After The Open Space Event:
Managing The Organization in Ongoing Open Space
By Birgitt Williams & Larry Peterson
Both of us, Birgitt and Larry, are assisting organizations
to make the most of the high energy and spirit that appears in an Open
Space event. We have seen the possibilities of using Open Space Technology
as an ongoing management style and are in the process of further developing
this work. We have written this paper to stimulated our thinking and prepare
for a workshop. We hope it stimulates you to engage in the discussion
with us. We know there is much to learn. We invite you to contact us with
any comments, stories, and insights of your own. We acknowledge the inspiration
provided by Harrison Owen, discoverer of Open Space Technology and a "discerner"
of the Millennium Organization.
Open Space Technology is being used to help organizations
all around the world enhance the Spirit of their place and people. It
is used to solve complex business problems, develop strategic plans, develop
new products and solve community problems. It consistently leads to successful
meetings. It takes very little up-front planning. With it even hundreds
of people can self-organize in less than an hour, accomplish the seemingly
impossible and walk away from the event feeling energized and empowered.
In Open Space, people realize more of their potential
for exercising leadership and responsibility. Leadership emerges from
those who care, regardless of title or position. The whole group organizes
the agenda and manages the process. Having done what they thought was
impossible, spirit is enhanced and high performance is demonstrated. It
is now clear that productive, spirited self-organizing can happen. The
key question is when and where to do it again.
Harrison Owen sees Open Space Technology as a navigational
tool that can enable organizations to sustain success into the next millennium,
to become a "Millennium Organization" According to Owen, a new
kind of organization is emerging in the chaotic and fast paced change
that is now the norm. Constantly clarifying its purpose, meaning and identity,
that organization has the following characteristics:
- ongoing transformative learning
- flexible structures and processes that are appropriate
to the tasks and the people
- playing with the work
- genuine community that emerges from risk and commitment
- the primacy of spirit
We believe that Open Space Technology is a simple, effective,
and relatively inexpensive way to manifest those characteristics. The
"learning organization" need not take forever to introduce.
It is happening now in most organizations, but in the informal spaces
around the current structures and processes. Open Space can better leverage
that learning and productivity into the ongoing life of organizations.
Call it the management style for the Millennium Organization.
The best way to get the journey started is to have a large,
three-day Open Space Event for a critical mass of the whole organization.
Open Space Technology makes it possible to include as many as 750 people
in one room. Through "cyberspace" many similar events can be
linked. Some organizations are very careful about including all stakeholders
including customers, while others choose to make it a staff only event.
Either way works depending on the organization's needs. What is critical
is that attendance is voluntary and that a real issue for the organization
is addressed.
The question posed in Open Space is often, "What
are the issues and opportunities for the future of this organization that
you have a passion to pursue and for which you will take responsibility?"
The space is open and held for the participants to self-organize the agenda
given the Principles and Law of Open Space. Before the event is over,
a book of the proceedings is in everyone's hands and priorities have been
identified. Everyone has had input and everyone has a copy. (For a more
detailed description of the process, see "Open Space Technology a
User's Guide". For some examples of its use, see "Tales from
Open Space".)
"So now what? It was a great meeting, but do we now
go back to business as usual?" Executives, management and most participants
do not want to lose the energy and possibilities that have emerged from
the event. However, they are often not clear how to fit it into the way
"we do business" In Open Space the hierarchy is suspended and
initiative comes from unlikely places. Upon returning to work, there is
often dissonance between the new energy and initiative and the old structures
and patterns.
For those "in charge"--be that boards, executives
or managers--this can be quite disconcerting. They are accountable for
end results and they now recognize they are not in control. There are
two kinds of reactions. One is to panic and attempt to get the whole thing
back under control and go back to the old way of doing business. In so
doing, management has stopped the journey to the Millennium Organization.
It has very likely done serious harm to the future of the organization.
The other choice is to ride the wave of the new and evolving organizational
culture, even if it is terrifying.
