NEW AWARENESSES AND SENSIBILITIES
Over time, as our new skills and capabilities develop, the world we "see'' literally shifts. For example, as we become better in systems thinking, we literally start to "see" underlying structures driving behavior. Where we might have leaped immediately to blame someone in the past, we now have an instinctive awareness of the forces compelling them to act as they do. Similarly, with increased awareness of our mental models, we become increasingly aware of the ways in which we continually construct our views of the world Rather than "seeing" a customer as ''tough to deal with", we are more able to hear the exact words she or he said, and recognize how their words trigger our own mental models. Rather than "seeing" a "mature market,'' we see assumptions and practices that have gone unquestioned for years and perhaps begin to imagine alternatives.
When a group begins to advance in the practice of dialogue, as William Isaacs points out, "a new type of listening emerges" People begin to "listen to the whole," hearing not only what individuals say, but deeper patterns of meaning that flow through the group. For example, it is quite common in advanced dialogues for people to report that someone else gave voice to the thoughts they were about to say This eventually quiets our anxieties about "getting our points out". More importantly, it gradually builds a subtle awareness of collective thought that profoundly transforms our experience of what is possible in genuine conversation.
As we practice the disciplines of personal mastery and shared vision, we become increasingly aware of the presence or absence of spirit in an enterprise. We become more and more conscious of when we and (others) are operating based on our vision, versus when we are simply reacting to events. When a decision must he made by a team, people see the alternative in light of their vision and sense of purpose; and they often see new alternatives which would not have been visible if their deeper purpose were obscure.
