmela_ar...@yahoo.com>; World wide Open Space
Technology email list <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>
*Sent:* Friday, 19 April 2013, 7:35
*Subject:* Re: [OSList] What does neutrality of a facilitator mean in
Open Space?
Hi Carmela
I am perhaps not the best on neutrality, I am easily swept off my feet
in passion for this or that, and usually I like to marvel in the novelty
for a short while.
I don't think there is any one truth that we can speak here. There is
some big notion of neutrality in the academia, somehow born from the
abstract thinking of the scientific methought. There is this belief that
if I am to close too or worse - one of the locals, then I must be to
bias to speak any truth.
But what I have found is that if I am the owner or manager of the item
in question, then I might have some previews thoughts and dreams that I
may try to enforce it in the process with no regards to the underlying
reality of the matter, if given the possibility.
Also if this person is someone I am trying to please, I may be to
co-dependent towards any power play that he might use for the same
reasons.
There is always the spiritual work of begin willing to be present and
holding the space open by keeping a check on my charisma while the
discussions take place.
As soon as I try to force the outcome by closing the space, then the
space is no longer open. I sacrifice the productivity by forcing my own
will of outcome upon the group. The only way for me to not do this is
simply to not have a way about how the outcome should be. If I am not
willing to not have a way, then I have some personal work to do by
cheeking my motives and fears and let go of them.
If this is not possible, then I would suggest a twinning, where you find
someone not in our department to do your open space and then do same for
them.
But I think that I am allowed to care deeply and have an opinion as long
as my personal homework is done and I am spiritually fit to not have a
way, and to let them have their own experience.
I also have an experience where a small group where half of the group
was familiar with Open Space, we decided to hold the space as a group
and participate in our own open space. There was no external sponsor or
external facilitator, but we managed to hold the space open because we
cared.
I like to end with an Amsterdam Musical lecture on Open Space:
http://youtu.be/BgcomPDIUHY
On 18 April 2013 22:40, Carmela Ariza <carmela_ar...@yahoo.com
<mailto:carmela_ar...@yahoo.com>> wrote:
Dear OST friends,
I would like to hear your thoughts on neutrality of facilitators in
OST. Below are some specific questions...
What does it mean in practice?
If you are an interested party or have a stake in the outcomes, how
must you facilitate?
What are the ways to maintain neutrality (towards participants and
topic/outcomes) even if the facilitator is also interested in the
quality of the participation and also the outcomes?
Your inputs/insights will be highly appreciated - especially sharing
of experiences.
Cheers,
Carms
/*If there is to be any peace it will come through being, not
having. -- Henry Miller*/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Kári Gunnarsson
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