One of the most innovative scholars of change management and the creator of Theory U, the new method that begins with individual awareness and ends with social change, for the first time in Italy.
The meeting with Otto Scharmer in Milan was an event that left a lasting impression. The professor from MIT Boston, founder of the Presencing Institute and creator of Theory U, was the guest speaker at an event promoted by EcorNaturaSì and Peoplerise, with the U.lab Italia community and the Presencing Institute.
The program included two distinct moments of the day, an introduction, more inspirational, during which Scharmer would present his approach and talk about the “Awakening of the Human” in the current historical context, and an in-depth discussion of some key issues, where the participants could experience his facilitation methods. The topics covered were: finance, management, governance, agriculture, health and education. The aim is to activate a transformative process through a path of shared learning and co-creation. In fact, leadership was presented in a new, horizontal and non-hierarchical way to initiate a generative phase of change.
In fact, the theory developed by the founder of the Presencing Institute provides proposals and practices to promote the evolution of human consciousness.
“I like to compare our inner state to a field – Otto Scharmer explains – Every field has two dimensions: one visible, formed by what grows on the surface; the other invisible, which lies beneath the surface and consists of the quality of the ground. The same distinction applies to social fields. We see the practical outcomes of what people do in the sphere of the visible, but we rarely pay attention to the deep root of what happens: to the source and inner condition from which they operate. Theory U brings our attention to that blind spot, to that invisible dimension – the source – of the social field, and thus to the quality of our relationships with others, with the system, with ourselves”.
“Peoplerise cultivates paths to U on a daily basis in its transformation projects. – explains Flavio Fabiani, one of the partners of Peoplerise – This approach allows for a profound journey for those who want to transform their organization in terms of work processes, market approach, culture, leadership. People who participate in our programs become more aware of the inner condition from which attention and intention and consequently individual and collective actions originate. By moving up in the U-shaped paths through co-creation with colleagues and partners, sustainable systemic solutions are generated based on authentic relationships, an ingrained sense of community and a meaningful purpose”.
In 2015, Scharmer co-founded U.lab MITx, a free online course (MOOC_Massive Open Online Course) to drive profound social, environmental and personal change, which has activated a global eco-system of renewal with over 100,000 users from 185 countries.
Also in Italy there is a very active U.Lab community and those who are already part of the various Italian hubs are the first actors of change, who will collaborate on the success of the event to generate and spread new actions of transformation.
“Thinking back to the recent past, when U.Lab and Theory U were only the discovery of a few lucky adventurers – say Luca Codeluppi and Susan George, members respectively of the U.lab Hub in Verona and Florence – and seeing that today Otto Scharmer and a part of Italy have finally been able to meet and talk in person, we feel confident that we are really at the beginning of a phase of change. So this is an important event for us: the approach of Theory U and its network were finally at hand for all those who feel the need to start taking concrete action, on an individual or collective level”.
Scharmer also started the Transforming Capitalism Lab that counts 200,000 people with the goal of connecting real-world cases that tell the story of where and how change is already happening and bringing together change makers from around the world. With his colleagues, Scharmer has also already facilitated innovation labs to reinvent business, finance, education, healthcare and policy in diverse cultural contexts. He has received the Jamieson Award for Teaching Excellence at MIT (2015) and the European Leonardo Award for Corporate Learning (2016).
“Scharmer – explains Fabio Brescacin, president of EcorNaturaSì – has a vision of the world in which EcorNaturaSì recognizes itself with its values. We believe that this could have been an opportunity for entrepreneurs, politicians, trade unions and economic experts. The goal was to address together a current issue that we feel strongly about: how to create a new, more humane approach to the economy that allows for a healthy social organism?”
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