Otto Scharmer: Facing Disruption With Presencing
By: Helio Borges
Tags: Innovation, Disruption, Presencing, Leadership, Theory U

Read the article in Spanish here

Presencing is a word not known by the general public, except for relatively few people who are practitioners of complexity theory, systems thinking, systems change, neurosciences, and Theory U. Nevertheless,

for the purpose of transforming today’s disruptions into opportunities, Presencing is probably the most important leadership capacity that the world needs to master in every aspect of human endeavor in the decade ahead of us, which according to the Presencing Institute, is “The Decade of Transformation”.

Turning Ordinary Citizens Into World-Class Changemakers

Otto Scharmer, and his amazing team of collaborators at the Presencing Institute, are marching into The Decade of Transformation in the company of a 200K strong force of very active Theory U Global Community of changemakers. I am one of them.

I am a Theory U practitioner since 2015, when I stumbled upon the MITx course, u.lab: Leading from the Emerging Future. Since then, I have been on a sustained journey of discovery, mostly within my own Self. That journey has led me to discover the capacities of my true Self, giving me the opportunity to develop them fully, personally, and professionally.

Before my encounter with Theory U, I was a well-intentioned 65 years old man who witnessed helplessly how “business as usual” was driving the world on a collision course to hit the wall in every aspect of society. Now, at 71, and regardless of my very particular harsh circumstances, I am a young at heart disruptive entrepreneur who is ready to step on “The Decade of Transformation” in the company of the Slow Agile team of changemakers, with whom I am developing The New Normal for Business Agility. If I turned my life around at 65, anyone can do it too.

What was the catalyzer that produced such a change in a retired introverted old man?

The catalyzer was Presensing, a groundbreaking competence of Theory U, through which I not only discovered my highest future possibility but also was able to bring it into the now.

Illuminating the Blind Spot

Why do our attempts to deal with the challenges of our time so often fail? Why are we stuck in so many quagmires today? The cause of our collective failure is that we are blind to the deeper dimension of leadership and transformational change. This “blind spot” exists not only in our collective leadership but also in our everyday social interactions. We are blind to the source dimension from which effective leadership and social action come into being. We know a great deal about what leaders do and how they do it. But we know very little about the inner place, the source from which they operate. And it is this source that “Theory U” attempts to explain.

When leaders develop the capacity to come near to that source, they experience the future as if it were “wanting to be born” — an experience called “Presencing.” That experience often carries with it ideas for meeting challenges and for bringing into being an otherwise impossible future. Theory U shows how that capacity for Presencing can be developed.

The U: One Process, Five Movements

Theory Executive Overview.