u-lab: Leading From the Emerging Future
An introduction to leading profound social, environmental and personal transformation
u-lab: Leading From the Emerging Future
An introduction to leading profound social, environmental and personal transformation
In the past years, we have witnessed unprecedented disruption. Climate crisis and related natural disasters, rising unease about the impacts of AI, global protests against racial injustice, and social and political polarization shape our current landscape and point to a pressing need for societal renewal. To catalyze this renewal we need to learn not from the past, but from a future wanting to be born. How to activate our capacity to lean into the emerging future may well be the most important leadership challenge of our time. How do you cultivate curiosity, compassion and courage in the face of prejudice, anger and fear? How do you step into action for the well-being of all?
What you'll learn
- Self-knowledge: The leadership that matters most
- Capacities of deep listening, precise observation, and dialogue
- Practices for creating innovations that generate wellbeing in society
Prerequisites
None
Meet your instructors
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Senior Lecturer at MIT and Founding Chair of the Presencing Institute -
Pam and Pierre Omidyar Dean of the Tisch College of Civic Life Tufts University and Executive Director of the Community Innovators Lab (CoLab) at MIT -
Graphic Facilitator -
Co-Director Social Presencing Theater -
Social Innovator in Residence at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada -
Partner in Strategy and Operations for the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation
Otto Scharmer
Otto Scharmer
Senior Lecturer at MIT and Founding Chair of the Presencing Institute
Otto Scharmer, a Senior Lecturer at MIT and Founding Chair of the Presencing Institute, has spent two decades fostering cross-sector systems transformation. Author of bestselling books including “Theory U” and “Presence,” he introduced the concept of “presencing.” He co-founded the MITx u-lab, impacting over 240,000 users globally. Born near Hamburg, his vision was shaped by regenerative farming, inspiring his philosophy on social fields as the basis for visible transformation. Otto emphasizes the shift from extractive to regenerative economic systems, connecting mindsets from ego to eco. Building that infrastructure is the purpose of the u-school for Transformation. He earned his PhD in economics and has received numerous awards, including the Elevating Humanity Award in 2021.
Dayna Cunningham
Dayna Cunningham
Pam and Pierre Omidyar Dean of the Tisch College of Civic Life Tufts University and Executive Director of the Community Innovators Lab (CoLab) at MIT
Dayna is Pam and Pierre Omidyar Dean of the Tisch College of Civic Life Tufts University and Executive Director of the Community Innovators Lab (CoLab) at MIT. Dayna was previously an Associate Director at the Rockefeller Foundation and has also worked as a voting rights lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Kelvy Bird
Kelvy Bird
Graphic Facilitator
Kelvy is a graphic facilitator specializing in systemic mapping of content within collaborative and multi-stakeholder environments.
Arawana Hayashi
Arawana Hayashi
Co-Director Social Presencing Theater
Arawana’s pioneering work as a choreographer, performer and educator is deeply sourced in collaborative improvisation. She currently heads the creation of Social Presencing Theater (SPT) for the Presencing Institute. Working with Otto Scharmer and colleagues at the Presencing Institute, she brings her background in the arts, meditation and social justice to creating “social presencing” that makes visible both current reality and emerging future possibilities.
Eva Pomeroy
Eva Pomeroy
Social Innovator in Residence at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Eva is the Social Innovator in Residence at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Her present work builds on over two decades experience in experiential learning, in both formal and adjunct educational settings. In its essence, this work is about co-creating contexts for transformational learning experiences in the service of positive social impact and innovation. Having been drawn to great pedagogy and ‘learning that matters’ from an early age, Eva began her career with Outward Bound Wales and later Brathay Hall Trust in the United Kingdom. There she co-designed & delivered over 60 residential experiential learning courses focusing on personal, group and organizational/community development before joining Concordia University’s Applied Human Sciences Department in 2001.
Antoinette Klatzky
Antoinette Klatzky
Partner in Strategy and Operations for the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation
Antoinette Klatzky is a partner in strategy and operations for the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation, which works to bring transformational change for the betterment of society and the planet. She has been a member of the Presencing Institute community since 2010. She continues to build personal growth and mindfulness-based curriculum for Eileen Fisher's newest initiative, Lifework. Antoinette has served on multiple local non-profit boards. She currently serves on the board of the Westchester Community Foundation and as the Co-Chair of the Westchester Women’s Agenda.