Thanks to Birgitt Williams and Chris Corrigan for your pioneering work. I came a little after you, picking up OST around 2000. Like Harrison I am an Anglican (Episcopal) Priest. I found my church leadership suffering terribly under my preconditioned practices of 'Heroic leadership' (Margaret Wheatley). Fortunately, someone put me in touch with Brendan McKeague, one of the early adopters in Australia, from whom I learned OST and it changed everything about my leadership and the trajectory of my life. "opening space for Spirit to do the work of Spirit is an exceptional foundation for understanding what is at work" (Birgitt). I completely agree. I quite like the expression, 'conscious energy' too. I had a crack at what is going on in a book I wrote called 'Practicing Peace: Theology, Contemplation and Action (Wipf & Stock, 2022). Yes, the title was an intentional nod to one of Harrison's early books, 'The Practice of Peace' which I still think is one of the best things he wrote. My work is very intentionally rooted in Christian theology because that is my main context and I have spent my life trying to join the dots between theology and OST and make a small contribution to how churches might become living examples of what we proclaim [peace] rather than frequently violent and conflict ridden. Just call my desire a touch of arrogance or hubris (if not, hopefully a work of the Spirit, or conscious energy 😊) The book title was also a nod to a comment which Harrison made at the WOSONOS in San Francisco which absolutely riveted me, 'whereever space is opened, peace breaks out'. This is not actually written in any book that I could find. But when I fact checked it with Harrison by email before the book was published he confirmed he said it. Pace e bene, Michael Wood www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com Melbourne, Australia Ph. +61 435 065326

Dear Michael, I read your email with great interest and have the hope that you'll share more. What was happening in how OST was presented to you in 2000 in Australia? There was a lot of influence from dear friend Father Brian Bainbridge and your own influence from Brendan McKeague. I would so like to hear more about your journey from " I found my church leadership suffering terribly under my preconditioned practices of 'Heroic leadership' (Margaret Wheatley). to your story of "I learned OST and it changed everything about my leadership and the trajectory of my life.". That is such a profound statement, it clearly had a catalyst (OST), preconditions (disatisfaction with what you were observing in church leadership, your readiness for being open for something different, and the wisdom of Brendan), and then there may or may not have been a time of transition for your life change. Are you willing to share more about the catalyst, the transition, and the life change? And what role OST had along the way? Warmly, Birgitt *Birgitt Williams* *Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants * *Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.* www.dalarinternational.com *Upcoming Workshops* *Holistic Leadership Development* | January 5-10, 2026 | Online >> Learn More & Register <https://www.dalarinternational.com/register/hld-2026/> for any of these workshops here. *Go to www.genuinecontact.net <http://www.genuinecontact.net> to see the public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams <birgitt@dalarinternational.com>, via email to set up a consultation to discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.* 16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729 Phone: 01-919-522-7750 Like us on Facebook <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=6677c35b38&e=e7zyhHfiqG> Connect on LinkedIn <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=c26173f86b&e=e7zyhHfiqG> On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 12:40 AM spacemaker62--- via OSList < everyone@oslist.org> wrote: > Thanks to Birgitt Williams and Chris Corrigan for your pioneering work. I > came a little after you, picking up OST around 2000. Like Harrison I am an > Anglican (Episcopal) Priest. I found my church leadership suffering > terribly under my preconditioned practices of 'Heroic leadership' (Margaret > Wheatley). Fortunately, someone put me in touch with Brendan McKeague, one > of the early adopters in Australia, from whom I learned OST and it changed > everything about my leadership and the trajectory of my life. > > "opening space for Spirit to do the work of Spirit is an exceptional > foundation for understanding what is at work" (Birgitt). I completely > agree. I quite like the expression, 'conscious energy' too. I had a crack > at what is going on in a book I wrote called 'Practicing Peace: Theology, > Contemplation and Action (Wipf & Stock, 2022). Yes, the title was an > intentional nod to one of Harrison's early books, 'The Practice of Peace' > which I still think is one of the best things he wrote. My work is very > intentionally rooted in Christian theology because that is my main context > and I have spent my life trying to join the dots between theology and OST > and make a small contribution to how churches might become living examples > of what we proclaim [peace] rather than frequently violent and conflict > ridden. Just call my desire a touch of arrogance or hubris (if not, > hopefully a work of the Spirit, or conscious energy 😊) > > The book title was also a nod to a comment which Harrison made at the > WOSONOS in San Francisco which absolutely riveted me, 'whereever space is > opened, peace breaks out'. This is not actually written in any book that I > could find. But when I fact checked it with Harrison by email before the > book was published he confirmed he said it. > > Pace e bene, > Michael Wood > www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com > Melbourne, Australia > Ph. +61 435 065326 > OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org > To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-leave@oslist.org > See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org

