Learning from the future: Theory U

Host Steve Legler speaks with Michelle Osry about how families need to deal with both complicated issues that require specific solutions, as well as complex challenges that require different skills to navigate to help the family make progress. They discuss the challenges in getting both advisors and families to understand these distinctions and find ways to work on having each family's best outcome emerge from co-creation. Guest bio

Michelle Osry works with family enterprises and offices on governance and generational transition. She draws from a broad experience and range of disciplines and practices, blending systems thinking with traditional consulting frameworks, to help families navigate the complexities of wealth and family dynamics.

Before co-founding A&O Partners in 2023, Michelle was a partner at Deloitte Canada. She has been a Board member of Family Enterprise Canada since 2018 and is an instructor in their Family Enterprise Advisor program.

You can learn more about Michelle Osry on LinkedIn and the FEA website.

Key Takeaways

[:26] Steve Legler welcomes Michelle Osry and asks her to share a bit about how she became interested in the difference between complicated and complex.

[3:33] Michelle explains how planning a very complicated event led her to discover how roleplay could facilitate an understanding of complex situations.

[7:25] Experiencing unpredictability is part and parcel of understanding complex systems.

[8:44] FEA training is very technical and can lead to predictions that can easily be upended in a complex system.

[12:20] Michelle shares an overview of Theory U by Otto Scharmer and how it applies to advisors.

[14:13] Michelle shares an example of helping a family do their best thinking together, from a recent interaction with an FEA.

[18:55] There are many ways the facilitator helps families; Michelle shares a noticing tip for advisors.

[21:24] Michelle talks about sharing your feelings with a family as an advisor and offers another tool to use before and after meetings to help families get into a flow state.

[25:55] Instead of just looking at a screen, when describing a family organization, have the family members stand in their place!

[27:13] What Michelle has noticed in the evolution of her work with families, and how AI is affecting her practice.

[29:15] Michelle shares her book suggestion and her advice for advisors.

[33:36] Steve thanks Michelle Osry for sharing her insights, and closes this episode by reminding listeners to rate and subscribe.

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Mentioned in this episode

The Ten Domains of Family Wealth

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The essentials of theory U - PRESENCING: 7 Practices for Transforming Self, Society, and Business, by Otto Scharmer

Unleash Your Complexity Genius: Growing Your Inner Capacity to Lead, by Jennifer Garvey Berger and Carolyn Coughlin

We Can Do This! 10 Tools to Unleash Our Collective Genius, by Kate Sutherland

More about Family Enterprise Canada

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