Oh my goodness Peggy….. your deep and forever wisdom is crafted into the most perfect and precious of words….
Thank you SO SO much Romy Romy Shovelton Executive Director Wikima and the 5* Tyddyn Retreat Mid Wales Venue & Holiday Cottages www.wikima.com www.walescottageandvenue.com Facebook: Tyddyn Retreat Twitter: @MidWalesRetreat Instagram: tyddynretreat romy.shovel...@gmail.com r...@walescottageandvenue.com r...@wikima.com skype: romy shovelton +44 (0) 7767 370739 +44 (0) 1686 420725 Tyddyn y Pwll, Carno Caersws, Powys, SY17 5JU > On 6 Mar 2021, at 00:53, Peggy Holman via OSList > <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote: > > Hi Leora, > > I’ll add my two cents to the wisdom already shared. You asked: > > ...how to "hold" the tension between the "freedom" in the OS method, and > “purposefulness” needed in most of the processes . > > How can we expect to get to "bottom lines" (get the work done) when we depend > only on the people who come, and what they decide…? > > And more, how can we avoid the "loose" rules lead to "anarchy", > especially in complex environment? > > > Your questions are often asked by managers who are considering bringing Open > Space to their organizations. They’re great questions. > > Such questions have an implicit assumption that managers define purpose and > rules and everyone else follows, doing what they’re told. In my life > experience, that assumption is rarely the case. It may be employees have a > different purpose than their manager but we are all purpose-driven. Sometimes > we’re conscious of our purpose, sometimes not. > > Another assumption in your questions is that Open Space, because it invites > people to experience freedom, doesn’t have purpose. In fact, just the > opposite is true. I find Open Space makes purpose exceedingly clear. That is > one of its strengths. It is part of what makes OST so radical. It puts > purpose out in the form of a question, an organizing theme and invites people > into freely exploring purpose, often from perspectives managers never > imagined. People are freed to get work done because the “loose” rules > liberate them to more effectively navigate complex environments. I often find > managers shocked by the passion and creativity of people. They are far more > capable and committed than many managers assume. > > The essence of Open Space, with a nod to Anne Stadler, who first framed it > this way, is to take responsibility for what you love. Because the purpose is > stated clearly, people who choose to accept the invitation to attend know why > they’re there. So they propose what they need to in order to accomplish the > purpose. > > Now there are several assumptions in what I’m saying. First, that people are > there by choice. Invitation, not mandatory attendance, ensures you have > people who want to be there. Making an Open Space mandatory runs counter to > the spirit of “whoever comes is the right people”. Participation comes via an > invitation, not a mandate. A second assumption is that the sponsor(s) are > authentic in their calling question — they have stated a real purpose for > coming together. If not, they put the process at risk as that would be an act > of betrayal. > > You see, Open Space enables a different form of organization. It is not based > in hierarchy, which is terribly cumbersome in complex situations. OST forges > self-organized networks, communities, relationships as people discover the > others who care about the things they care about. In fact, part of the power > of Open Space is that it re-knits the fabric of community as the needs of > individuals and the needs of the whole are both served. People find they can > look to each other for partnership and support in accomplishing purposes they > care about. > > One other item I want to unpack: “if we depend only on the people who come”…I > have come to believe that, in addition to developing a thoughtful, > purposeful, meaningful calling question, one of the most important aspects of > preparing for an Open Space is attending to who is invited. It is the job of > the organizers to do the work to ensure they have invited people from the > whole system. I interpret the principle about "whoever comes are the right > people" not as a "leave it to chance" perspective but rather as a "be at > peace” perspective that those who show up will figure it out. > > As a facilitator, I consider an important part of my job is to work with the > sponsor/organizing team to understand who makes up the system so that the > sponsor/organizing team invites them. Harrison describes the people to be > invited as the "people who care". Since it isn’t always obvious, I take a cue > from Marv Weisbord and Sandra Janoff and use a rubric from Future Search in > how I think about who cares. I work with the organizers to identify the > people who “ARE IN”: with Authority, Resources, Expertise, Information, and > Need. And then I bring a diversity lens to it to help the sponsor/organizing > team to determine, which, if any, of these demographic dimensions are > important: age, race, gender, geography, socio-economics, political > perspective, and religion. Doing the work of inviting people from the whole > system lays the groundwork so that you can depend on the people who come. > > Open Space gives us practice in experiencing what networked-based organizing > feels like. Newtonian science was mirrored in the organizational form that > emerged during its day: hierarchy. As we come to understand the science of > complexity, we’re beginning to recognize something that was always there: our > most effective form for human organizing today is in networks. Open Space > just helps us do it consciously. > > Enjoy your work with Tova! > > Peggy > > > > > ________________________________ > Peggy Holman > Co-founder > Journalism That Matters > 15347 SE 49th Place > Bellevue, WA 98006 > 206-948-0432 > www.journalismthatmatters.org <http://www.journalismthatmatters.org/> > www.peggyholman.com > Twitter: @peggyholman > JTM Twitter: @JTMStream > > Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity > <http://www.engagingemergence.com/> > > > > > > > > > >> On Mar 5, 2021, at 12:28 AM, Thomas Herrmann via OSList >> <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org <mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>> >> wrote: >> >> Hi Leora and welcome to OS-list! >> Much wisdom has already been shared. >> I usually invite my clients to some good pre-work to have clarity on >> purpose, goals and to create clarity on the conditions/givens including >> clarifying support for the continuous process after the event. Then they >> have the task to create an irresistible invitation and spread it as widely >> as possible, to all who may be interested… then trust the principle: Whoever >> comes… >> It’s wise to involve different stakeholders in the pre-work too, so they are >> engaged and ambassadors to spreading the word. >> Good luck >> Thomas Herrmann, sending greetings from Sweden – please extend my warmest >> greetings to Tova too! >> >> Från: OSList <oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org >> <mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>> För leora tushinski via >> OSList >> Skickat: den 3 mars 2021 11:13 >> Till: oslist@lists.openspacetech.org <mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> >> Kopia: leora tushinski <tushinle...@gmail.com <mailto:tushinle...@gmail.com>> >> Ämne: [OSList] Asking for your wisdom - Leora Tushinski >> >> Hello everyone, >> >> >> This is my first time in the OSList and I am writing to ask for the wisdom I >> am sure is held in this group. >> >> My name is Leora and I'm a student of "Dialogic interventions in Large >> group" , held by Tova Averbuch and Rotem Ofer. >> >> As a manager I have a challenge (and maybe a fear): wondering how to "hold" >> the tension between the "freedom" in the OS method, and “purposefulness” >> needed in most of the processes . >> >> How can we expect to get to "bottom lines" (get the work done) when we >> depend only on the people who come, and what they decide…? >> >> And more, how can we avoid the "loose" rules lead to "anarchy", >> especially in complex environment? >> >> I will appreciate your time, attention and wisdom >> >> Thank you >> >> Leora >> >> Israel >> >> >> >> 050-6207543 (972) >> >> בברכה, >> ליאורה >> >> 050-6207543 >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org >> <mailto:OSList@lists.openspacetech.org> >> To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org >> <mailto:oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org> >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> <http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> >> Past archives can be viewed here: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org >> <http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > Past archives can be viewed here: > http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org
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