Leading from the future
Otto Scharmer's Theory U helps leaders move forward more effectively
People need more than existing knowledge if they are to act in a forward-looking manner. In a master class at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Prof. Otto Scharmer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) explained how leaders can successfully shed conventional ideas and develop new solutions. A key tool for doing so is Theory U, an innovative approach Scharmer has spent almost 10 years researching and developing.
The point of departure is the idea that "downloading" and repeating past actions is not sufficient for addressing current and coming challenges - - i.e. simply looking back will not prove effective. A critical step in the U process is bringing forth new ideas and creating new approaches.
The process focuses on not merely jumping from the challenge to a response, but consciously structuring one's own awareness of the situation. To achieve the shift from reactive to creative action, new inner processes must be employed. They, in turn, help leaders create an "inner place" and a source of knowingness for taking the next step, something that helps them differentiate themselves from other leaders. It also makes it possible to recognize blind spots within individual and organizational perceptions and to overcome existing patterns of thought and behavior. Leadership then succeeds when perception and action have the same starting point. In other words, it's about first sensing into new possibilities and then realizing them. As a result, people acting the same way in identical situations can come up with completely different results, given their differing internal perspectives. While top athletes and teams often use "inner work" to achieve outstanding performance, leaders in businesses and other organizations often act without knowing that such possibilities even exist. According to Scharmer, the U process is not a mechanistic procedure, but a tool for helping individuals and groups recognize new options step by step, before taking action and implementing new, long-term solutions.
The master classes in the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Leadership Series offers practice-oriented resources, innovative workshops and a global classroom on the topic of leadership and corporate culture. The goal is to support practitioners in their dealings with coworkers and management. The series continues on October 14 and 15 with a presentation and workshop by Prof. Ed Schein, a leading expert in the area of corporate and organizational culture. In addition, the second part of the "Führung" (Leadership) reader will soon be released by the Leadership Series. Last but not least, articles and case studies on the study "Führung und Web 2.0" (Leadership and Web 2.0) are being compiled.
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