Dear friends and colleagues working with OST, Over the decades there have been a lot of posts pertaining to 1. getting the invitation to an OST meeting right and 2. within a company when the formal leaders extend an invitation the question arises of whether it is an invitation that can be rejected. Getting the invitation right requires some basics including the compelling theme for the meeting and logistics. For a long time I have been intrigued by what information is needed so that the invitees feel that they can make an informed choice, that they give informed consent to themselves to attend. Recently, with the Genuine Contact Organization of which I am a member, the invitation to the annual three part OST meeting included two short video clips of invitation that I really liked a lot. The first was created by the three facilitators introducing themselves briefly and noting what country they were from Sweden, Norway, Germany. They talked about why they choose to facilitate OST meetings clearly sharing their passion for this type of meeting. They touched on what participants could expect from the facilitation of the meeting when OST is the meeting method. They didn't go into a great long description of the Four Principles or One Law. It was more a focus on the participants identifying and posting topics within the theme that they felt passionate about...focusing on the participant experience within the framework of the facilitation. The second video was created by the three sponsors, introducing themselves, adding to the international flavor by sharing that they came from Canada, the Netherlands and Germany. The sponsors talked about why they were opening space in the organization for this annual OST meeting. They talked about the importance of having regular OST meetings in the organization to support the voices and interests of the members, as part of holistic organizational development, and the value of people taking leadership at the meeting and beyond the meeting within the daily life of the organization. They shared that a report would be expected from each discussion group including identification of next steps and if anyone was willing to lead the topic into the future if it was deemed important by the people in the discussion to do so. They shared that these people, after the OST meeting, could join the Leadership Action Team (formerly League of Champions, a name given by Harrison to the action team following an OST meeting). They shared the few givens for the meeting to inform from the invitation what constraints there were regarding items to move forward beyond the OST meeting in relation to the capacity of the organization for action (note that the givens never restrict the topics posted in the OST nor the conversations...only the follow on actions). Again, informative and invitational and sharing the importance of showing up beyond the opportunity for good conversations with great people. As per the recent post and conversation about Safe Space, it is valuable to include in the invitation that each person who attends is creating the space for themselves to show up to the extent that the whole person that they are feels comfortable (safe) in showing up. It is my opinion that this helps with the conundrum inside an organization when the CEO does the inviting and people feel they must attend even if they don't want to. Yes, ultimately the theme, the law, the Four Principles support the person empowering themselves to have the experience that they can show up for. However, clarity in the invitation that it is up to the person to create safe space for themselves has value for making an informed decision about accepting the invitation. Warmly, Birgitt [image: Picture] *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 Organizational Development at the Genuine Contact Summer Academy June 24-28 in the Netherlands* https://www.gcsummeracademy2024.com/ 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>