Dear Simon,
At 09:40 PM 6/8/98 -0800, Simon Priest wrote:
>Please excuse my multiple postings. A friend (Director of T&D for a
>healthcare corporation) is looking for suggestions for building bridges
>between those who honor the picket line and those who cross it, once a
>strike is over and they all have to work together again.
>Thanks for taking the time to share.
I would heartily recommend a one-two day Open Space process. Each time we
have used it in parallel situations, the process has had positive effects on
the organization. It has served to begin the healing of scars resulting
from "conflict." It has given the people a place to stand and be fully
heard. The things that need to be said are given voice. The points of
view, and even passions, of others are heard.
The OS process builds community. It has been used in many situations where
the whole system needs to be together to resolve a tough issue. It is used
to build shared vision, create practical action plans, build commitment for
application of strategy or vision, and to implement immediate action on
issues that require the alignment of the entire organization. (Of course OS
needs to be eventually supported with other ongoing learning.)
But even further, the process has a deep systemic design that brings out the
important topics and issues required for building a future that includes
collaboration between the two "factions." The process works because it
doesn't ask two points of view to be homogenized or compromised. It works
because both points of view -- indeed all points of view -- are needed to
build an organization that has richness, variety, and sustainability. In
this instance, collaboration is defined as working together interdependently
to bring out one another's strengths.
Open Space requires minimal preparation on the part of the organization. A
facility that can handle the entire organization, or large portions of the
organization is required. An invitation to attend is issued. The
facilitation and process design brings it all together. If desired, a
proven process that uses laptops to collect the conversations into a single
document ready for publication by the end of the process can be employed.
Longer Open Space processes are recommended, yet the one-day event works
quite well. Two days provides more time for building the bridges. If you
haven't seen much about the Open Space process, it is quite simple on the
surface. The success comes from its design and the open facilitation. The
group is convened in an opening community session where the atmosphere of
safety and trust is established. People are then asked to volunteer/host
topics that need conversation in order for the organization to move forward.
Usually 30-40 topics are quickly put forward. There is self-organization
process whereby people decide when to host the topics and how to arrange
their day at some of the sessions. Usually there are two morning time slots
and two afternoon time slots with 10 or so concurrent sessions in each of
these time slots. There is a constant mixing of people throughout the day
with plenty of opportunity to voice concerns and to fully hear one another.
The day closes in a community session and dialogue. People begin to deeply
understand they need each other to continue their journey together.
Open Space builds the bridge by building a different, or new, type of
bridge. OS connects the past, the present, and the preferred future of each
individual into a single unbroken continuum. The OS process continues to
weave these individual continuums together, forming a fabric made up of each
person's strand. This fabric becomes the fabric of context that gives
meaning to the joint exploration of shared future. OS plants the seeds for
the future so that the preferred future grows brighter and richer with every
passing day.
Warm regards,
John Dicus
--
John Dicus | CornerStone Consulting Associates
-- Bringing Systems To Life --
2761 Stiegler Road, Valley City, OH 44280
800-773-8017 | 330-725-2728 (2729 fax)
http://www.ourfuture.com | mailto:
jdicus@ourfuture.com