The Intentional Design of Stewardship: A Case Study

Create Consensus

Having generated ideas and directions that matter, the process of stewardship moves towards group commitment of a shared future.

This step in the stewardship process took place in convening the in-person and virtual summits. While these meetings were not intended to bring about full consensus regarding future directions for the field of executive coaching, they were held in order to gain at least a shared perspective regarding the directions in which executive coaching is now headed and where it should be headed in the near future. The NECS sessions were also designed so that new ideas would emerge along with continuing refinement of the three primary themes that were surveyed prior to the summit meeting.

Design

First engaged by Harrison Owens, a visionary facilitator, the open space design (often referred to as a “technology”) offers an alternative to the traditional preplanned meeting. Participants in an open design meeting are invited (even encouraged) to identify topics and concerns while in actual attendance at the meeting (rather than ahead of time). The spirit of spontaneity and synergy reign supreme. The concept of self-organization which has emerged in the study of complex and chaotic systems is applicable in the design and dynamics of an open space.