“Are you willing to share more about the catalyst, the transition, and the life change? And what role OST had along the way?” Catalyst Small, financially struggling parish church community. Two years post ordination. Carrying lots of internalised pressure to ‘grow’ the church (internalised from my own performance expectations and expectations of my bishop); Plus I’m naturally an ideas-generation kind of person. So I’m coming up with all these ‘good ideas’ and then trying to carry everyone along with me. That’s what I mean by heroic. But nothing much was actually changing in terms of the purported success indicators (like numeric growth and financial sustainability) – which of course, with 20/20 hindsight was another problem – whether ‘success’ was actually a useful concept. Transition Brendan outlining the principles and practices of OST. Which really gave me an embodied, practical, way of envisaging leadership as creating space for spirit. All this lined up beautifully – and much better – with the theology of the early church – that is, everyone is a minister because of their baptism – not because they were ordained to an office of the church (clergy). So creating a space in which we could tangibly listen to the spirit emerging in and between people was breathtaking. It also totally lined up with a theology of nonviolence; non coercion; cocreation. I started to join the dots. Life change Very briefly – trying to practice a leadership of hosting (hence Margaret Wheatly again) plus Harrison’s wonderful comments, “never think you are in control’ and ‘never work harder than you have to’; waveriding leadership…etc etc. I just discovered it was a happier way to live both for me and for churches where I was leading (coleading with congregations. Another insight was just experimenting with what life is like when the four principles and one law are a way of living and not just a meeting methodology. Michael Wood <http://www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com/> www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com Ph. +61 435 065326 From: Birgitt Williams <birgitt@dalarinternational.com> Sent: Wednesday, 20 May 2026 11:59 PM To: everyone@oslist.org Subject: [OSList] Re: Conscious energy and a bit of history Dear Michael, I read your email with great interest and have the hope that you'll share more. What was happening in how OST was presented to you in 2000 in Australia? There was a lot of influence from dear friend Father Brian Bainbridge and your own influence from Brendan McKeague. I would so like to hear more about your journey from " I found my church leadership suffering terribly under my preconditioned practices of 'Heroic leadership' (Margaret Wheatley). to your story of "I learned OST and it changed everything about my leadership and the trajectory of my life.". That is such a profound statement, it clearly had a catalyst (OST), preconditions (disatisfaction with what you were observing in church leadership, your readiness for being open for something different, and the wisdom of Brendan), and then there may or may not have been a time of transition for your life change. Are you willing to share more about the catalyst, the transition, and the life change? And what role OST had along the way? Warmly, Birgitt Birgitt Williams Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership. www.dalarinternational.com <http://www.dalarinternational.com> Upcoming Workshops Holistic Leadership Development | January 5-10, 2026 | Online <https://www.dalarinternational.com/register/hld-2026/> >> Learn More & Register for any of these workshops here. Go to www.genuinecontact.net <http://www.genuinecontact.net> to see the public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training for people in your organization, please contact me, <mailto:birgitt@dalarinternational.com> Birgitt Williams, via email to set up a consultation to discern what is the best option to meet your development goals. <https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4yeZVf5V4yv3n0uWMWOzEr8VoVyoZcaZP9A8B5a12PLTLtbOnvyqv4aOnUEydYAIR65miWTIav8x39A> 16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729 Phone: 01-919-522-7750 <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=6677c35b38&e=e7zyhHfiqG> Like us on Facebook <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=c26173f86b&e=e7zyhHfiqG> Connect on LinkedIn On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 12:40 AM spacemaker62--- via OSList <everyone@oslist.org <mailto:everyone@oslist.org> > wrote: Thanks to Birgitt Williams and Chris Corrigan for your pioneering work. I came a little after you, picking up OST around 2000. Like Harrison I am an Anglican (Episcopal) Priest. I found my church leadership suffering terribly under my preconditioned practices of 'Heroic leadership' (Margaret Wheatley). Fortunately, someone put me in touch with Brendan McKeague, one of the early adopters in Australia, from whom I learned OST and it changed everything about my leadership and the trajectory