On The Way To The Millennium Organization
Assisting executives, managers and staff to deal with
the fear and to fully leverage the outcomes of an Open Space event is
our goal. We start with our own experience. Larry has facilitated numerous
Open Space events in various forms since 1990. Birgitt has recently left
her role as the Executive Director of a service organization. There she
discovered how to manage an organization in Open Space.
Increasing the Impact
As an external consultant, I (Larry) was invited to work
with a unit of a financial institution that had been attempting to "empower"
its staff. Within the strategic plan, senior management was looking for
more staff initiative to improve performance and deal with problems as
they arose. They believed that Open Space might be the appropriate tool
to navigate toward that "empowerment" and contacted me. It was
clear from the beginning of the discussion that the senior managers both
wanted "empowerment" and wanted to control it. So, it did not
happen. They understood what a customer focused and empowered team looked
like, but did not know how to get there.
I worked with the senior executives to clarify the theme
for the one-day Open Space event. It became clear that they were not open
to any possibility or decision that would emerge. There were some parameters
-- some things were to be constant. Thus, I worked with them to clearly
state the parameters, encouraging them to make them as open as possible.
They decided that as long as the proposals or actions that emerged were
within the broad frame of the business plan, then participants would be
free to pursue them. The other parameter was a cost limit. As long as
project cost under a specified amount, it could be pursued without further
approval. If proposals did not fit the plan or cost more than the specified
amount, the senior group was willing to consider them. However, further
action required their approval.
We also discussed how other mangers might deal with the
openness and initiative that would emerge. The senior group again was
concerned. Middle management had blocked or stifled initiative in the
past. So, we decided to prepare them for the larger Open Space with a
smaller event. I met for a day with middle managers to discuss the perspectives
behind Open Space and to engage them in a small Open Space. Even in the
short time, the event was powerful and effective.
This prepared them well for the larger Open Space event.
There were 150 participants from throughout the unit who attended the
one-day event. The focus was on the next year of work, not the future
of the whole organization. The meeting was highly productive with a number
of critical operational issues addressed and strategies developed.
For example, one topic was about fixing the relationship
with one of the offices in another city. The group that gathered were
able to clarify the problems and develop a way to solve them. This included
a visit to that city's office by much of the team from the Open Space
event. In "normal" circumstances, that configuration of people
would not have taken such a trip. However, they knew they were within
the business plan and that they could take the trip within the allocated
budget. They took the trip and improved the working relationship.
The above action took place after a major change in the
context. Within two months of the Open Space event, the aforementioned
unit and its parent organization was the subject of a merger. The new
parent organization was not ready to use Open Space Technology at that
time. However, after four months, 80% of the topics that had emerged in
the Open Space event were still being pursued according to an internal
consultant. They had identified critical issues for the ongoing work and
were producing results.
Using Open Space as a Management Style
I (Birgitt) want to share with you my experience of using
Open Space as a management style for three plus years in a social service
setting. I was the Executive Director of a social service organization
for ten years. In early 1992, I was trained in Open Space Technology and
I introduced it into my organization. I led an Open Space meeting involving
all staff (about 80) to determine what we saw as our issues and opportunities
for the coming year. I then followed this by a series of Open Space meetings.
The themes for those meetings were based on the topics that were identified
at the first Open Space.
The theme of first Open Space in this series was internal
communication. As a result of that Open Space everyone took ownership
and communication improved. Another Open Space was focused on our organizational
structure. Many saw it as a barrier to doing business. The emergent consensus
was to keep the structure as it was, especially for staff accountability
and "serious occurrence" reporting and action. We saw more problems
with the way we did business than with the structure. We agreed that authority
and responsibility would be distributed in such a way as to assist us
in our work, rather than being a barrier to us. Of course, this led back
to more discussion of internal communications. As the Executive Director,
I excitedly watched the evolution of the organization and the real leadership
and empowerment of staff. However, I would not recommend that the Executive
Director or CEO facilitate these initial Open Space events. They went
well, but it was quite difficult for me.
