A Conversation with Michael Wood: From Hero to Host

Open Space Technology as a church leadership paradigm for today…

Join us online on Wednesday 7 May at 7:30pm, for a conversation with Michael Wood, who facilitated Open Space Technology (OST) at Collective 24 last year. In this free one-and-a-half-hour session, Michael will lead us in a conversation about how the principles of OST could enable us to navigate complex dynamics in our churches and foster broad-based participation in community life.

Michael will invite us to reflect on our experiences of OST at Collective and how the “four principles and one law” shaped the way conversations unfolded. Michael will then offer some brief reflections on features of ‘complex systems’ and how, in this increasingly polarising age, a ’hosting’ approach to leadership can help us navigate complexity and foster collaboration.

In preparation for this conversation, Michael invites participants to engage with two resources (in the Wave Rider Amazon link, click on “read sample” underneath the picture of the book cover):

1. Leadership
in
the
Age
of
Complexity:
From
Hero
to
Host – Margaret
Wheatley
with
Debbie
Frieze
2. Introduction of Wave Rider: Leadership for High Performance in a Self-Organizing World – Harrison H. Owen

While some of this conversation will reflect on delegate experience at Collective 2024, attendance of this event is not mandatory to attend this session. All are welcome. 

To receive Zoom details, please RSVP at the bottom of this page.

About Michael Wood 

Michael Wood has been an Anglican Priest for 28 years and is now a Community Chaplain in Richmond, Victoria. Alongside this ministry, Michael is a professional facilitator of Open Space Technology. He uses this method of conversation to enable groups to have respectful and productive conversations about ideas they really care about. 

At Collective 2024 last November, Michael led leaders from our network in Open Space Technology, which provided a space for leaders to convene conversations that matter to them over two days. This was a rich and eye-opening experience for many delegates, and got our network asking: “How can we apply this in our churches?” 

What is Open Space Technology? 

Open Space Technology (OST) is a simple way to run productive, self-organising conversations. It has been used for groups of five to 2000+ people at a time. In OST, participants create and manage their own agenda of conversations, beginning with a central theme or question. Participants are given the freedom to propose and initiate topics for conversations and to join conversations raised by others that align with their interests, expertise, and passion. These conversations are documented, and participants are given an opportunity for action planning if they wish to take responsibility for continuing particular conversations after the conference. 

A recap of OST Conversations at Collective 24:

REGISTER TO RECEIVE ZOOM DETAILS