of my life. "opening space for Spirit to do the work of Spirit is an exceptional foundation for understanding what is at work" (Birgitt). I completely agree. I quite like the expression, 'conscious energy' too. I had a crack at what is going on in a book I wrote called 'Practicing Peace: Theology, Contemplation and Action (Wipf & Stock, 2022). Yes, the title was an intentional nod to one of Harrison's early books, 'The Practice of Peace' which I still think is one of the best things he wrote. My work is very intentionally rooted in Christian theology because that is my main context and I have spent my life trying to join the dots between theology and OST and make a small contribution to how churches might become living examples of what we proclaim [peace] rather than frequently violent and conflict ridden. Just call my desire a touch of arrogance or hubris (if not, hopefully a work of the Spirit, or conscious energy 😊) The book title was also a nod to a comment which Harrison made at the WOSONOS in San Francisco which absolutely riveted me, 'whereever space is opened, peace breaks out'. This is not actually written in any book that I could find. But when I fact checked it with Harrison by email before the book was published he confirmed he said it. Pace e bene, Michael Wood www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com <http://www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com> Melbourne, Australia Ph. +61 435 065326 OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org <mailto:everyone@oslist.org> To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-leave@oslist.org <mailto:everyone-leave@oslist.org> See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org

Michael and Funda, Your reflections on Birgitt’s great questions move me! The discovery that opening space naturally creates conditions of nonviolence, of peace. That the freedom and responsibility to make choices is deeply liberating and a source of happiness. I have a hunch these are revelations each of us discover when we experience OST. It certainly was for me. The notion that the 4 principles and the law form a framework for living was a major gift of Spirited Work, the Open Space community of practice that Anne Stadler started. We met 4 times a year for a long weekend. Within the second year, the original 4 stewards invited anyone who wished to steward and had a personal practice of any sort to become a steward. As stewards, we discovered that a big part of our role was to name patterns we noticed and turn them over to the community. It was one way of living in which, as you said Michael, we co-led. After a recent experience observing some people whom I thought knew how to co-lead step into a “I know best” approach, I’ve been mulling how big a leap shared leadership is even for people who think they are doing it. Gaylin Garette, who is on this list, shared an article about why most organization transformations fail. (See https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/we-found-the-real-reason-70-of-transformations-fail/ar-AA23yEzW?ocid=sapphireappshare) While what they name fits my experience, it falls short because it still assumes a top-down mindset. It misses the deeper truth of co-creation. That’s my sense of the current dominant state of thinking. Having discovered the life-changing benefits of co-leading, I see sharing OST as a way to support others in making the leap to more joyful, effective, and spirit-liberating ways of being. Funda, I think you are right it may be harder today for folks to take that first, seemingly risky step and try it. And yet we persevere. Whatever happens... Peggy _________________________________ Peggy Holman peggy@peggyholman.com Bellevue, WA 98006 206-948-0432 www.peggyholman.com Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity <https://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/> "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become the fire". -- Drew Dellinger > On May 20, 2026, at 8:09 PM, spacemaker62--- via OSList <everyone@oslist.org> wrote: > > “Are you willing to share more about the catalyst, the transition, and the life change? And what role OST had along the way?” > > Catalyst > Small, financially struggling parish church community. Two years post ordination. Carrying lots of internalised pressure to ‘grow’ the church (internalised from my own performance expectations and expectations of my bishop); Plus I’m naturally an ideas-generation kind of person. So I’m coming up with all these ‘good ideas’ and then trying to carry everyone along with me. That’s what I mean by heroic. But nothing much was actually changing in terms of the purported success indicators (like numeric growth and financial sustainability) – which of course, with 20/20 hindsight was another problem – whether ‘success’ was actually a useful concept. > > Transition > Brendan outlining the principles and practices of OST. Which really gave me an embodied, practical, way of envisaging leadership as creating space for spirit. All this lined up beautifully – and much better – with the theology of the early church – that is, everyone is a minister because of their baptism – not because they were ordained to an office of the church (clergy). So creating a space in which we could tangibly listen to the spirit emerging in and between people was breathtaking. It also totally lined up with a theology of nonviolence; non coercion; cocreation. I started to join the dots. > > Life change > Very briefly – trying to practice a leadership of hosting (hence Margaret Wheatly again) plus Harrison’s wonderful comments, “never think you are in control’ and ‘never work harder than you have to’; waveriding leadership…etc etc. I just discovered it was a happier way to live both for me and for churches where I was leading (coleading with congregations. Another insight was just experimenting with what life is like when the four principles and one law are a way of living and not just a meeting methodology. > > > Michael Wood > www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com <http://www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com/> > Ph. +61 435 065326 > > From: Birgitt Williams <birgitt@dalarinternational.com <mailto:birgitt@dalarinternational.com>> > Sent: Wednesday, 20 May 2026 11:59 PM > To: everyone@oslist.org <mailto:everyone@oslist.org> > Subject: [OSList] Re: Conscious energy and a bit of history > > Dear Michael, > I read your email with great interest and have the hope that you'll share more. What was happening in how OST was presented to you in 2000 in Australia? There was a lot of influence from dear friend Father Brian Bainbridge and your own influence from Brendan McKeague. > > I would so like to hear more about your journey from " I found my church leadership suffering terribly under my preconditioned practices of 'Heroic leadership' (Margaret Wheatley). to your story of "I learned OST and it changed everything about my leadership and the trajectory of my life.". That is such a profound statement, it clearly had a catalyst (OST), preconditions (disatisfaction with what you were observing in church leadership, your readiness for being open for something different, and the wisdom of Brendan), and then there may or may not have been a time of transition for your life change. > > Are you willing to share more about the catalyst, the transition, and the life change? And what role OST had along the way? > > Warmly, > Birgitt > > Birgitt Williams > Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants > Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership. > www.dalarinternational.com <http://www.dalarinternational.com/> > > Upcoming Workshops > Holistic Leadership Development | January 5-10, 2026 | Online > > >> Learn More & Register <https://www.dalarinternational.com/register/hld-2026/> for any of these workshops here. > > Go to www.genuinecontact.net <http://www.genuinecontact.net/> to see the public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams <mailto:birgitt@dalarinternational.com>, via email to set up a consultation to discern what is the best option to meet your development goals. > > > 16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729 > Phone: 01-919-522-7750 > Like us on Facebook <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=6677c35b38&e=e7zyhHfiqG> > Connect on LinkedIn <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=c26173f86b&e=e7zyhHfiqG> > > > On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 12:40 AM spacemaker62--- via OSList <everyone@oslist.org <mailto:everyone@oslist.org>> wrote: >> Thanks to Birgitt Williams and Chris Corrigan for your pioneering work. I came a little after you, picking up OST around 2000. Like Harrison I am an Anglican (Episcopal) Priest. I found my church leadership suffering terribly under my preconditioned practices of 'Heroic leadership' (Margaret Wheatley). Fortunately, someone put me in touch with Brendan McKeague, one of the early adopters in Australia, from whom I learned OST and it changed everything about my leadership and the trajectory of my life. >> >> "opening space for Spirit to do the work of Spirit is an exceptional foundation for understanding what is at work" (Birgitt). I completely agree. I quite like the expression, 'conscious energy' too. I had a crack at what is going on in a book I wrote called 'Practicing Peace: Theology, Contemplation and Action (Wipf & Stock, 2022). Yes, the title was an intentional nod to one of Harrison's early books, 'The Practice of Peace' which I still think is one of the best things he wrote. My work is very intentionally rooted in Christian theology because that is my main context and I have spent my life trying to join the dots between theology and OST and make a small contribution to how churches might become living examples of what we proclaim [peace] rather than frequently violent and conflict ridden. Just call my desire a touch of arrogance or hubris (if not, hopefully a work of the Spirit, or conscious energy 😊) >> >> The book title was also a nod to a comment which Harrison made at the WOSONOS in San Francisco which absolutely riveted me, 'whereever space is opened, peace breaks out'. This is not actually written in any book that I could find. But when I fact checked it with Harrison by email before the book was published he confirmed he said it. >> >> Pace e bene, >> Michael Wood >> www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com <http://www.openspacecoachingandfacilitation.com/> >> Melbourne, Australia >> Ph. +61 435 065326 >> OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org <mailto:everyone@oslist.org> >> To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-leave@oslist.org <mailto:everyone-leave@oslist.org> >> See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org > OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org <mailto:everyone@oslist.org> > To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-leave@oslist.org <mailto:everyone-leave@oslist.org> > See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org