discover the life-changing magic of holding space

Open Space Leadership

photo © 2018 Gerhard Van Deventer/Venture Photography, Cape Town South Africa
Open Space, Hopper, Famous Harold, and Me

Cohort Based Virtual Training

Open Space Leadership
for Remote Leaders

(special edition)

Course Start

31 August 2020 (planned)

Planned Start

This cohort-based training starts when we've gathered 6 cohort members. We're on target to start 31 August as planned.

Time / Timezone

5pm—8pm Berlin / 11am-2pm NYC (planned)

We will find a suitable time / timezone for everyone when we charter the cohort.

Duration

3 weeks x 3 live interactive sessions (2-3 hrs each) + bonus sessions
Plan to spend 1-3 hours prep time for each session.
1 hour 1-on-1 mentoring call at te end of the course.

In this Course You Will

Learn to sponsor and facilitate life-changing Open Space Events (for new and experienced facilitators)
Examine and refine your own stance for leadership and coaching using the practice and priniciples of Open Space to cultivate self-organisation and transformation daily

Prerequisites

Have participated in an Open Space event (virtual or on-location)
Planning to sponsor or faciltitate an Open Space Event (see the FAQ for more details).

Price

€684 (or €584 with early bird)

We can't let price be a barrier to life-changing open space. €684 is priced inline with coporate prices for comparable training in Europe and the USA. Please see our FAQ and contact us for non-corporate pricing that works for your market.

Signup Now

Calling 6 keen agile leaders, change agents, friends and colleagues who are ready to spark change with Open Space.

“Leadership emerges from those who harness their passion with responsibility. Great ideas, inspired performance, and sustained activity follow.”

(from: Art of Hosting on Open Space)

Open Space fits times of chaos and disruption because these times call for self-organisation. When you cultivate self-organisation by Open Space Leadership you hold the most powerful keys of transformation to create action in times of chaos.

In this workshop you'll learn to sponsor and facilitate Open Space Events simply, powerfully and effectively—both online and in the same room. You'll also examine and deepen your own stance for leadership and coaching using Open Space and the principles of holding space to cultivate self-organisation and transformation every day.

Do you already hold Open Space? This workshop will help you strengthen your stance and refine your practice of holding space that matters.

Open Space is much simpler than you think, and it’s much harder than you imagine.

For the next cohort, we've added two powerful bonus questions to answer together during the workshop.

How can we be most effective with Open Space Leadership as Remote Leaders with remote and virtual teams?

How can we hold virtual Open Space as effectively as Open Space in one room?

Sign-up this week and you’ll join the next cohort launching in late-August.

scroll down for more about the workshop

Have we sparked your curiosity or your passion? Are you eager to explore and learn more?

Ready?

When you signup you're only committing to curiosity.

We'll only ask you to pay if you choose to opt-in for the rest of the worshop after the first full session.

Signup

Join the cohort. Keep informed.
Help schedule the first session.

The Workshop Always Includes

6+ hous of online training and group work with Steve or Deb
(3 "weekly" interactive, remote, sessions 2-3 hours each).
Individual preparation work that includes: reading, listening, watching, drawing, card work, and more (you chose the activities that resonate with your mode of learning).
4 or more personal reflections using our Open Space workbook written by Deb.
3 or more pair calls with your workshop partner
a 1-on-1 mentoring call before you hold your first open space

August Bonus

Special focus on Remote Open Space Facilitation (in addition to Open Space Facilitation in the same room). We’ve revised over 75% of the course material for virtual Open Space.
Each of the 3 workshop sessions for the late-August cohort begin and end with new bonus activities for effectively holding remote Open Space that matters.
3 additional remote Open Space dojo sessions to practice remote open space facilitation (1.5 hours each) and solve the tricky problems that remote facilitation presents (participation optional).
Work with Steve Holyer and an event sponsor to plan and hold a remote Open Space for the community (target date: mid-September or October).

What about safety, trust, and mobility in virtual Open Space? Where's the full passion and the drive of responsibility on-line? We long to hear the remote bumble bees buzzing and see the butterflies gracing the virtual space. That's very hard with the reduced bandwidth of remote Open Space.

That's why we created our August bonus for remote leaders.

Testimonials

I've been in Open Spaces that Steve held. Don't be fooled by the ease with which he seems to hold the space - there is a serious craft behind the apparent simplicity, a kind of craft that in my opinion creates facilitation magic.

