Attend. Grow the sphere of attention. Expand the outer skin of the whole. Tune IN. Awake.
…form follows attention or consciousness. We can change reality by changing the inner place from which we operate.” – Otto Scharmer, Leading from the Emerging Future p.146.
In the practice of scribing, we attend to ourselves (our Self, considering authenticity and how necessary this inner knowing is to show up at all…) to a group in the room, to the organization the group represents, to the culture of the org, to the society within which the culture manifests, to the planet… and depending on how far out we want to go – to the solar system, galaxy, etc. We attend at any of these realms, and often to more than one, as necessary, as is possible.
The range of attention relates to that which is taken in, received, and then that which is turned outward, revealed, through the hand. It’s a reciprocal relation, between receiving and revealing, and often they enhance each other.
The more open the scribe, the more received. The more received, the more revealed. The more revealed, the more seen, thus the collective attention expands as form facilitates the growth.
When Otto talks about a “beam of attention”, i think of the above dynamic and how powerful it can be to FEEL the expansion of the beam AS we draw. Like a process of divining, the markers as dowsing rods, we sense into the present moment in a room, sense into a field, and from that place draw. As we draw, the way opens, the ore is revealed.
Directly relates to Containers
Touching the intangible with intention gives it form, then function. You can do it with a marker, a voice, your hand. Just do it 🙂
Kelvy,
I am moved by this representation of Theory U and the way we “Attend”. The visual of the beam/sphere of attention provides a nice context for me to re-engage with Theory U and Leading from the Emerging Future.
I see many connections between this relationship and Daniel Goleman’s Triad of Awareness: Inner (Self Awareness), Other (Relational Awareness), Outer (Systems Awareness). In the 2013 Harvard Business Review article he describes attention as “the basis of the most essential leadership skills – emotional, organizational, and strategic intelligence”. Given the 21st C. environment and its fast, fluid and complex dynamics, Goleman suggests our attention “has never been under greater assault”.
In this U.Lab EdX Course, I look forward to exploring the “transformation of capitalism” (Outer), “multi-stakeholder innovation” (Other), and “presencing” (Inner) through the lens of the Triad of Awareness, also described as “Triple Focus”.
Thank You Kelvy!
Dan
wow: ‘attend. grow the sphere of attention. grow the outer skin of the whole. tune in. awake.’ I LOVE IT how kelvy summarizes the u process. its the process of graphic facilitation, yes. but its also THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A HUMAN BEING — of tapping into the deeper sources of our humanity….
Otto – Thank you!!!!