Robert Dilts began developing logic levels of change and learning in November 1976, 42 years ago! He relied on Gregory Bateson’s learning levels( http://www.nlpu.com/Articles/LevelsSummary.htm) He then made them evolve over time. In their latest evolutions, Robert Dilts began to introduce a duality, with the partial appearance of the existential side (also called « ego ») and the Essential side (also called « soul »).

Image source : http://www.nlpu.com/Articles/LevelsAlignment.htm

During a generative collaboration facilitator’s training at the University of Santa Cruz in 2016, the very cradle from which this approach emerged 42 years earlier, an « obvious » evolution struck me: completely separating the « Existential » side (ego) from the « Essential » side (soul). This separation also has the advantage of eliminating a possible confusion.

If we focus only on the existential side, which is very useful for obtaining results (Environment level) and we put aside what may appear as « sing kumbaya » quality  of the Essence part, we will have the following hierarchy of logical levels:

We can also note that these levels are the realm of the « human science » : medicine (addressing the body) and humanities (addressing the mind, with all the various models : psychologies, NLP, transactional analysis, MBTI, process communication, enneagram, spiral dynamics, various kind of psychotherapies, and so on).

If we look now at the « Essential » part (soul = a-me  in French, means not the « me »), we see things that are quite comparable, with the difference that they are impersonal, logical levels are then declined in the following way:

The two scales correspond. Ambition is in relation with the Vision, Role with the Identity, and so on …. Note that the Purpose is sometimes very close to the mission statement.

If we compare the two scales and match them, we obtain the following table:

The Essential (deapest Self) part here is more unchanging nature of what is innate and quite stable, whereas the existential part (the real of our ego) belongs to what is acquired, and can be modified / improved according to its ambitions / objectives and  different areas of our life.

On the other hand, a horizontal alignment between the « Essential » and « Existential » logic levels, coupled with vertical alignment, brings many benefits to individuals as well as to teams and organizations:

• Flow mode operation (generative state)
• Increased leadership (influence and charisma)
• Reduced stress
• Better creativity (disruption)
• Enhanced interpersonal relations in teams
• Increased efficiency and effectiveness
• Bearings and meaning present in one’s actions
• Intrinsic motivation that lasts over  time
• Increase of resilience or even appearance of anti-fragility

It would be a shame to miss out on this, don’t you agree?

I am also very grateful for the precious help Kathleen Dameron brought to this english version!

Nota Bene :for those who would want to explore the spiritual side, the following proposal, with a third scale would do the job and nicely fit the body – soul – Spirit trilogy :

Jacques FUCHS

Accompagner la transmutation en douceur des individus et des organisations dans la facilité et la célérité. 

Booster l’innovation disruptive.