Group hosting, thinking, and decision-making have always been intertwined with agile practices. The conversations that led to the Agile Manifesto are summarized beautifully in the manifesto itself:
We are uncovering better ways of developing
the Agile Manifesto
software by doing it and helping others do it
Agilists weren’t the first people to study what worked and didn’t work when people tried to take action in a group. Each of those methods was itself woven of many threads of self-organization, facilitation, collective leadership and design. And one of my favorite threads is Open Space Technology.
I’m thinking more about Open Space this week because creator Harrison Owen (who also coined the concept of Organization Transformation) died last weekend.
If you’ve been to a conference, any gathering really, where you walk into an open, non-judgmental circle with an empty space for an agenda to be created (not just an agenda-less meeting, but one with intention and attention to the empty space!)… you’ve experienced something akin to Open Space Technology. Many skilled Open Space practitioners have written about the experience, and the philosophy over the years, including a lovely guided tour by Michael Herman.
The process, summarized, is this:
- Someone creates a compelling reason to gather, a reason that inspires a few or many people to accept an invitation – something that requires creativity and collaboration, maybe a it’s a problem to solve, a topic to discuss, something to learn
- Everyone comes together in a circle, reminded of the purpose for gathering, reminded of the principles of Open Space (Whoever comes is the right people. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. Whenever it starts is the right time. When it is over, it is over.)
- Any participant can add a question, idea or issue to the agenda and assign it a place and time
- Once the agenda fills the allowed space and time for the gathering, the conversations begin
- People capture their conversations as they go, making the decisions and taking actions they need along the way (everyone who accepted the invitation later gets to see all the notes captured from the variety of conversations)
- Everyone re-convenes to close the gathering
It’s a simple set of practices that can lead to incredibly rich, thoughtful, action-packed days. Many of the best conferences and meetings I’ve ever participated in were Open Spaces – the energy as a participant and a facilitator is vastly different to situations where you’re driving towards an agenda with a deadline, where it inevitably turns out that some things really need more conversation and exploration. The looseness and simplicity of the format also gives every person so much control over their experience, making it one of the best ways to accommodate different styles of working and thinking over the course of a day or several.
If you haven’t been to an Open Space gathering before – go! Convene one, if you don’t see one you’re inspired by.
If you’re like me and have learned to facilitate Open Space gatherings, but don’t think to use that structure often – think again, before your next complex, diverse and passionate group gets together.
Open Space World includes a massive collection of 30+ years of writing on OST. It’s an excellent place to start.