- Kirsten Clacey

Community Leader / Agile Coach / Author
The Remote Facilitator's Pocket Guide
(South Africa)

I facilitated my first Open Space Event last week and it went really well. Several people said that they’ve been at other barcamps but this was different in a positive way… You opened a whole new world to me… I’m happy and confident.

- Dina Sierralta

Facilitator and Change Agent
(Germany)

This live virtual course is an opportunity for deep learning about Open Space Technology (OST). ... This course was wonderful preparation for both a 100-person 1-day open space and a 50-person 3-day open space I facilitated later.

- Mark Kilby

Agile Coach / Community Leader / Author
From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver
(usa)

Frequently Asked

— questions and answers —

When is the workshop?

Whenever it starts is the right time.

First:

gather a cohort of 6 keen leaders
find a kickoff date together that works for the cohort
charter the workshop together in the kickoff
when we charter the workshop together we’ll select days & times for the remaining sessions that work for everyone in the cohort (this might seem a bit haphazard, but it’s never been a problem and we’ve always fund the perfect time for everyone to meet.)

Target:

late-August

Is this workshop made for remote? Is it "remote-first"?

What's a leader? Is this workshop for me?

How much time will I invest? How often will we meet?

How much does this cost?

€684.-

Early birds will pay €584.- (saving €100.-).

This is a premium international workshop with premium outcomes and it’s priced in-line with similar courses in North America and Europe.

We can’t let the price be a barrier to building excellence in Open Space Leadership around the world. If you need other pricing and payment options to join us in a cohort we will find them with you.

Other Currency Options
We offer options to pay in USD or CHF. Contact us.

Early Bird

We invite you to opt-in to your learning experience. We don’t ask you to pay until you choose to opt-in. We do ask you to opt-in before the second full session (after the first session kickoff).

But if you’re ready to opt-in and you choose to pay now, you will save with an "early bird" price. (While early bird options last for your cohort.)

What are the pre-requisites for this workshop?

Pre-requisites

You've been part of any Open Space event as a participant—events like: Agile Coach Camp, an Open Space day in your own company, a Women-in-Agile Open event, an online/remote Open Space, or an Open Space night at a user’s group or another community meetup.
You're planning to organise or hold a real Open Space event.
What does "planning" mean? Planning includes "making a plan". (If you intend to hold a half-day open space—for your company or the community—sometime after this workshop then you're planning an open space.)

But your interest in this work is the real key!

If this workshop sounds engaging to you, then you've probably met the pre-requisites. Sign in to our Slack community to explore the reason for the pre-requisites and understand how you meet them.

What will I do after the workshop?

After the workshop you'll discover new transformation in your work.

You’ll lead by inviting effective self-organisation.

After this workshop alumni held space at leading conferences and Open Space events. Others created new un-conferences, bar camps, and agile camps.

We've worked leaders who are now finding responses to climate change or honing in on a cure for cancer using Open Space. (No. Really.)

You'll be ready to plan, organise and hold:

Company offsites using Open Space (for 1-3 days!)
Open Spaces to make real community change
Agile Coach Camps, or a #WomenInAgileOpen event
Half-day Open Space meetings for your work group or deparment
User Groups and Meetups
more...

Several alumni held space for various annual Global Scrum Gatherings in the USA and Europe. A Scrum Gathering invites over 1,000 people into the circle. Alumni held that space comfortably and effectively. They've shared many stories of amazing outcomes.

Several held space for 30-70 people at Agile Coach Camps with more stories of amazing outcomes.

Open Space is a natural phenomena for change and adaptation in our increasingly complex world.

We have impressive stories with showy social media / influencer friendly outcomes.

But showy social media ready stories are not what’s important.

You'll discover the life-changing magic of Open Space quietly in groups of 10 people in your neighbourhood or at your child's school. You'll discover it in the way you hold space for people and coach teams.

Those are the most meaningful Open Space stories we tell.

Can't I just read books or blogs online?

The Open Space Technology Handbook by Harrison Owen is one of my favourite books.

Of course, you can learn about holding space from blogs online. You can learn from a book. There are excellent guides to Open Space online.

Open Space is much easier than you though, and harder than you ever imagined.

We offer something different.

We’re offer a deep, intentional learning experience. You'll explore what sets Open Space facilitation and leadership apart.

You'll deepen your own leadership stance especially related to congruent, lasting transformation.

The workshop is a safe-place for you to practice holding space in a new, deeper, and more effective way.

You'll have the support of colleagues and experienced guides in your cohort even after the workshop itself is done.

