When we discuss body language in organizations there are some parts that are more obvious or visible such as the space where we work and the written principles and strategies we follow. These are important parts but there is more to the body language than what can be seen with your eyes. Have you ever experienced an Open Space Technology meeting? There are some parts that are visible and easy recognizable such as the circle of chairs, the agenda wall and the facilitator walking the circle when opening the meeting. But what is it that creates the dynamics, that open for the creativity and creates such amazing results. Is it really only that we are sitting in a circle with no tables between us?
For those of you who are not familiar with Open Space Technology (OST) I would like to share my experience after having facilitated many hundreds of OST meetings with between 7 and 1000 participants. OST is a very result-oriented method focused on solving urgent issues. The participants are sitting in a circle of chairs. The agenda is created by those who have topics they feel are important to discuss regarding the theme for the meeting. The smaller discussion groups are self organized through a simple system with a time matrix. They discuss their topics as long as they have passion for them and provides a report for the news wall, where anyone can read what the highlights of the discussion and suggested solutions. If the sponsor expect a plan or strategy as a result of the meeting, there is often time for prioritizing, convergence and creating plans. It is my experience that much of this could be done within a day or so, depending on how detailed the plan should be.
When I facilitate an OST meeting there is a big focus on the planning meeting. That is where the boundaries or givens are expressed such as budget, decision making authority etc. That is also where the sponsor discusses what results they want from the meeting. Now get this right, they can´t decide what the plans should look like, but they can decide that they want plans. They can´t decide that the solution should look a certain way, but they can decide that they want a solution to an urgent issue. The most important part of an OST meeting is that there is space for the wisdom of the partipants. Is that visible? Not with your eyes but there are some things telling you about this open space where you can work together with your whole creativity, intuition and your whole self, if you so wish.
Some of what tells you about this space are the four principles: Whoever comes are the right people, When it starts is the right time, Whatever happen is the only thing that could, When it is over it is over and then the Law of Mobility, inviting you to move and follow your spirit where it wants to take you. And then, this is not all that creates the space either.
What impact has the energy of the facilitator? The facilitator speaks about the wisdom of the participants. As a facilitator, you better believe what you are saying, because if you don´t, the participants will feel it. They are also likely to feel when your self-critique is stronger than your self-love. Once after having opened an OST meeting with politicians, a man said to me that it seems to take a dictator to create the space for democrazy. I am not sure if this space can be said to be democratic, that is a topic to be discussed in other places but I know that the facilitator has to conquer the space in order to hand it over to the participants. Much of that work is made in the planning meeting but the symbolic handing over is made through the opening. The facilitator generates a resonant energy field, which is a field that is easily sustained. This field and the job of the facilitator to be a resonant energy field generator is something that creates much of the open space. It can´t be seen with your eyes. Some will feel it more and some less, but it is still an important part of the body language. Interesting? Read more about energy fields in Stalking the Wild Pendulum by Itzhak Bentov, one of my favourite books and a gift from my dear friend Birgitt Williams.
Butterflies and bumblebees, in Open Space Technology meetings as in Nature
For those of you who are not familiar with Open Space Technology (OST) I would like to share my experience after having facilitated many hundreds of OST meetings with between 7 and 1000 participants. OST is a very result-oriented method focused on solving urgent issues. The participants are sitting in a circle of chairs. The agenda is created by those who have topics they feel are important to discuss regarding the theme for the meeting. The smaller discussion groups are self organized through a simple system with a time matrix. They discuss their topics as long as they have passion for them and provides a report for the news wall, where anyone can read what the highlights of the discussion and suggested solutions. If the sponsor expect a plan or strategy as a result of the meeting, there is often time for prioritizing, convergence and creating plans. It is my experience that much of this could be done within a day or so, depending on how detailed the plan should be.
When I facilitate an OST meeting there is a big focus on the planning meeting. That is where the boundaries or givens are expressed such as budget, decision making authority etc. That is also where the sponsor discusses what results they want from the meeting. Now get this right, they can´t decide what the plans should look like, but they can decide that they want plans. They can´t decide that the solution should look a certain way, but they can decide that they want a solution to an urgent issue. The most important part of an OST meeting is that there is space for the wisdom of the partipants. Is that visible? Not with your eyes but there are some things telling you about this open space where you can work together with your whole creativity, intuition and your whole self, if you so wish.
Some of what tells you about this space are the four principles: Whoever comes are the right people, When it starts is the right time, Whatever happen is the only thing that could, When it is over it is over and then the Law of Mobility, inviting you to move and follow your spirit where it wants to take you. And then, this is not all that creates the space either.
What impact has the energy of the facilitator? The facilitator speaks about the wisdom of the participants. As a facilitator, you better believe what you are saying, because if you don´t, the participants will feel it. They are also likely to feel when your self-critique is stronger than your self-love. Once after having opened an OST meeting with politicians, a man said to me that it seems to take a dictator to create the space for democrazy. I am not sure if this space can be said to be democratic, that is a topic to be discussed in other places but I know that the facilitator has to conquer the space in order to hand it over to the participants. Much of that work is made in the planning meeting but the symbolic handing over is made through the opening. The facilitator generates a resonant energy field, which is a field that is easily sustained. This field and the job of the facilitator to be a resonant energy field generator is something that creates much of the open space. It can´t be seen with your eyes. Some will feel it more and some less, but it is still an important part of the body language. Interesting? Read more about energy fields in Stalking the Wild Pendulum by Itzhak Bentov, one of my favourite books and a gift from my dear friend Birgitt Williams.
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