We ran into a real glitch about three months into our
journey into the new. Not everything was open to change and this had not
been clearly understood or identified by any of us at the beginning. Was
this a little naive? I would say so now. For example, we had to follow
provincial legislation and the health and safety regulations. A staff
person would come up with a really great idea and then someone would say
it could not be done because of this or that regulation. It then started
to feel as if everything was controlled by all of these rules again. It
occurred to me that the way to "unbog" this was to be really
clear and honest about that which could not be changed. I referred to
these as the "givens". What was not a "given" was
open for change. So, we tried to clarify what the "givens" were.
What really was non-negotiable? What we discovered was disconcerting.
Every group of folks had a different list of "givens" and the
size of those lists ranged from ten to fifty-four items.
A lot of what were seen to be "givens" were
perpetuated in the organization under the heading of "we've always
done it this way". There was little consideration as to whether the
"given" was truly necessary. We invested several staff meetings,
which were not in Open Space, looking at the "givens". They
were lively discussions and they prompted a great deal of healing in the
organization. There was laughter as we finally posted a list of "givens"
that contained only twelve items. There was a sense of release. Many rules
or directives that were seen to be unchangeable were put aside, because
they were choices and not "givens".
Following the laughter came the telling of the stories
of how we had actually operated behind the scenes to get around what we
thought were "givens" The space for the new had truly been opened.
One thing that was seen as a "given" was the organizational
structure. Lots of folks did not like our hierarchical structure. Everyone
realized that while having a structure was a "given" the type
of structure we would have was clearly open to change. This set the context
for the previously mentioned Open Space on structure. When the consensus
emerged that we had the structure that we needed at present, there was
laughter and relief. We had navigated through some difficult water together.
No one had made an attempt to control the process or the outcomes. We
again demonstrated what was possible in our working together.
It was after this event that I understood that the organization
was actually operating in Open Space all of the time. Together, we were
developing an Open Space management style. It was not easy. There were
lots of scary moments when we did not know what would happen next or what
we should do next. However, as long as I dealt with my own fear and my
temptation to control we continued to grow and develop. When I trusted
the process and held space safe for others to take leadership we performed
well.
We found a method that worked for us to deal with our
"givens" and ensured that the necessary policies and procedures
were in place. We discovered that we had previously allowed this work
to take up most of our staff and management meeting time. Now it took
up very little of our time. Basically, we did not deal with "givens"
in "Open Space". We dealt with them as efficiently as we could.
Then we wrote it up, communicated it throughout and got on with the task
of our real work. Our primary energy went into our purpose. Everything
but the "givens" was open to change.
We had a continual Open Space "community bulletin
board". A staff or volunteer would put forward a proposal outlining
an issue or opportunity. We held monthly all organization staff meetings,
with one of the activities being the prioritizing of the items on the
bulletin board for discussion. Staff meetings were held using Open Space
Technology. All staff were invited to those meetings where issues critical
to the organization as a whole. The other topics posted on the bulletin
board were prioritized. Staff initiated those discussions and decisions
between the regular all staff meetings. All staff and volunteers were
invited to these meetings a well. If necessary, staff were enabled to
attend by others who covered their work for them. Leadership for these
discussions came from everywhere in the organization.
With this approach to "managing in Open Space"
the seemingly impossible happened on a daily basis. Complex policies such
as anti-racism and anti-sexism were developed with staff consensus. New
services were developed and others were amalgamated. Public relations
and quality assurance became ways of operating as everyone understood
their role. None of this came as a directive, but grew within the organization.
During this time, due to factors beyond our control, our client population
doubled yet we had access to fewer resources. There were no salary increases
for the entire three-year period. And yet our productivity rose, our quality
of service rose, morale grew and we experienced genuine community.
