“No problem can be solved at the same level of consciousness at which it was created” – Albert Einstein

Vertical geography

Effectiveness can only be assessed in terms of the purpose it serves . This principle, which seems so obvious, is the first thing we forget when we try to solve a pressing problem. The truth is that in stressful situations, control tends to take us away from the mission, urgently demanding a unique space of truth from which to exercise its tyranny.

Precisely for this reason, teams that have been consolidated over time, based on control and their own know-how , often feel incapable of reacting to radical changes that require creative solutions. Controlling expenses, measuring costs accurately, selecting the right staff or the quality of the packaging/website are important, yes, but even more important is the purpose and the meaning of it all.

If the focus is on what the ORSC (Organizational and Relational Systems Coaching) methodology defines as “consensual reality”, day-to-day life, it is difficult to generate enough creativity to find efficient and sustainable solutions.

The American model of systems coaching, ORSC, provides effective tools to help high-performance teams stay in touch with their mission, with the dream they are striving for, and to find from that place of inspiration the creativity needed to move forward.

Nature offers us a valuable example: a seed, buried in darkness, decides to sprout from the mud and come out into the light to become a plant. The “consensual reality” of the seed establishes as a priority to do it quickly, to economize the resources at its disposal. It has barely taken root and only supplies itself with the nutrients provided by its small nucleus. Nature knows the shortest distance between two points: if the seed wants to be successful, it must grow in a straight line. But what would happen if a stone got in the way?

The first level of information, its “consensual reality” that encourages it to grow straight, to come out as soon as possible into the light, would force it to continue insisting, to try to pierce the rock by pushing upwards. The seed, in order to be effective, however, will transcend this level of consciousness and will go back to the “why”, to the level of the dream. From this new level the seed will understand that verticality was only a means to come out into the light: sprouting is what is important! Only after having become aware of this, will the sprout be able to change its trajectory and go around it.

If plants could dream, that would be their “sleep level” taking over. But neither the awareness of their destiny as a plant nor ours as an organization ends there, and this methodology establishes a third level that it calls “essence.” A new “why” to turn to in search of meaning.

Continuing with our plant, the seed has already sprouted, put out a stem and leaves. But why has it sprouted? If that plant is attacked by a fungus or parasite, for example, ascending to the next level of consciousness, the “essence level,” asking itself why it exists as a plant and understanding that what is important is its ability to perpetuate the species, to generate a flower and produce seeds, will help it find the appropriate strategic solution in the event of an attack. And it will be able, for example, to drop all its leaves to stop the plague, concentrating all its effort on that single flower that will produce a fertile seed.

The ORSC model develops a kind of “vertical geography” around the concept of multireality that helps high-performance teams move from consensual reality to the dream, and from the dream to the essence . And it does so in an experiential way, through three-dimensional dynamics that help its members stay in touch with their mission and find in their essence the inspiration necessary to develop generative solutions, even under the pressure of great challenges.