Project 3
WS 2022-23
Before our Theory U Journey: Expressions, Experiences, and Expectations
We all came to this project with very different backgrounds, familiarity with Theory U, areas of interest, and points of curiosity. Before officially beginning our journey together we tried to capture our starting state so we could reflect on it later.
The headwaters of our Theory U river was just a tiny bubbling spring of curiosity and open-mindedness. We all came into this with different knowledge and experiences, but with a shared understanding that something is profoundly not right in our modern world and that radically different ways of thinking will be required to right it.
First Impressions: the Stumbling Start to our Theory U Journey
After our first two weeks of learning about Theory U, we were still unsure. It seemed like rather than answering our questions, we just thought of more and more. The first two tools we experienced as a group were the Dialogue Walk and Guided Journaling. While we all found the tools useful, we were still unclear about what to do with them or how to apply them outside of our class.
Generally, at this stage we all had the feeling that Theory U was showing us a different way of approaching problems and a more present way of connecting to ourselves, each other, and the spaces we occupy. We were still in a phase of processing these new experiences and understanding the tools, so we were all struggling to imagine how to apply them to other problems. However, that is exactly the type of process Theory U promotes, staying with the confusion, feeling deeper into it, not rushing the solutions, but rather letting them emerge in their own time. We did not know it, but we were already following the U process by marinating in our confusion for a while.
Understanding Cynefin framework with interactive session
After our first two weeks of learning about Theory U, we were still unsure. It seemed like rather than answering our questions, we just thought of more and more.
We all discussed and wrote down our understanding of Cynefin framework (a framework which enables a new perspective for participants to integrate complex concepts to address real-world problems) and different components of it. By arranging the papers as per the relationship of different systems with each other made the concepts like ‘how a situation can change from simple to Chaotic’ became easier to understand.
4D Mapping: A Social Presencing Theater Tool for Exploring Social Systems
At the same weekend Social Presencing Theater workshop, we had our first introduction to the 4D mapping tool. The social system being modeled was the global electronic waste management system. Each participant embodied one of the chosen stakeholders and physically represented it in the embodied system as they perceived it. Through the techniques of social presencing theater, we explored the highest future possibility of the system.
Through this exercise, we were able to analyze a system that initially felt very disconnected, particularly to the earth, the marginalized, and future aspirations. We noticed that those who felt excluded from the system (the marginalized and the earth) began to play a central role when the system began to transform. Overall, the group agreed that the system that emerged was a first step toward a more circular approach to waste management. Although we did not see a completely circular system, we did consider pertinent issues such as strengthening the relationship between the producer and the final consumer, as well as the state’s collaboration with NGOs to assist and protect the marginalized.
Another insight that emerged from the exercise was that the highest future possibility of the system was never fully incorporated. Through our discussion we recognized, that the process of transformation never really ends. There will always be a higher possible future state, and that is great. Moving toward a circular electronics economy is the best next step currently known to us, but we should expect to continue above and beyond that future.