Open Space Leadership

discover the life-changing magic of holding space

Workshop

Open spaces spark crucial change for business and community around the world. This workshop is for leaders, organisers, and facilitators who want that spark.

discover the life-changing magic of holding space

Open Space Leadership

you can open space that makes a difference

We made this workshop for the organisers and facilitators who create Open Space events. We include the leaders who will bring open space principles into business and community.

This workshop is a place for you to deeply develop the art of "holding space". Holding space is easier than it looks, and harder than you imagined. You'll learn how to create the conditions for open space to thrive.

expand your open space practices

You'll learn about opening space with your sponsors and conveners. You'll practice making invitations that matter, You'll delve into preparing inclusive spaces.

Design your own workshop experience with your learning cohort to focus on your specific challenges. As your guides we'll share our own experience when it's appropriate.

Together we'll explore the subtle ways leaders close down a space, and you'll expand your ways to open it up.

our invitation

We're inviting you to go deeper in your approach to Open Space Leadership. Please join us and discover the life-changing magic of holding space.

Price

€ 684

save € 100 with an early bird pass

+7.7% VAT
where applicable
(if you live in Switzerland)

discover the life-changing magic of holding space

Open Space Leadership

people are ecstatic

- about our open space leadership workshop -

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. ... 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

- about our open space leadership workshop -

when is the next online workshop?

what is an Open Space Leadership workshop?

This is a workshop about holding space.

Deb designed it for facilitors and organisers who are planning an Open Space event. We also offer it to leaders who want to bring the power of Open Space to their organisation. And their community.

Open Space Leadership is firmly-grounded and pragmatic. But, the results are magical when you practice it fluently. That's the life-changing magic of holding space.

what have people done after the workshop?

Some leaders from our workshops hold space at leading conferences and Open Space events. Some went on to hold space with more than 800 people at Global Scrum Gatherings. Some hold space for 30 people at Agile Coach Camps.

Others create new un-conferences, bar camps, and agile camps.

Some of the leaders we've worked with are finding responses to climate change or the cure for cancer. (No. Really.)

is it for me?

This workshop is for leaders including,

change agents, facilitators, educators, activists, bosses, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, developers, and coaches

Deb designed the workshop for the facilitors and organisers who are planning and holding an Open Space event.

Yes. it's for you when ...

... you're longing to hold an Open Space,

... you've been asked to hold open space,

... you've already committed to holding open space.

It's also for you when ...

... you've experienced the power of open space, and you want to effectively bring that to your daily business.

But above all this ...

... when what you read here ignites your passion and awakens a sense of responsibility within yourself ...

.... then you're not just ready for the workshop ... you're exactly the right personto join.

what's the format?

This workshop combines live instructor-led workshop sessions with guided, intentional self-study (some people call that part "homework").

Are you looking for "the facts"?

Here ya go.

Our multi-modal workshop includes:

6+ hous of online group work with Steve or Deb
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 (created by Deb)
3 or more pair calls with your workshop partner
a one-on-one mentoring call before you hold your first open space

is this an online workshop?

can't I just read books or blogs online?

Of course you can learn about holding space online. You can also learn from a book. There are excellent guides to Open Space. The Open Space Technology Handbook by Harrison Owen is one of our favourites.

We're offering something different. We're offering a deep, intentional learning experience. You'll explore what sets Open Space facilitation and leadership apart. You'll explore they ways subtle choices open up space or close it down.

The workshop is a safe-place for you to deepen your stance for holding space with the support of colleagues and experienced guides.

what is an online cohort?

how will we meet?

how often will my online cohort meet?

are there prerequisites for joining this workshop?

what about my other questions?

can I find a famous penguin on this page?

frequently asked questions

- about our pricing and billing -

when do I pay?

You have two options. We'll ask you to pay after the first session, or right now.

after the first session

The first session is your liftoff. We'll create our workshop charter together. Your cohort will set your group focus and find your mission.

We'll also find dates and times for the second and third sessions together.

After the liftoff you'll know if this is a good fit for you right now. The liftoff also allows you to be sure the workshop sessions match your current availability.

We'll ask you to pay after the liftoff session. But if you choose to opt out of the workshop before the second session, we won't ask you to pay.

That means you can register for the online chohort now — no payment is due.

now

You can also pay now. You'll lock-in the current price for any cohort you choose to join.

When you pay now, we're grateful to you for helping us budget and plan.

When you pay now, you commit to finding a future cohort that meets your needs. We commit to holding a future workshop with a cohort that meets your needs.

do you offer special pricing when I need?

Yes.

We priced this workshop to be in line with typical business offerings in our home market in central Europe - at or under 950 €.

We invite you to join us from other markets In places like Africa or India. We also invite you to join when you have limited income and restrictive budgets. We know you need a price that works for you to accept our invitation.

When you're passionate about this work, and you need an alternate price, please contact us.

We'll find a fair price that makes the workshop accessible to you.

We've created several pricing formulas to cover many situations. We'll create more.

Are you living in South Africa? Kenya? India? Or comparable market?

Are you under-employed, and seeking a job?

Are you paying out of your own pocket because your company won't reimburse you?

We can calculate a fair price for you.

We know it can feel feel awkward to ask, but don’t please don't wait. We're excited to meet you and work with you.

discover the life-changing magic of holding space

Open Space Leadership

our story

we're deb and steve

We've found the life-changing magic of holding space. We relish it, and we strive to keep it at the center of the work we do. It's why we nurture and and hold powerful spaces with our communities around the world. It drives us to offer online meetups for change agents world-wide. Since we wish we could meet over a drink, we call our meetups Coaching Cocktails.

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

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

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

What were we missing?

read the rest of our 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. It's a key part of her mission to help leaders expand their own practice of holding space that makes a difference.

We want to reach as many leaders in as many communities around the world as we can. That's why Deb used what we'd learned about holding space online to offer this workshop online.

Steve was part of the first online workshop. Recently, Deb was very happy to offer Steve a license to hold the workshop too. That way we can expand the workshop's reach and offer it online next to our Coaching Cocktails.

You can read our individual stories below.

steve's story

I am a commitment to the power of invitation.

We need new kinds of leadership in business and community. We need leadership by invitation. We need leaders who hold space for the people in their space: their skills, purpose ad and passions.

That's what Open Space Leadership means to me. This is what Open Space leadership creates.

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 met my collaborator Deb at an Agile Coach Camp un-conference. She created this Open Space workshop that we're offering.

By the time I studied Open Space with Deb, I'd already held space as facilitator at several Open Space events. But, I only learned what holding Open Space really means in Deb's first workshop. Today, I licensed the same course because it's 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 have 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 nearly 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.

last update 9 december 2019

updated 9dec19

top photo (@dasjo) josef dabernig, zurich 2018

top photo @dasjo

signup for more info

Ready to join? But the timing is wrong?

We'll be forming new cohorts soon. Leave your name and email below, and we'll mail you when the next cohorts open.

contact us

Conversations are best. Let's start talking. Contact us on info@coachingcocktails.com, or send us a message using the form above. We'll answer soon.

Open Space Leadership

Workshop

Open Space Leadership

you can open space that makes a difference

expand your open space practices

our invitation

Price

Open Space Leadership

people are ecstatic

- about our open space leadership workshop -

- kirsten clacey

- dina sierralta

- mark kilby

frequently asked questions

- about our open space leadership workshop -

It starts when it starts.

17 August

frequently asked questions

- about our pricing and billing -

Open Space Leadership

our story

last update 9 december 2019

updated 9dec19

top photo (@dasjo) josef dabernig, zurich 2018

top photo @dasjo

signup for more info

contact us