Leading From the Emerging Future by Otto Scharmer & Katrin Kaufer

Author:Otto Scharmer & Katrin Kaufer [Scharmer, Otto & Kaufer, Katrin]
Language: kor
Format: epub
ISBN: 9791185446035
Google: 8GqIrgEACAAJ
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 2014-10-15T20:44:25+00:00

The Matrix of Social Evolution

One of the core ideas of Theory U is that form follows attention or consciousness. We can change reality by changing the inner place from which we operate. The Matrix of Social Evolution (and the rest of this book) spells out what this looks like for an individual (attending), a group (conversing), an institution (organizing), and a global system (coordinating). Table 7 shows how these different social fields (micro, meso, macro, mundo) transform according to the inner place—or the quality of awareness—from which we operate.

The first step in understanding the impact of attention on reality is to look at how we operate on the individual level. Consider the example of listening. On level 1, the quality of listening is called downloading. Same old, same old! The listener hears ideas, and these merely reconfirm what the listener already knows. Examples are manifold: (1) not seeing the new challenges by holding on to old theories; and (2) not sensing future opportunities by holding on to old frameworks or experiences from the past.

On level 2, listening is called factual listening, which is what good scientists do. They do not hold on to existing interpretations of reality, but they let the data talk to them. They try to listen to the facts even if those facts contradict their own theories or ideas. Factual listening connects people to the actual particulars of the world.

But what is missing from factual listening is getting inside social complexity. This happens at level 3, which we call empathic listening. Empathic listening allows the individual to see reality from the perspective of the other and sense the other person’s circumstances. This does not imply that the two agree, but that they are able to acknowledge and respect each other’s perspective. Empathic listening means seeing from the viewpoint of another stakeholder.

Level 4 is generative listening. Generative listening means to form a space of deep attention that allows an emerging future possibility to “land” or manifest. It is what great coaches do: They listen deeply in a way that allows you to connect to your emerging future self. Sometimes we also use the example of a jazz ensemble that is “in the flow” to illustrate this capacity. When individual players can listen to the whole and simultaneously attune their own instrument to an emerging pattern, they are able to co-create something new together.

As one’s listening moves from level 1 (shallow) to level 4 (deep), the listener’s field of attention passes through several turning points, from suspending (the gateway to level 2) to redirecting (the gateway to empathic listening) to letting go (the gateway to generative listening). Columns 3 through 5 illustrate how this process of opening plays out in groups (conversing), institutions (organizing), and eco-systems or societies (coordinating).

TABLE 7 The Matrix of Social Evolution

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