Joining u.lab 2x Not Only as a Team, But as an Ecosystem
By: Zoë Ackerman
Tags: Philippines, Stories From The Field, Ecosystem, Leadership, Education

Documenting the experience of TRAIL, Philippines

While many teams join u.lab 2x to become part of an ecosystem, what is possible when you enter as an ecosystem? That’s exactly what The Rizal Academy for Innovation and Leadership (TRAIL) did in its second year of u.lab 2x.

TRAIL Ecosystem Activation Workshop, 2019. Photo: Marisol Lopez

Marisol Lopez (Besol) and Maria Belinda Villavicencio (Bel) are the head faculty at TRAIL, the containing organization for the ecosystem. An ecosystem, in these terms, refers not just to one team or circle, but multiple teams that operate independently but remain connected by a larger context. TRAIL initially convened people who were already familiar with u.lab 1x and encouraged them to continue with u.lab 2x.

In early February 2020, I engaged in a conversation with Besol and Bel about their experience. We were also joined by Chenny Galano, who first experienced Theory U in 2018. Now she has been through the U process 2–3 times and the “learning is deeper each time.” In the interview, she noted that “We have our own learning curves. It takes a lot of love, and a lot of patience.” Concepcion Sangil also took part in the interview. She works in Human Resources in the Philippines and is a Learning and Development practitioner.

To prepare the teams for year one of u.lab 2x in 2019, everyone participated in an ecosystem activation workshop. The workshop took place over three days and involved 10 teams. Bel shared: “We did a deep dive and gathered all of the teams, all of whom were kindred spirits, doing different things.”

Kapwa Ecosystem Activation Workshop

In January 2019, TRAIL organized an ecosystem activation workshop with Julie Arts of the Presencing Institute. The workshop was held over the course of three days in Manila. Teams included participants from the Office of the Vice-President, Jollibee Foundation, Waldorf-Philippines, SEAMEO Innotech, Zuellig Foundation, Regeneration Philippines, Benedictine International School (BIS) based in Quezon City, and others.

In May, at the end of the five-month u.lab 2x journey, Dr. Otto Scharmer came for the closing ceremonies, which expanded to include other teams including the Toyota team from Japan, faculty from San Pablo Colleges, a team from the Asian Institute of Management, and another team from the hearing-impaired community.

The workshop was named Kapwa which means “the unity of self and others.” In Philippine culture, there is an “underlying belief in the psychic unity of humanity. Individual existence is only apparent and relative. For we all exist within a cosmic matrix of being at the deepest center of which is a creative living principle or energetic process.” In other words:

“All human beings — and to a lesser degree even animals, plants and minerals — share this innermost sacred core: ubod ng kalooban. This is implied by the concept of kapwa, the deepest meaning of which is shared divinity. A paradox arises. In every person is a divine essence that seeks fulfillment in imaginative, creative endeavors. At the same time, the interdependence implied by a shared matrix of being seeks affirmation in a celebration of togetherness: pakikipagkapwa.”

Gallery walk at the ecosystem activation workshop, 2019. Photo: Marisol Lopez

2020 Project Highlights

Concepcion was in charge of running a massive campaign fighting the 600,000 cases of online sexual abuse in the Philippines which occurred in 2018 alone. The campaign managed to secure free airtime on TVMaria and a weekly slot of Radio Veritas. So far, they have taped six episodes and created a call to action, which will be launched soon. The biggest factor that has helped Concepcion and her team to level up is the Catholic Church: “They helped us produce campaign materials, which have been displayed at church parishes and on bulletin boards.” The next step will be to create education programs for specific audiences — students, parents, children, victims.

Marisol and Chenny are collaborating on the “Business That Cares” initiative. The project is based around community empowerment for informal settlers living in the capital city. In 2019, four teams entered u.lab 2x under this initiative. As part of this effort, they developed an inclusive learning curriculum for the deaf community, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are hoping the tools, aligned with the SDGs, will trigger widespread action.

