theory U

theory u copy

 

it’s been a couple of inspirational years now that i’ve worked based on theory U. preparing a sample workshop for an IT customer i discovered yet a new aspect of it.

the very core of the theory is the trinity of open: mind-heart-will. it is only based on them all that true innovation can be born. each of them is guided by dragon: open mind has the voice of judgement protecting the access, open heart is shielded by the voice of cynicism and open will is safe with voice of fear at the gates. working with project managers we were wondering how can one support your team members if you loose them to one of the beasts. as you can see in the very centre of the visual, it is with listening, love and courage. honestly i have to admit, that this bit never resonated with me that much. it seemed too…what shall i say? i mean “love”? in business context? seriously? but then. in the evening of the sample day i had a situation with one of my relatives. they were unhappy, felt under-appreciated and were very annoyed with everyone and everything. i gave it a shot. i thought: which is the voice speaking now? what does it block? what does it need? and you know what, this very simple equation was actually helpful. cynicism needs love and it blocks open heart. no rocket science, but sometimes emotions have this internal gravity which makes me loose the ground under my feet. this one gave it back.

 

curious to talk to the project managers next time and check if they had a chance of prototyping in their corner.