Theory U
What is the theory u about?
The context of systemic change, societal renewal and its interconnected relationship to personal inner development is highly complex. In order to lead that change, we need robust articulation and depiction of the multilayered systemic challenges and possible pathways to solutions. Theory U provides frameworks, applicable theory and approaches as well as a lively and active global community through u.lab.
The principles of Theory U have proven helpful to systemic change agents such as political leaders, civil servants, and managers to break through unproductive patterns of behavior. Patterns that prevent them from empathising with their clients' or stakeholders’ perspectives and often lock them into ineffective patterns of decision making.
The Theory U approach offers a process or journey to connect to and lead from the emerging future. Its states that before we can change things in the outer we need to go - individually and collectively through a journey of opening up and enter into a state of Presencing, referring to the bottom of the "U" where we are invited to sense and be present to what is. From there we go into prototyping and moving on into actualisation and crystallization.
The journey includes five movements:
At collaboratio helvetica the Catalyst Lab, the Social Innovation Labs and some of our team and community work are inspired by and designed according to Theory U approach and methods. Through the implementation of these methods and tools we ensure the participation of divers and different voices, the support a culture of shared leadership and the conditions for co-creation.
Collaboratio helvetica’s connection with the institution
We host live sessions of the yearly u.lab 1x course, an online-offline MOOC in different Swiss locations (since 2017).
Our Practitioners Circle and its members have been part of various trainings and are in constant exchange with the Presencing Institute
Social Lab Retreat May 2019 with Marian Goodman
Foundational Course
Advanced Program on Ecosystem Leadership course
U.lab
We use this approach and its tools in:
The Social Innovation Labs we held
Toolbox & articles
Find descriptions of tools and our experiences with them in our open-source toolbox:
Toolbox:
Practice examples and personal experiences:
Listening as a Premise for Transformation (incl. 4 Levels of Listening)
Links
"The approach of collaboratio helvetica is profoundly innovative and answers a need around how we implement the Agenda 2030 and transform our world“
Otto Scharmer - Co-Founder of the Presencing Institute & Author of Theory U