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Inviting Practice… Beyond Convergence, Beyond Training, Beyond ‘Open Space’
Convenor: MichaelHerman?
Participants: PaulEverett?, JoelleEverett?, Gabrielle, ChrisLow?, HerbieOflynn?, AnnePattillo?, AlanStewart?, LisaHeft?, RosCrompton?, PeggyHolman?, BrendanMcKeague?, GailWest?, ThomasHerrmann?
Discussion:
Michael came with recent year’s experience and experimenting with non-convergence/re-opening approach to closing open space events, with non-training/practice workshop approach to teaching others to open space, and a curiosity about non-‘openspace’ as an approach to getting our openspace language out of the way of real and ongoing movement in organization.
Generally, we started with re-opening, went a good way on practice workshop, and have yet to really wrestle with practice beyond ‘openspace’…though some straggling conversations touched on agile software development and lean manufacturing as other languages and places where space seems to be opening in familiar ways.
beyond convergence… is re-opening
- convergence, voting, data crunching not consistent with spirit of ongoing open space… alternative is non-convergence… which extends and expands the spirit and practice of open space into everyday business setting, calendars, conference rooms, etc.
- non-convergence re-opens space for what’s next, let’s ‘processing’ happen ‘in body’ of participants, participants embody the decisions, results of the event… go beyond the ‘feel good.’
- updates language that can be outdated and stale by end of OS sessions, invites new languaging of current issues
- non-converging, reopening process is news (reports), now (closing), next (reopening), nuts (and bolts… immediate next steps)
- action plans and next steps are about what we WILL do rather than what SHOULD do… so that when we do DO these things, trust and integrity flourish
- makes space, invitation for participants to do nuts and bolts of what is scope of next steps, who’s invited/inviting, when/where next meeting(s) will happen, and what needs doing before that next meeting… invites participants to plan next OS meetings
- re-opening is portable… can follow 2-hour meeting or 2-day conference
- …seems to put pressure on assumption that ‘training’ is necessary and open the door to ongoing practice by anyone
- a good articulation of the ‘non-converging’ approach is posted in the openspace conference at the metanet website… http://www.tmn.com
beyond training… is practice
- vision is that of creating practice groups inside of places, managers opening and holding space for managers
- raises question of what preparations is needed for participants who come to practice workshops, and also of what ‘training’ becomes when it becomes ‘practice workshop’…
- practice workshop, as currently offered by michael herman, invites participants to…
- learn about open space, through stories and conversation in two-day practice workshop
- learn IN open space, in two most-of-day open space events
- learn AS the leaders/sponsors of openspace events by working on real invitations to ‘support’ with their friends, colleagues
- create a local practice community that can stay in conversation and can support participation in the larger global circles, oslist, etc.
- willingness to participate (or at least consider the invitation to participate) in ongoing practice conversation, locally/worldwide
- read user’s guide and/or websites available
- building community and safety before they arrive, supporting invitation, allowing them to be known… hosting
- supporting the invitation as answering key/common questions… what’s the agenda? Who’s coming? How many? …openspace starts when you pick up the phone, need to model it all, BE it all from the start… this seems essential practice of OS
- invitation is to learn WITH rather than FROM the workshop leader, who does more reporting of what stories are out there in the books, websites, emails, than they do reviewing of what is RIGHT way.
- offering of ongoing (lifetime) coaching and support via workshop sponsors/leaders, of local community group, of worldwide online community
- gives rise to OS as “philosophy, practice AND process” and to… “authenticity in action” …no certificate for completion of ‘intro workshop’ until we add it to your tombstone! …
- practice workshops become open space where leaders and participants ask the essential questions related to the practice of opening space
- current (somewhat cryptic) version of workshop model as developed by MichaelHerman?, ChrisCorrigan?, judi richardson and others around the world this year is posted at http://www.globalchicago.net …see also LisaHeft? for her workshop outline.
- globalchicago.net is also a good example of ‘wiki web’ mentioned at the end of the session, as a simple, powerful way of extending and expanding the OS conversations into ongoing online organization
beyond what is posted here… is more!
- http://www.globalchicago.net – wiki demonstration, workshop program outline and proceedings from herman/corrigan practice workshops worldwide, links to agile software, etc.
my original thinking on this was posted at metanet. we had quite a nice discussion of it. try this link [to metanet] directly to the topic there or look for metanet on the PractitionerWebsites? page for the instructions for logging in there. MichaelHerman?