Open space technology, social media, global consciousness and culture transformation.

By Viktor Kunovski

Facebook: COACH ERA
Linked In: COACH ERA
www: COACH ERA

I write this paper because I think, feel and see the unfolding of the biggest change in culture and consciousness the human kind has ever witnessed on the planet.

How will the world look like during and after these changes I don’t know now. This is a matter of evolution itself.
My only assumption and wish is that people, organizations and nations on the planet will be functioning more coherently and with more alignment. See “What is alignment”.

One thing I know is that open space technologies are the simplest form of group sharing and dialogue.
Today they exist in different names, such as “The world café”, “open end inquiry” or “appreciative inquiry“.

The number of people that can engage in these open spaced groups could be from 2 to several thousands people big. If we creatively use the social media technologies as a platforms, these groups could  reach millions.
People in these groups sit in formations of 3/4/5 around tables (or on the phone in a webinar) and they are lead by the group leader.[i] The leader is a person that ask a meaningful question.

The purpose of these open spaced groups is to find the way forward to an issue. An issue could be a problem that needs to be solved, or could be a developmental issue like “where does our community wants to go”?

The experiences and the facts show that the intelligence of the group (system) in cases like this is always superior to an intelligence of an individual or an isolated leadership team (general managers or political leaders). [ii]

Around the world there are many groups that are gathering and using the open space technology.
It happens to be, that I am also a member of such a group so I have kind of insiders view in these processes.
In my group we call this process “open ended Inquiry”. Our group leaders are proposing a single question at a time. We gather in groups of 3 and each of us talks for 15 min. When one person talks the others only listen, they don interrupt.

The effects of this process are empowering, illuminating and also healing.

The level of insights and creativity after a meeting with my group is 10 fold.

To describe this process imagine hundreds of meters deep dark vertical cave in the ground.
Imagine that few of those cracking luminous sticks that are used by explorers or solders are being simply dropped to fall freely. The gravity pulls the sticks towards the bottom and they simply fall effortlessly and they illuminate the space around. Creative energy is released from the process that is used to make changes in ones lives or to achieve goals in organizations and communities.
This is how the open spaced technology works, bringing on the surface the new illuminated knowledge and ideas started by a single question.

Now imagine the combination of open spaced technology, powerful leadership that asks meaningful questions with the platforms of social media.

This is the formula of managing your organization, community or nation towards impeccability.

If we can focus the energy and the attention of a large group, with powerful questions we will create an amazing shift in culture and in consciousness of people.

Lets try it by answering the question of the week?

======================================

Connected readings:

Why is asking questions a must for a modern leadership?
“Values or Death”
global alignment , the role of social media in culture transformation and organic systemic leadership.

---

[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology
ii The wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki