What is Worldview Intelligence? Where did it come from? Where is it being used?

We are asked these questions regularly and here is a bit of what we have been telling people about our work.

Theory, Philosophy and Practice Behind Worldview Intelligence

Leo Apostel (1925-95) was a Belgium philosopher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) who was concerned about the increasing fragmentation in the world and specifically within the various scientific disciplines. He wanted to find a way toward integration, which led to the creation of the Worldviews group where scholars in various disciplines came together to research and develop a philosophical framework to accomplish this. This group of scholars eventually developed the Apostel framework comprised of six dimensions that serve to deconstruct and consider how people come to see the world the way they do. While the Leo Apostel Centre was established in 1995, when Apostel died the passion for this work diminished.

Twenty-five years later, Jerry Nagel, PhD came across this framework while researching worldviews for his dissertation. He and his partner Kathy Jourdain, MBA began bringing the idea of worldview into their consulting and training programs, discovering there was an appetite for the exploration. Since 2011 they have been in the ongoing discovery and development of practical application of the framework – Worldview Intelligence – that provides an elegant structure for understanding and to build strengths from differences, individually, organizationally, community and system wide.

Application

Jerry and Kathy have brought Worldview Intelligence to a wide variety of applications in Canada, the US, Australia and Europe. The framework offers the opportunity for exploration in many different contexts and is well received in each. Explorations are tailored to need, purpose and the audience.

Clients and Communities

Clients and community funders approach Jerry and Kathy to bring Worldview Intelligence to a variety of specific circumstances that require new or renewed understanding of different perspectives, finding ways of working across silos, supporting innovative initiatives with a worldview approach to shift culture and create sustainable systems and to enter into challenging situations and conversations with new shared language and approaches. The Worldview Intelligence framework becomes a tailored approach to exploring individual, professional, organizational, community and social system worldviews, identifying where and why clashes occur to find ways forward on issues that matter.

University, Community College, High School Students

Kathy and Jerry teach international under graduate and post graduate students each year at the IGR Business School at the University of Rennes in France. An introduction to Worldview Intelligence, using hosting practices, expands their thinking about leadership, their role and their thinking about what their future might entail. They are often surprised to discover more points of connection across countries (as many as 18 countries represented in a room) and more points of difference within countries.

The Worldview approach has also been used to help high school and community college students think about future employment and then discuss their ideas about the workplace with employers who are faced with increasing competition for workers and must create workplaces conducive to new styles of working.

Keynotes

Keynotes focus on giving people a glimpse into their own worldview, where it came from and how it influences communication and relationship, usually without us being aware of it. Keynotes can be offered in time frames from 20-60 minutes.

Filling in the Gaps with Blinders On: Discovering an Expanded View

 We interpret images and words in less time than it takes to blink and we fill in the gaps in stories with no awareness that we are doing it, yet it influences our interpretation of an event, a conversation and even another person or group. Our worldview contributes to blinders through which we filter in and filter out information. There are ways to discover an expanded view, story or perspective that can change the nature of the conversations we are in, especially when it comes to issues that matter to us.

How Your Worldview Influences What you See and Do

 Your worldview influences how you act, engage in conversations and make the choices you make. Cultural and learned worldviews affect the way you see, hear and speak. So, what is a worldview and how did you get yours? How does understanding brain and behavioural science help us make different choices about our actions and our interactions? How can we avoid collisions of worldviews and come together in ways that build understanding and respect and allow each of us to hold onto aspects of ourselves that are most important to us while expanding our worldview to engage in conversations about issues that matter?

Introductory Sessions

Welcome to “My Worldview” – An Introduction to Worldviews, Where They Come From and Why They Matter

This two hour introduction uses a number of experiential exercises to quickly introduce participants to aspects of their worldview and help them gain an understanding of where worldviews come from and how they shape what we see, do and experience. Participants are engaged in conversation and thoughtful reflection throughout the two hour exploration.

Building Strength from Difference: An Introduction to the Power of Worldview Intelligence to Transform Conversations from Challenging to Productive

This one day deep dive introduction to the power and possibility of Worldview Intelligence outlines what a worldview is, where it comes from, how it influences communication and relationship and offers participants a four step process to productive dialogue on stuck issues. The Worldview Intelligence framework is value neutral, helps to make hidden patterns and dynamics visible and provides a new way to organize your thoughts so you can change the actions and approach you might take in polarized or otherwise challenging situations.