Our efforts also became recognized as something unique
in the community. The Association of Public Relations Specialists presented
our staff with the Pinnacle Award for the best annual report achieved
on a very low budget. We were in competition in for-profit as well as
non-profit organizations. The Mayor's Race Relations Committee gave us
their award for Organizational Excellence. They are a tough group to impress.
Even through the recession of 1992-94, we were able to increase our revenue
base with all staff being creative and sharing ideas.
However, we were not able to weather the election of a
new Provincial government. Most of our funding was Provincial. The cuts
had a dramatic effect, leaving only a few of the staff and the services.
The loss is great. But the good news is that we know what the Millennium
Organization feels like, we know how to get there.
Some Reflections
We see some common themes emerging from our experience.
Open Space events are usually terrific in themselves. They can manifest
a new way of working. Birgitt held a "critical mass" Open Space
to start her organization's journey. The one-day event in Larry's story
did lead to some sustained effort. The preparation seemed to help. The
merger seemed to prevent it from going further. From our experience, we
are beginning to see the critical elements to keeping the spirit going.
Givens and Structure
All of our organizations have some "givens"
within which they must work. They are legislated for certain functions
such as financial accountability and personnel issues, particularly if
there are unions. There are also regulations for various industries that
require reporting and accountability. Return on investment over time is
required of business. Non-profits must reinvest surpluses in program,
if they get any.
Most organizations have also developed hierarchies to
deal with ownership, legislation, compensation and to hold employees or
staff accountable. There are increasing exceptions with the formation
of "virtual" and network organizations. However, most existing
organizations have at least two levels of accountability and the majority
have many more.
The initiatives that emerge in an Open Space event can
challenge what are assumed to be "givens". This creates an opportunity
to clarify what is clearly a requirement and what is not. Many things
have taken on the character of a "givens" when they are actually
choices. It is not surprising in Birgitt's example that front line staff
saw many more givens that did senior management. Clarifying the degrees
of freedom for all "opens the space" for spirited performance.
An organization's hierarchy (organizational chart) is
a formal pattern of relationships. An Open Space event suspends those
formal relationships for a time. It demonstrates that emergent relationship
can lead to breakthroughs and high performance in a way that more formal
patterns cannot. This is not new. In Birgitt's story, they decided that
there were some appropriate roles for the structure. However, these roles
were limited. After the Open Space event, the formal accountability patterns
will come back into play. Clarifying how the accountability relationships
can enhance spirit is a critical part of the learning. If they only control,
they become dis-spiriting, as we discuss in the next section.
Larry finds it helpful to get senior leadership to briefly
examine the critical parameters or perceived givens before an Open Space
event. This helped one executive say that she did not see any limits.
She trusted the team that was gathered to take action supporting the theme,
even if it went against the current work plan. Others, like those in the
case presented here, were not as open. Stating those parameters at the
beginning did free managers and staff to pursue their initiatives after
the event and keep the spirit alive.
Management
Certainly, the commitment and role of the most senior
person, usually the CEO, is critical. In order to "ride the wave"
of spirit and still clarify intent and directions the CEO or senior team
members must be able to discern, lead and let go. As Birgitt stated in
her story, it was a difficult learning process. The executives in Larry's
case said they wanted an empowered staff. Actually creating the conditions
for that to happen required that they change. This is more than an issue
of "training" or "skills" It is a journey of the spirit
for formal leadership that requires guides and breakthroughs.
Our experience is that the formal leadership often has
similar concerns before the Open Space event. Before the event, the biggest
concern is whether or not it will work in their organization. If that
hurdle was past, then their concern is with their role during the event.
They often ask, "Do I participate, or does that just stifle discussion?"
Our advice is to participate, like others. This is the best way to demonstrate
that the CEO's is not in control of the Open Space but one of the participants.
When they are not that far along on their personal journey, we encourage
them to use the Law of Two Feet to keep from dominating discussion.
In a multilevel organization, middle management is often
the most threatened by Open Space. In the past they have been charged
with "making the plan" The Executives can play with new ideas,
but the middle managers have to meet the plan. As well, they have been
working hard to move "up" an organization. When they experience
that leadership comes from anywhere in Open Space, it is often quite frightening.
