Thriving in Ambiguity - A Virtual CoCreACT® Summer Retreat, June 2020

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Wanted: Ambiguity Activists

Today’s challenge: Many people find it difficult to let go of the familiar and to embrace the unknown; to look forward instead of backward. Combined with a pressing urgency to find new solutions, the uncertainty of unfamiliar situations can trigger anxiety which blocks creative potential and prevents genuinely disruptive solutions from emerging. More symptoms of this growing fear include denial of the need for change, stagnation, aimless actionism, or lack of decision-making.

Creating the new requires courage and risk. When we are able to see ambiguity as an opportunity, rather than something to avoid, we are better prepared to successfully navigate it.

 

Transformation is only possible in ambiguity.

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Ambiguity isn’t going anywhere. It’s here to stay; it’s the new normal. We can’t change that. But we CAN change our response to the ambiguity, how we handle it, and use it to our advantage. Certainty is not the playground of disruption, only ambiguity can bring forth innovation. No one creates new things without courage and risk. When we finally see ambiguity as an opportunity, not something to avoid, we can successfully navigate it. Working in ambiguity demands an extra pinch of courage, imagination, and co-creativity.

Be prepared to face uncertainty with optimism. Unlock your potential to identify, shape, and realize the big possibilities in ambiguity.

 

Use the summertime for a learning journey about ambiguity - for a SPECIAL PRICE only now!

Explore your relationship with ambiguity and how you can reach the opportunities that are hidden in your personal ambiguous situations. Explore our 6 Guiding Principles for optimizing your ambiguity mindset, understand different behaviors, and apply new tools to your own areas of tension. This 4-sessions training will give you more confidence and curiosity to find your way around in uncertainty. Learn techniques that you can use yourself and colleagues, friends, families, etc.

Our Session Plan

Become an Ambiguity Activist in 4 Sessions

We will take you on a learning journey in 4 sessions that explore:

  • What are my personal preferences in ambiguity?

  • How do I identify ambiguity?

  • Which tools, skills, and mindset support me to master uncertainty?

Thriving in Ambiguity -Session Plan

Thriving in Ambiguity -Session Plan

  1. Acting in Ambiguity* (June 3): Experience how we all respond differently to ambiguous situations.

  2. My ambiguous life (June 8): Explore the ambiguity in your personal life - past, and future.
    My ambiguous challenges: Learn how to re/frame the challenges you will focus on during the retreat.

  3. Hacking ambiguity (June 15): Strengthen your ideation muscle- for your challenge and for others.Prototyping ambiguity: Take the next step in your ambiguity journey and reframe progress.

  4. Progress in ambiguity (June 22): Self-assess your behavior with the CoCreACT® Ambiguity Radar and learn 6 principles to navigate ambiguity in the future.

* The Acting in Ambiguity session can be booked separately (see tickets).

Live Session times:

  1. Acting in Ambiguity*: Wednesday June 3, 2 hrs, 5 pm -7 pm CEST / 8 am - 10 am PST.

  2. My ambiguous life & My ambiguous challenges: June 8, 3 hrs, 5 pm -8 pm CEST / 8 am - 11 am PST.

  3. Hacking ambiguity & Prototyping ambiguity: Monday, June 15, 3 hrs, 5 pm -8 pm CEST / 8 am - 11 am PST.

  4. Progress in ambiguity: Monday, June 22, 2 hrs, 5 pm -7 pm CEST / 8 am - 10 am PST.

Double sessions (June 8 & 15) include breaks. We will use Zoom and Miro (and we’ll help you prepare you to use it if you aren’t yet familiar!)

 

What are we doing now and how can we use this uncertainty for ourselves?

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The first step in a productive direction is to become aware of the fear of uncertainty and disempower that sensation by naming the situation: ambiguity. Ambiguity not only describes the complexity of a problem, but also a situation with different equivalent solutions and contradictory information; a situation we have never seen before in this exact way. In ambiguous situations, the future potential is difficult to estimate, because we still use our “old world” mode of thinking even though our system is evolving and becoming more complex.

 

Ambiguity is the uncertainty of opportunities. Uncertainty creates space to maneuver.

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Therefore, the second step is to shift from a defensive posture into a designerly mode of thinking. A co-creative approach to problem-solving reveals the opportunities hiding in uncertainty. Iterative actions bring forth new solutions that do not simply reinforce or restore the status quo but open up entirely new potentials. This work in ambiguity requires continuous, fast, and low-risk learning through cycles of experimentation and testing.

 
 

More Trainings

Thriving in Ambiguity is the first step in the CoCreACT® training series which can be followed by one or both of the master levels:

CoCreACT® Training Series

CoCreACT® Training Series

  • Leading in Ambiguity (offered online and offline)

  • CoCreACT® Certified Facilitator (offered only offline in USA and Germany)

Leading in Ambiguity Training

Lead through uncertainty with confidence. 

The Leading in Ambiguity training series gives you space to understand, experiment and reflect on what it means to co-create and pursue big possibilities. 

Together we’ll explore key questions that emerge when leading in ambiguity:

  • Who participates and who decides?

  • How do we respond to differences and their impact?

  • How do we make meaning together?

  • How do we exchange information?

  • How do we move forward?

  • How do we develop capabilities along the way?

And how to generate answers-in-action using a simple, powerful system that includes:

  • The CoCreACT® Mindset with 6 guiding principles and self-assessments

  • A  skillset to embody the principles in self-leadership and collaboration

  • An adaptable toolkit for facilitating transformation with teams 

You can learn this through the Leading in Ambiguity training, which includes :

  • The Uncertainty of Possibilities- Understand the strategic opportunity in ambiguity and practice skills for seeing potential in the big picture. 

  • A Principled Approach- Apply an adaptable toolset to your own leadership challenges. Build confidence choosing and using diverse modalities. 

  • Facilitating Transformation- Build a practice of progress for activating your people and cultivating co-creative mindsets.

 

CoCreACT® Certified Facilitator Training

Become a Certified CoCreACT® Facilitator!

In CoCreACT® workshops you tackle challenges co-creatively and successfully. Learn how to facilitate the CoCreACT® process in the three-day Certified CoCreACT® Facilitator Training.

  • How do I support teams in ambiguous endeavors?

  • Which phases, with which tools and skills should we go through in order to master every kind of challenge in co-creative and agile way?

For that we offer:

  • CoCreACT® Tools to be prepared and ready to start anywhere with the right variety of tools,

  • CoCreACT® Skills to continuously transform uncertainty into new opportunities, as well as...

  • CoCreACT® Mindset with 6 guiding principles to co-creatively navigate ambiguity

You can learn this in the three-day Certified CoCreACT® Facilitator Training, which consists of two parts:

  • Day 1: Ambiguity Bootcamp - What is my personal preference in ambiguity? How do I identify ambiguity? Which mindset, skills, and tools support me to master uncertainty?

  • Day 2 & 3: CoCreACT® Facilitator Training - How do I support teams in ambiguous endeavors? Which phases, with which tools and skills should we go through in order to master every kind of challenge in co-creative and agile way?