Consciousness Development and the Inner Development Goals

Terence Sexton will explore how consciousness development is a necessary part of the journey in implementing the Inner Development Goals. Research shows that our internal dimensions (values, beliefs, worldviews/ paradigms and associated internal capacities) are deep leverage points for organisational and societal change. While it has no agreed definition, consciousness can be considered to encompass all our internal dimensions. However, there currently appears to be a focus on developing our internal dimensions through expanding ‘conscious awareness’.

Informed by his recent research using Co-operative Inquiry to explore how changemakers experience consciousness development in relation to their leadership performance, Terence Sexton will propose that consciousness also needs to be developed in other ways. These include developing the contents of consciousness (such as values, beliefs, and worldviews), which are associated with pro-environmental behaviours and gaining greater cognitive, emotional and behavioural agility by developing to the higher (post-conventional) stages of consciousness. He will conclude by arguing that it is through the combination of all three aspects of consciousness development that the Inner Development Goals gain their power to create organisational and societal change. Following this talk, there will be an interactive activity and a discussion.