U-procedure and theory U

U-procedure and theory U are related change management methods to improve unproductive patterns of behaviour. The U-procedure (or process) was developed by Friedrich (Fritz) Glasl and Dirk Lemson of the NPI (Netherlands Pedagogical Institute) in 1968^[1][2] and presented systematically since the 1980s. It has been used in organisation development and social development since that time.^[3][4][5] Following Glasl's special interest in conflict issues,^[6][7] the method has also been explicitly developed to handle the consciousness and process issues associated with relational dynamics and conflict resolution.^[8]

Since the early 2000s, the U-procedure method has been elaborated as Theory U (also called "U" methodology) by C. Otto Scharmer, incorporating also his theories of presencing^[9] and capitalism 3.0.^[10] This work itself draws on collaboration between Scharmer and his colleagues Peter Senge, Joseph Jaworski and Betty Sue Flowers.^[11]

U-procedure or U-process

The initial method developed by Glasl and Lemson involved a sociotechnical, Goethean and anthroposophical process involving a few or many co-workers, managers and/or policymakers. It proceeded from phenomenological diagnosis of the present state of the organisation to plans for the future. They described a process in a U formation consisting of three levels (technical and instrumental subsystem, social subsystem and cultural subsystem) and seven stages beginning with the observation of organisational phenomena, workflows, resources etc., and concluding with specific decisions about desired future processes and phenomena. The method draws on the Goethean techniques described by Rudolf Steiner,^[12] transforming observations into intuitions and judgements about the present state of the organisation and decisions about the future. The three stages represent explicitly recursive reappraisals at progressively advanced levels of reflective, creative and intuitive insight and (epistemologies), thereby enabling more radically systemic intervention and redesign. The stages are: phenomena – picture (a qualitative metaphoric visual representation) – idea (the organising idea or formative principle) – and judgement (does this fit?). The first three then are reflexively replaced by better alternatives (new idea --> new image --> new phenomena) to form the design design. This is achieved through 7 questions^[13]

The U-procedure was used extensively in projects in at least USA, Brazil, Europe (including the UK), South Africa and New Zealand by members and associates of the NPI and other consultants,^[14][15] and subsequently by members of the Association for Social Development^[16] (see for example Büchele, 1997), where it was discussed in the 1997 Conference in Spring Valley, USA.^[17] Glasl published the method in Dutch (1975), German (1975, 1994) and English (1997).^[18]

The seven stages are shown below.

Theory U

During his doctoral studies at Witten/Herdecke University, Scharmer studied the method in classes taught by Glasl, and he also interviewed Glasl.^[11] Scharmer then took the basic principles of this process and extended it into a theory of learning and management, which he calls Theory U.^[19] The principles of Theory U are suggested to help political leaders, civil servants, and managers break through past unproductive patterns of behavior that prevent them from empathizing with their clients' perspectives and often lock them into ineffective patterns of decision making.^[20][21]

Some notes about theory U

Fields of attention

• Thinking (individual)
• Conversing (group)
• Structuring (institutions)
• Ecosystem coordination (global systems)

Presencing

The author of the theory U concept expresses it^[22] as a process or journey, which is also described as Presencing, as indicated in the diagram (for which there are numerous variants).

At the core of the "U" theory is presencing: sensing + presence. According to The Learning Exchange,^[23] Presencing is a journey with five movements:

We move down one side of the U (connecting us to the world that is outside of our institutional bubble) to the bottom of the U (connecting us to the world that emerges from within) and up the other side of the U (bringing forth the new into the world).

On that journey, at the bottom of the U, lies an inner gate that requires us to drop everything that isn't essential. This process of letting-go (of our old ego and self) and letting-come (our highest future possibility: our Self) establishes a subtle connection to a deeper source of knowing. The essence of presencing is that these two selves-our current self and our best future Self-meet at the bottom of the U and begin to listen and resonate with each other.
Once a group crosses this threshold, nothing remains the same. Individual members and the group as a whole begin to operate with a heightened level of energy and sense of future possibility. Often they then begin to function as an intentional vehicle for an emerging future.

The core elements are shown below.

"Moving down the left side of the U is about opening up and dealing with the resistance of thought, emotion, and will; moving up the right side is about intentionally reintegrating the intelligence of the head, the heart, and the hand in the context of practical applications".^[19]

Leadership capacities

According to Scharmer,^[24] a value created by journeying through the "U" is to develop seven essential leadership capacities:

1. Holding the space: listen to what life calls you to do (listen to oneself, to others and make sure that there is space where people can talk ...)
2. Observing: Attend with your mind wide open (observe without your voice of judgment, basically means to get rid of past cognitive schema)
3. Sensing: Connect with your heart (facilitate the opening process, i.e. look interconnected wholes)
4. Presencing: Connect to the deepest source of your self and will (act from the emerging whole)
5. Crystallizing: Access the power of intention (e.g. make sure to find a very small group of key persons commits itself to the purpose and outcomes of the project.)
6. Prototyping: Integrating head, heart, and hand (basically, it means that one should act and not let various sources of paralysis like reactive action, too much analysis, etc. interfere)
7. Performing: Playing the macro violin. (e.g. find the right leaders, find good social technology to get a multi-stakeholder project going)

Discussion

Theory U now constitutes a body of leadership and management praxis drawing from the original work of Glasl and Lemson, the contribution of organization development consultants over several decades, and more than 10 years of elaboration by Scharmer and colleagues. Key attributes of this praxis include:^[25]

1. Specific linkage of the consciousness of the leader/leadership team with the results of their work.
2. Individuals and teams move through a whole system integrated planning process involving observation, knowing and visualized decision-making.
3. Innovation is integral.
4. Policy making (as the elaboration of conscious design principles for the organization) is connected and integrated with the vision of what is to be brought about.
5. Relevant to both individual development and practice and organization development and practice, and indeed explicitly connecting these.
6. A social technology that contributes to either or both of conflict resolution and social engineering.

Meditation teacher Arawana Hayashi has explained how she considers Theory U relevant to "the feminine principle".^[26]

See also

• Appreciative inquiry
• Decision cycle
• Insight Dialogue
• Learning cycle
• OODA loop

External links

• C. Otto Scharmer Home Page (includes print and podcasts to download)
• Presencing Home Page
• Change Management Blog's Theory U entries
• The U-Process for Discovery

References