Our consistent experience is that newer members or employees and the more
senior executives are the most enthusiastic in their praise following
an Open Space event. It is often middle management who wants to return
to "business as usual" after the event.
In Marlene Walker Daniels' study of a large corporate
Open Space, the old structure re-asserted itself after four months. The
boundaries that had softened in Open Space, hardened again. "Some
supervisors were not listening and were reported to block the efforts
of clerical and production level workers, people who the executives viewed
as having so much to contribute when unleashed." (p. 151.1994. Daniels).
Where freedom had been given in Open Space, managers were experienced
as taking away the "accountability" for a project. The work
of departments again asserted its dominance over the cross functional
teams that had emerged. Executives continued to sing the praises of the
event and the results. Middle management was not singing the same tune.
We would assume that while senior management was "singing
the praises" it was not acting to give middle managers more openness.
Birgitt's vigilance is keeping the space open was critical to enabling
ongoing Open Space. She enabled the clarification of givens and then learned
to flow with the emergent spirit. She led when it was appropriate and
followed at other times.
Ongoing Open Space: Millennium OrganizationOngoing Open
Space: Millennium OrganizationOngoing Open Space: Millennium OrganizationOngoing
Open Space: Millennium Organization
The best way to follow-up a "critical mass"
Open Space event is to have more Open Space events. In Birgitt's case,
the themes for these events were based on the critical issues that emerged
from the three-day event. In a very large organization, many other large
events are likely necessary. If there are 30,000 employees, it is hard
to get everyone in the room. However, the story of a key large event spreads
like wildfire. More events in different parts of the organization are
critical to keeping the momentum to the Millennium Organization going.
As stated earlier, the one day small Open Space that Larry
led did not seem to catalyze the journey for that unit. However, the parent
organization did eventually bring in Harrison Owen and that journey is
now in high gear. There was no direct connection between the two. However,
chaos theory helps us see that small changes can have impact beyond our
expectations.
Birgitt also used small Open Space meetings in shorter
time frames with very positive results. As Larry states in Tales from
Open Space, events lasting one day or even a few hours can lead to breakthroughs
and high performance. Our experience suggests that a small Open Space
can also prepare leadership for more fully leveraging the learning and
initiative that comes from larger events. Clearly they can also carry
on the momentum from those larger events.
Birgitt was able to get beyond "events" to Open
Space informing the ongoing management of her organization. Using the
bulletin board and principles of Open Space, her staff began to flow with
a new way of working. Some corporations use "cyberspace", or
their LAN, for their bulletin board. With computer technology it is possible
for topics, leadership and teams to emerge on screen. The newest software
is making this even easier. Even without the technology, a simple bulletin
board will work once the openness is assured and the parameters or givens
clear.
This puts increased demands on the formal leadership or
CEO. The focus and openness are daily activities. Dealing with accountability
structures such as boards become a major concern.
However, we are convinced that developing Open Space into
an ongoing organizational style is both possible and necessary. Our fast
changing context is requiring us to manifest Millennium Organizations.
We have much to learn and discern about spirit in our organizations. How
does it interact with complex hierarchies? How do you engage governing
boards? How can leadership be best assisted in their individual spiritual
journeys? However, it is clear to us that learning how manage, to lead
and to let go in ongoing Open Space is the task at hand. It is an exciting
journey.
Bibliography
- Daniels, Marlene Walker. 1994. "An Ethnographic
Study of an Open Space Technology Meeting: Self-Organizing at Work."
- Owen, Harrison. ed. 1995. Tales from Open Space. Potomac,
Maryland. Abbott Publishing. (Now available from the Open Space Institute)
- 1994. The Millennium Organization. Potomac, Maryland.
Abbott Publishing.
- 1993. Open Space Technology: A User's Guide. Potomac,
Maryland. Abbott Publishing.
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