Theory U

by SCHARMER, OTTO

• ISBN13: 9781576757635
• ISBN10: 1576757633
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2009-01-12
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Summary

We live in a time of massive institutional failure, one that requires a new consciousnessand a new collective leadership capacity. In this groundbreaking book, OttoScharmer invites us to see the world in new ways and in so doing discover a revolutionaryapproach to leadership.What we pay attention to and how we pay attention is key to what we create. Whatprevents us from attending to situations more effectively is our blind spot, the innerplace from which our attention and intention originate. It is blind because we areunaware of how it functions and the enormous influence it has on our perceptionsand hence our actions. By moving through Scharmer's U process, we consciouslyaccess the blind spot and learn to connect to our authentic Self -- the deepestsource of knowledge and inspiration -- in the realm of "presencing," a term coinedby Scharmer that combines the concepts of presence and sensing. Here we are ableto pay attention in a way that allows us to experience the opening of our minds, ourhearts, and our wills. Through this process we shift our awareness, connect withour best future possibility, and gain the ability to realize it.Based on ten years of research and action learning and interviews with over 150practitioners and thought leaders, Theory U develops and explores a new territoryof scientific research, institutional change, and transformational leadership practice.In exploring the complex dynamics of the blind spot, Scharmer shares much fromhis own personal and professional life and draws from a rich diversity of compellingstories and examples. And he includes dozens of exercises and practices that allowleaders -- and entire organizations -- to participate fully in creating and bringing forththe future that is seeking to emerge through us."Scharmer's Theory U model of how to open our mind, emotions, and will tomoments of discovery and mutual understanding is profound and much needed." (Edgar Schein, Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management)"Pushes the envelope of current leadership wisdom and invites you to explore thestrongest leadership tool there is: yourself." (Ralf Schneider, Head of Global Talent Management, PricewaterhouseCoopers)

Author Biography

Otto Scharmer is a senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the founding chair of the Presencing Institute

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Bumping into Our Blind Spot
Facing the Fire	p. 23
The Journey to "U"	p. 27
Fourfold Learning and Change	p. 49
Organizational Complexity	p. 59
Shifts in Society	p. 81
Philosophical Grounding	p. 105
On the Threshold	p. 111
Entering the U Field
Downloading	p. 119
Seeing	p. 129
Sensing	p. 143
Presencing	p. 163
Crystallizing	p. 191
Prototyping	p. 203
Performing	p. 215
Presencing: A Social Technology for Leading Profound Innovation and Change
The Grammar of the Social Field	p. 231
Individual Actions	p. 261
Conversational Actions	p. 271
Organizational Actions	p. 301
Global Actions	p. 327
Catching Social Reality Creation in Flight	p. 355
Principles and Practices of Presencing for Leading Profound Innovation and Change	p. 377
Epilogue: Birthing a Global Presencing-in-Action University	p. 443
Glossary	p. 463
Notes	p. 471
Bibliography	p. 487
Index	p. 511
About the Author	p. 531
About the Organizations	p. 533
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