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Acceptance a great catalyst for change
Lessons from working with Open Space Technology
For many years now I have been working with Open Space Technology (OST) as one of the most powerful meeting methods I know to create an environment where people address and ways to deal with often complex and contentious issues. Using OST consistently provides the path to new ways of dealing with what previously looked like intractable issues. During OST meetings group wisdom consistently appears as people build on awareness and understanding which in turn inspires the will to (collective)engagement and action. Paradoxically one of the reasons for this is because OST meetings train people in acceptance of what is present.
In a world where there is a great pressure to make a change as soon as discomfort is noticed, it seems counter-intuitive to think that a method that invites acceptance would be the one that brings us to the most profound changes. Yet time after time in OST events, and day after day being with people who integrate OST principles into their lives this is exactly what I see.
So I am dedicating some time to look at how that works, and what the benefit can be of learning to accept situations first vs. immediately trying to “improve” them.