Claywork with the informal settlers community. Photo: Marisol Lopez

Bel and Chenny have also been working on bringing systems thinking to school systems in the Philippines. So far, their extended team of three 23-year olds (Iñigo Villavicencio, Ameena Aquino, and Samantha Ignacio) have created Jose Rizal Systems Thinking dialogue cards and used them with 300–400 students to help them develop systems thinking habits and ecosystem leadership just like the national hero Jose Rizal.

In a later segment, we’ll profile another TRAIL member (Sarah Queblatin) and explore her work with the Green Releaf Initiative.

Online-to-Offline Learning: Common Purposes, Common Challenges

TRAIL leaders commented on the power of online-to-offline learning opportunities. On the one hand, they described how it fosters a sense of common purpose and interconnectedness. Chenny explained: “Something that I’ve learned about online engagements is the importance of creating the online-to-offline container. The ecosystem activation workshop provided a venue or platform to get to know each other. It’s not always easy to get out of siloed thinking, even in ecosystem activation. But online and offline makes collaboration possible. It was a way to level up for all of us, seeing how our projects connected…When we don’t have offline-online engagements, the tendency is that people get lost. When life gets harder, we go back to the old system.” Concepcion echoed these ideas:

“Participating in the ecosystem activation workshop gave us a lot of confidence. There was a pattern to use. There was interconnectedness. There was a home base to go back to recharge and remind us of our intent.”

Online-to-offline learning also creates space to reflect on common challenges and feel less alone in various struggles. Chenny shared: “Having that kind of group of people working with you makes it more clear or real to see the microcosm of our society. When a team gets low, you realize that this may happen to everyone else. You see common challenges.” Bel reiterated these ideas: “You pick up lessons: ‘You’re not alone, you’re not the only one.’ In a way, that encourages you to go on.”

The leaders also reflected on more specific challenges. Concepcion explained, “When you’re dealing with government entities and nonprofits, the idea of collaboration is cute, but in actual practice, everyone has their own funding and priorities.” Marisol articulated another challenge: “When you’re focusing on Human Resources consultants and practitioners, they’re not always open to new methods. We learned to respect and honor that they have the same intention of creating, and the lesson was to become more accepting and trusting.” Bel described personal challenges around ceding control:

“For me, the biggest challenge has been around the time delay. I learned to trust the process of the whole journey.”

Graphic recording at the ecosystem activation workshop, 2019. Photo: Marisol Lopez

Questions and Plans on the Horizon

The leaders articulated many questions motivating their work for the coming year.

Bel: “Life can get in the way with regular work causing a time delay. What will it take for me to continue this commitment to carry advocacy and change initiatives forward?”

Chenny: “I’m just happy we are promoting Sustainable Development Goals right now. In previous organizations, I’ve been very exposed to it but it’s not working. How can I make the Sustainable Development Goals and Theory U become a tool for everyone to find the right solutions to our problems?”

Marisol: “For my initiative, I’m out of my box. I’m used to corporate training, but not communities who are experiencing poverty and challenges with creating a livelihood.

My question is ‘How can I continue to be enthusiastic to support new students to help them achieve their dreams — to own homes and have better lives in their communities?’ Through this work, I’m realizing I was born for this moment in time. I’m the one who can initiate.”

Concepcion: “The u.lab-S is spiritual. I continue to discover and rediscover constantly. I hope there is no going back to the old self. The ‘S’ which in a way stands for ‘surrendering’ continues.”

The team has been amazed at opportunities opening up so far. They did not imagine that relationships and networks with such big institutions would materialize. In the coming year, they anticipate more collaboration with the Catholic Church, the government’s Commission on Higher Education, and large companies. They are preparing to grow the ecosystem and are inviting more teams to join. Marisol says, with a laugh, “In the third year, maybe we’ll be working with the President of the Philippines!”

Thank you to all of the interviewees and Hannah Scharmer, Rachel Hentsch, and Sarina Ruiter-Bouwhuis for their editorial insights!