Can I find a famous penguin on this page?

Have more questions?
Let's talk.

Conversations are best. Please contact us by email, ask for a slack invite, or signup to start the conversation.

Signup Now

Our Story

We're Steve and Deb

We've found the life-changing magic of holding space. We relish it. We keep it at the center of the work we do.

We were chatting one day after a Coaching Cocktails meetup. At the same time, we both realised at the what we were doing with our virtual coaching meetups. We were holding space. No more. No less.

It's what we do as leaders in our work.

We know that Open Space almost always "works". But in the last several years we've seen many Open Spaces that were just merely "working." We weren’t experiencing the powerful creativity and we didn't feel that spark of passion that comes from knowing that whoever came was the the right people.

We’ve Open Space treated like just an agenda-less meeting.

What were we missing?

The Rest of the Story

Deb said, "There's more to holding space than meets the eye."

Steve agreed.

It's easy to copy the script and the visible mechanics of Open Space. It's also easy to lose the spark if you don't know how the structure that's built into open space actually powers it.

That's why Deb created this Open Space Leadership workshop to be deep wholistic approach to Open Space. It's a key part of her mission to help leaders expand their own practice of holding space that makes a difference.

We wanted to reach as many leaders in as many communities around the world as we can. That meant the workshop had to be virtual. Deb designed it for virtual spaces from the start. We’ve ben holding this "remote-first" workshop since 2016.

Steve was in the first online cohort. Deb is very happy to offer Steve a license so he can hold the workshop too. That way we can expand the workshop's reach.

You can read our individual stories below.

Steve's Story

I am a commitment to the power of invitation.

I'm a professional Open Space holder. I'm also an Agile Product Ownership coach, business practices consultant, and trainer. I live in Switzerland, and I work with people all over the world. I've worked with some of the largest companies in the world, and also some of the smallest.

I've been part of many life-changing Open Space events in Germany, Spain, Kenya, Poland, South Africa the USA, and Switzerland. Sometimes I'm convener. Sometimes I'm a participant. Often I hold the space as facilitator.

I learned what Open Space really is in the first cohort Deb led through this workshop. I’d already held the space as facilitator at several Open Space events. But, I discovered I’d been missing so much.

I think this workshop is one of the most valuable things I can offer you.

I've held space for actual penguins (it's the same as holding space for people, and it's different). My work in life starts by holding inclusive space for people. It also includes saving space for penguins to thrive.

Deb's Story

My passion is bringing joy back to work. I do this all over Europe as a coach, facilitator, and trainer, living in south-western Germany. I'm really happy that Steve is extending my reach by bringing you this the Open Space Workshop.

I was privileged to learn the practice of Holding Space from Larry Peterson in Canada.

In the past 10 years I've hosted, attended and facilitated many Open Space events, in three languages, in Canada, the US, Germany, France and Switzerland.

With Naresh Jain, I co-created the AgileCoachCamp viral conference format, there have been well over 100 Agile Coach Camps held worldwide since 2008. I rarely attend “traditional” conferences any more!

Still curious? There’s more about my work on my website, abiggergame.today.

Cohort Based Virtual Training

Open Space Leadership
for Remote Leaders

(special edition)

Course Start

Planned Start

Time / Timezone

Duration

In this Course You Will

Prerequisites

Price

“Leadership emerges from those who harness their passion with responsibility. Great ideas, inspired performance, and sustained activity follow.”

Open Space is much simpler than you think, and it’s much harder than you imagine.

Ready?

Testimonials

- Kirsten Clacey

- Dina Sierralta

- Mark Kilby

Frequently Asked

— questions and answers —

Whenever it starts is the right time.

late-August

Wherever it happens is the right place.

Whoever comes is the right people.

Early Bird

Pre-requisites

Have more questions?
Let's talk.

Our Story

Cohort Based Virtual Training

Open Space Leadership for Remote Leaders

(special edition)

Course Start

Planned Start

Time / Timezone

Duration

In this Course You Will

Prerequisites

Price

“Leadership emerges from those who harness their passion with responsibility. Great ideas, inspired performance, and sustained activity follow.”

Open Space is much simpler than you think, and it’s much harder than you imagine.

Ready?

Signup

Testimonials

- Kirsten Clacey

- Dina Sierralta

- Mark Kilby

Frequently Asked

— questions and answers —

Have more questions?Let's talk.

Our Story

Open Space Leadership
for Remote Leaders

Have more questions?
Let's talk.